Boleo Brings On Brand New Chef Team, New Fall Bar and Food Menus

On the heels of announcing a red-hot new chef team, Boleo, the Loop’s hottest South American rooftop bar and restaurant is slated to heat up Chicago’s Financial District with two all new fall food and cocktail menus. Fresh off a successful stint on West Loop’s famed Restaurant Row, Boleo’s Chef de Cuisine Cory Morris (Ronero) transforms his lauded Latin cooking style alongside Executive Chef Brian Millman with midwestern takes on South American dishes such as crispy Papa Rellena, Lomo Saltado with Aji Amarillo soy glaze, and charred Pulpito. Additionally, head bartender Jess Lambert unveils a collection of culinary-forward cocktails created with innovative house-made ingredients like brown butter washed pisco in First Response, spiced Bartlett pear syrup found in B-Side to Hollywood, and much more. 

Boleo’s newly crowned chef de cuisine, Cory Morris leverages his authentic Argentine and Peruvian cooking expertise alongside Executive Chef Brian Millman as they explore the cultural commonality between Midwestern comfort foods and Latin fare. Utilizing produce found locally while still retaining the flavor profiles native to these South American cultures, chef Cory creates a vibrant menu of interactive small plates that emulates the importance of community and food as found especially in these two countries. A few dish highlights can be found below, and Boleo’s full new food menu can be found here.

• Papa Rellena - Chef Cory aims to tie the flavors of South America back to the Midwest by utilizing the beloved, and sometimes under-sung potato - a pillar of South American cuisine. This Peruvian-inspired comfort food, similar to croquettes, is filled with soft potato and mozzarella cheese then fried to perfection and served with house-made savory salsa criolla that delivers a nice kick of spice at the finish. ($8)
• Lomo Saltado -  Marrying South America’s notoriously Asian culinary influences, chef Cory begins this decadent dish with carefully grilled Wagyu sirloin. He then delicately drizzles his made in-house Aji Amarillo soy glaze, showcasing the vibrant bright-orange tones of the Aji Amarillo pepper, a ubiquitous ingredient in traditional Peruvian cuisine. He then serves the steak sliced on a bed of jasmine rice and rounds out the dish with the addition of crispy yucca fries. ($45)
• Pulpito - Keeping in line with classic fall traditions, this Argentinean-inspired offering features charred baby octopus, golden heirloom potato rescoldo, and a chimichurri emulsion. The dish is finished with an edible ash garnish created during the charring process of the octopus, completing this homage to classic open-fire cooking and setting the stage for crisp Midwest autumn nights. ($15)

The ever-innovative head bartender of Boleo and Vol. 39, Jess Lambert, continues to build on an already well-curated beverage program with new additions in craft cocktails containing culinary twists. In addition to her bubbly, fruit forward creations (Chilcanos), an impressive collection of large format cocktails (appropriately called ‘Bragging Rights’), and her existing crowd-pleasing Coctels de la Casa, Jess introduces new selections this season in collaboration with Boleo bar team bartenders. The full new beverage menu will be coming soon, but a few carefully created cocktails can be found below.

• B-Side to Hollywood - Fellow Boleo bartender Sam Garcia is happily stuck in the 90s, with this throw-back libation. Inspired by the 90s classic Pear Martini and named for hit-maker Camp Lo ’s “B-Sides to Hollywood”, this take on the popular drink gets revamped with fresh Bartlett pear syrup made in-house. The syrup is spiced with autumnal flavors like star anise, allspice, ginger, white pepper, and more. Shaken with Absolute Elyx Vodka, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and freshly squeezed lemon juice, this cocktail is simple, refreshing, and soon to be trending just as much as the 90s are these days. ($14)

• First Response - Arriving on the scene at Boleo is this savory pisco cocktail that draws upon French culinary inspiration.  Jess begins with Barsol Torrontel pisco and washes it through decadent brown butter, or Beurre noisette as it is known in France. The brown butter is made from heating unsalted butter over low heat until the butterfat and milk solids separate and the latter is browned to a toasty hazelnut color. She passes the pisco through the brown butter several times until the pisco retains a rich, slightly nutty flavor and greater body. She then cuts the richness with lemon juice and fresh radish, lending an earthy quality to the drink. The radish and butter combination is also a traditional French crudité pairing, and when combined with Peruvian pisco, connects the two cultures in one glass. ($13)

• Sweater Weather - Just because the temperatures are dropping, doesn’t mean that frozen drinks are off the menu. Boleo bartender Anastasia Sasewich encourages you to face the cold with this seasonal frozen offering that captures the warmer flavors of fall. She creates this delight with Zhumir Aguardiente, a distilled spirit similar to grappa, Amaro Cinpatrazzo, and Rhine Hall Oak Aged Apple Brandy, made locally in Chicago’s West Fulton area. The aged apple brandy combined with the zesty aguardiente and spicy amaro play up on one another’s strong flavors while the addition of fresh lemon juice, demerara sugar, and cinnamon balance things out. Although blended and frozen into a smooth, icy beverage, Sweater Weather satisfies that quintessentially fall spiced-apple profile while it keeps you cool under the collar. ($12)