Plant-based dishes at Cesar's Killer Margaritas in Chicago
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By Kathleen Furore
The way Mexican restaurants approach plant-based options depends on many factors — guests’ preferences, price considerations, and the overall concept among them.
At Cesar’s Killer Margaritas, a family-run, sit-down, table- service restaurant in Chicago, Chef Lulu Duran and her team recently debuted a 100 percent plant-based menu to augment the restaurant’s regular menu. Cesar’s introduced the menu specifically for Meatless Mondays at the beginning of April.
Soyrizo Tacos at Cesar's Killer Margaritas
“We have always had vegetarian options on our menu, but never [anything] 100 percent plant-based,” Duran says. “Our customers were definitely a huge influence on our decision, along with growing food costs, and trying to be more eco- friendly — everything came together to push this menu out.”
The all-plant-based menu includes a wide selection of dishes including Al Pastor Tacos with julienne carrots and diced onions in adobo sauce; Creamy Poblanos, two fire-roasted peppers stuffed with broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and pepitas, simmered in coconut milk and roasted pepita cream sauce; a Vegan Torta with mushrooms, zucchini steak slices, onions, and garlic, cooked in salsa verde and topped with beans, lettuce, raw onion, tomato, and avocado on a telera roll; and Donas, made-to-order vegan beignets.
“We were very conscious of making sure our plant-based community felt embraced, and not that we were doing this as just a ‘special’ or a one-time thing,” the chef explains.
The results so far have been positive.
“We have been pleasantly surprised at how well the menu has performed,” Chef Lulu says, noting that Cesar’s carrot-based take on the Al Pastor Tacos and the creamy fire-roasted poblanos are two favorites.While three of the new plant-based tacos now appear on Cesar’s regular summer menu, the full plant-based menu is still offered on Mondays only.
“We have plans to expand to additional days of the week in the future,” Duran says.
Cauliflower Ceviche at Tacotarian
The founders of Las Vegas-headquartered Tacotarian took a different approach when they opened their first location in the southwest part of the city in 2018, going all-in on the all-plant concept.
“My wife and I have been plant-based for quite some time, so early on we discussed with our partners the idea to go fully plant-based,” co-founder Carlos Corral says. “It’s something that we’re passionate about because we feel very strongly about animal welfare. What separates us from other ‘vegan’ or plant-based concepts is that we’ve created an environment that is inviting for everyone. Seventy-five percent of our customer base doesn’t identify as vegetarian or vegan. They just crave good Mexican food, and ours happens to be made from plants.”
The menu — which features a wide variety of plant-based dishes that look and taste extremely similar to the more meaty renditions popular on non-plant-based menus — has been “tweaked and streamlined” since Tacotarian’s debut.
Plant-based taco at Tacotarian
“We added ceviche, replacing the seafood with cauliflower. It’s a simple swap, yet the flavor is all there, and most people who order it can’t even tell the difference,” Corral says. “Some items got stale, others got too labor intensive.
On occasion, a special that is supposed to be for one month is just too good and customers can’t live without it. So, we’ve kept a few specials like the Birria Platter and the Crunchwrap. It’s always important that keep a close eye on what’s working and what isn’t.”
The most popular selections are those made with house- made, proprietary proteins — the plant-based asada, barbacoa, birria, and pastor. “But it is challenging to make everything in-house, especially when our menu is so large,” he adds, noting that Tacotarian puts its own spin on purchased items like those from BeyondTM by adding seasonings and salsas.
The formula is working: Tacotarian has expanded to five locations (“soon to be six,” Corral reports).
And he isn’t stopping there.
“In 2022 we opened our first location in another state — it’s in San Diego — and we’re just getting started,” he says. “The goal is to have at least one Tacotarian in every major city.”
EXPLORING THE BOTTOM-LINE BENEFITS
Adding more plant-based dishes to menus currently reliant on beef, pork, chicken and seafood might seem the ideal antidote to food prices that continue to rise.
That has been the case for Cesar’s, even though the full plant-based menu currently is only offered on Mondays.
“From a cost perspective, implementing this menu has been huge! When you’re talking about paying $15/lb. for skirt steak, and then you compare that to carrot pieces, there’s no question about the effect it has economically,” Duran says.
That isn’t necessarily the case across the board, Corral notes.
“I’m sure a lot of people might assume that vegetable-based food is automatically cheaper, but that isn’t always true,” he says. “To start, our seitan-based proteins are very labor intensive and sensitive, which adds to the cost. But alternatively, some vegan products like mayo, cream cheese or a few other items are much pricier than their animal-based counterparts. So, we still have to keep a very close eye on food costs, just like any other restaurant.”
Click here to see recipes for Cesar’s Soyrizo Tacos and Tacotarian’s Cauliflower Ceviche.
Kathleen Furore is the editor of el Restaurante.
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