Don Julio Tequila Events at Zocalo

Tequila Dinner and Tequila Tasting

Don Julio Tequila Dinner
Monday, December 12
6:30 p.m. cocktail reception, 7 p.m. dinner
$45 (plus tax and gratuity)

Don Julio Tequila Tasting
Tuesday, December 13
6:30 p.m.
$25 per person (all inclusive)

This December, Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar is holding back-to-back Don Julio tequila events.

On Monday, December 12, Zocalo will host a three-course, Don Julio-themed tequila dinner (menu listed below) featuring authentic Mexican cuisine and tequila pairings. The evening begins with a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the dinner at 7:00 p.m. The event, led by a representative from Don Julio, includes an open bar of Zocalo margaritas, beer and wine. The fee to attend is $45 per guest, plus tax and gratuity. Limited seating is available. Please call Zocalo to reserve a place in the Don Julio dinner.

The following day, Tuesday, December 13, Zocalo will host its monthly tequila tasting from 6:30-8 p.m.  Led by Zocalo’s resident tequila ambassador, Victor Baheza, the Don Julio tasting will feature two specialty cocktails, passed appetizers, and a sampling of blanco, reposado and anejo tequila – all set to live Latin music. A raffle will be held for participants to win Zocalo gift cards and bottles of Don Julio tequila, complete with tequila locker service. The all-inclusive fee is $25 per person. Please call Zocalo to reserve a spot in the tequila tasting.

Don Julio Tequila Dinner
Monday, December 12

First Course: Sopa de Flor de Calabaza
Creamy zucchini blossom soup served with oaxacan cheese-herb crostini
Paired with Don Julio Blanco

Second Course: Grilled Porkchop
A tender, grilled porkchop finished in a chipotle-citrus salsa and accompanied by a white sweet potato puree as well as a seasonal watercress-beat salad sprinkled with candied pecans
Paired with Don Julio Reposado

Third Course: Chayote Cheesecake
A velvety chayote cheesecake drizzled with a guava sauce and topped with berry compote
Paired with Don Julio Añejo

ZOCALO Restaurant and Tequila Bar
358 W. Ontario
Chicago, IL 60610
312.302.9977
ZocaloChicago.com

 

ZOCALO Celebrates Mexican Independence Day

Tequila Dinner, Special Prix Fixe Menu, Tequila Tasting Event and Festive Live Music

Wednesday, September 14 – Sunday, September 18
events, prices and times vary

PARTIDA TEQUILA DINNER
Wednesday, September 14
6:30 p.m. reception / 7 p.m. dinner
$65 plus tax and gratuity

Brand Ambassador Jacques Bezuidenhout will lead this exclusive tasting event featuring four courses paired with Partida tequila. The dinner includes a specialty cocktail as well as unlimited beer and margaritas. Limited seating is available. Please call ZOCALO for reservations.

Course One: Caldo Tlapeño, tender shredded chicken, spicy chipotle broth, diced avocado and Chihuahua cheese crouton.

Course Two: Chile en Nogada, roasted poblano pepper stuffed with ground pork and beef as well as pears, apple, peaches, pineapple, raisins and allspice; topped with a tequila-walnut sauce and garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds. Served with Partida Tequila Blanco.

Course Three: Mar y Tierra, beef tenderloin medallion with a chipotle hollandaise sauce, pan roasted prawns in cilantro pesto, sautéed rapini and purple mashed potatoes, served with Partida Tequila Reposado.

Course Four: Buñuelos, cinnamon & sugar fried-dough fritters drenched with añejo “spiked” mango-agave nectar and layered between sweetened goat cheese meringue; served with a “fried” ice cream lollipop, served with Partida Tequila Añejo.

LIVE MUSIC!
September 15, 16 and 17
Enjoy Mexican Folkloric Music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening from 8:30-11:30 p.m.

PARTIDA TEQUILA TASTING EVENT
Thursday, September 15
$30 per person (all inclusive)
7- 9 p.m.

Zocalo will host an evening of tacos, tequila, music and more! Participants will enjoy a creative cocktail by resident tequila ambassador Victor Baheza, a tasting of Partida tequilas, a traditional taquiza and live music. The all-inclusive fee of $30 includes one specialty cocktail, the tequila tasting, a selection of featured tacos and a raffle ticket for a chance to win Zocalo gift cards, bottles of Partida tequila and more.

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY MENU
Friday, September 16 – Sunday, September 18
Available at Lunch and Dinner Service
$30 Three Course Prix-Fixe (or enjoy as a la carte specials)

-choose one item from each course-

Antojitos / Appetizers

Guacamole Patria 8
Freshly diced avocado mixed with tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, serrano chiles, cotija cheese and pomegranate seeds; served with assorted chips

Huaraches Tri-Color 9
Two traditional masa boats topped with shredded chicken and garnished with sour cream and fresco cheese; served over a green tomatillo salsa and a red guajillo salsa

Platos Fuertes / Main Course

Chile en Nogada 17
Roasted poblano pepper stuffed with ground pork and beef as well as pears, apple, peaches, pineapple, raisins and allspice; topped with a brandy-walnut sauce and garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds

Carne en su Jugo 17
Grilled flank steak in a pasilla broth with whole black beans, applewood smoked bacon and homemade chorizo; garnished with cilantro & onion, diced radishes and arbol peppers

Postre / Dessert

Buñuelos 8
Cinnamon & sugar fried-dough fritters drenched with añejo “spiked” mango-agave nectar and layered between sweetened goat cheese meringue; served with a “fried” ice cream lollipop

ZOCALO Restaurant and Tequila Bar
358 W. Ontario
Chicago, IL 60610
312.302.9977
ZocaloChicago.com

Tequila Distillery Event at Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar

Don Julio in the Spotlight at December’s Tequila Tasting

Thursday, December 16, 2010
6:30-9:00pm

$20 per person

Mexico’s national spirit will get the attention it deserves during Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar’s monthly tequila distillery events. This spirited soiree will highlight different tequilas through informal tastings, specialty cocktails and Zocalo’s flavorful Mexican fare.

Don Julio Tequila will be in the spotlight on Thursday, December 16 from 6:30-9:00pm. Passed appetizers from Zocalo’s menu will keep tequila tasters in the game, while live Latin music will set an upbeat vibe. The cost to attend Zocalo’s Don Julio Tequila tasting is $20 per person, which includes two specialty cocktails, the tequila tasting (Anejo, Reposado, Silver), passed appetizers and a raffle ticket for a chance to win Zocalo gift cards, bottles of Don Julio Tequila and more.

Zocalo’s weekly “Dine at Nine” promotion will also be in effect, offering half-off all food items after 9:00pm (must make a reservation and mention offer). Glasses of Sangria and Citrus Cazuelas will be $5 and all appetizers will be half-price in the bar area from 5:00-7:00pm.

Please call Zocalo for tasting reservations (recommended, not required).

ZOCALO Restaurant and Tequila Bar
358 W. Ontario
Chicago, IL 60610
312.302.9977
http://www.zocalochicago.com

Tequila Distillery Event at Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar

Gran Centenario in the Spotlight at November’s Tequila Tasting

Thursday, November 11, 2010
6:30-9:00pm

$20 per person

Mexico’s national spirit will get the attention it deserves during Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar’s monthly tequila distillery events. Taking place on the second Thursday of every month, these spirited soirees will highlight different tequilas through informal tastings, specialty cocktails and Zocalo’s flavorful Mexican fare.

Gran Centenario Tequila will be in the spotlight on Thursday, November 11 from 6:30-9:00pm. Passed appetizers from Zocalo’s menu will keep tequila tasters in the game, while live Latin music will set an upbeat vibe. The cost to attend Zocalo’s Gran Centenario Tequila tasting is $20 per person, which includes two specialty cocktails, the tequila tasting (Anejo, Reposado, Silver), passed appetizers and a raffle ticket for a chance to win Zocalo gift cards, bottles of Gran Centenario Tequila and more.

Zocalo’s weekly “Dine at Nine” promotion will also be in effect, offering half-off all food items after 9:00pm (must make a reservation and mention offer). Glasses of Sangria and Citrus Cazuelas will be $5 and all appetizers will be half-price in the bar area from 5:00-7:00pm.

Please call Zocalo for tasting reservations (recommended, not required).

About Gran Centenario Tequila
In 1858, Lazaro Gallardo, a tavern owner and tequila producer, invented a unique tequila-making process called Selección Suave, of Smooth Selection. This unique process blended newly rested tequilas with the smoothest, aged tequila reserves creating the highest quality and best tasting tequila available. In the late 1800s, Lazaro Gallardo named his tequila, Gran Centenario to commemorate the beginning of a new century and began selling it as his tavern. In 1920, Lazaro’s son, Luciano decided to bottle Gran Centenario. Inspired by the Art Deco style of architecture, he designed a bottle similar to the one we use today.The makers of Gran Centenario still uses the Selección Suave when crafting this deluxe tequila.

ZOCALO Restaurant and Tequila Bar
358 W. Ontario
Chicago, IL 60610
312.302.9977
http://www.zocalochicago.com

Tequila Distillery Event at Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar

Riazul in the Spotlight at October’s Tequila Tasting

Thursday, October 14, 2010
6:30-9:00pm

$20 per person

Mexico’s national spirit will get the attention it deserves during Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar’s monthly tequila distillery events. Taking place on the second Thursday of every month, these spirited soirees will highlight different tequilas through informal tastings, specialty cocktails and Zocalo’s flavorful Mexican fare.

Riazul Tequila will be in the spotlight on Thursday, October 14 from 6:30-9:30pm. Passed appetizers from Zocalo’s menu will keep tequila tasters in the game, while live Latin music will set an upbeat vibe. The cost to attend Zocalo’s Riazul Tequila tasting is $20 per person, which includes two specialty cocktails, the tequila tasting (Anejo, Reposado, Silver), passed appetizers and a raffle ticket for a chance to win Zocalo gift cards, bottles of Riazul Tequila and more.

Zocalo’s weekly “Dine at Nine” promotion will also be in effect, offering half-off all food items after 9:00pm (must make a reservation and mention offer). Glasses of Sangria and Citrus Cazuelas will be $5 and all appetizers will be half-price in the bar area from 5:00-7:00pm.

Please call Zocalo for tasting reservations (recommended).

About Riazul Tequila
100% Blue Agave Premium

Two hundred years ago, the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico served as a key battlefront in the Mexican War of Independence. During that struggle, Maria Higinia Gomez served as a high counselor to the Mexican rebel leaders. For her service, she was granted 10,000 acres of land — most of which she gave away to revolutionaries who fought for Mexico’s freedom. The remaining 620 acres was handed down from generation to generation and virtually untouched until Riazul’s founder, Iñaki Orozco, inherited the land in the late 1990s.

Iñaki knew that the land was located within the exclusive area of Mexico where agave could be harvested into what is officially recognized as tequila. He approached the family elders and pitched his idea to initially plant a few agave plants, with plans for more a much larger agave field in the future. The elders were skeptical and challenged Iñaki’s vision as naive and nearly impossible to achieve. But the young idealist was persistent and won them over. Soon, Iñaki had his chance to prove himself. He planted 100 initial agave shoots and that early agave crop flourished. Iñaki worked day and night to plant more than 175,000 more shoots.

Early on, Iñaki simply planned to grow agave as raw product for other tequila companies. Later, he began thinking about launching a private label brand for restaurants and bars, but his dream kept getting bigger. When the elders heard that Iñaki planned to launch his own premium tequila brand, they thought he had lost his mind. Today, Riazul Premium tequilas are available in hundreds of restaurants, bars, and retail outlets throughout Texas and in parts of New York, Illinois, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.

The high elevation, cool climate, and red volcanic soils — or tierra roja — give rise to agave that matures for close to a decade before reaching harvesting quality. During that time, the agave soaks up unique aromas and flavors indigenous only to this region. Agaves harvested in the Jalisco highlands contain higher sugar content, resulting in more aromatic tequilas with sweeter tasting notes.

ZOCALO Restaurant and Tequila Bar
358 W. Ontario
Chicago, IL 60610
312.302.9977
http://www.zocalochicago. com