Coming Soon: Velvet Taco in the Gold Coast

Velvet Taco, an urban taco shop with locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, will soon open a new outpost in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood at 1110 N. State Street. Set for a late winter opening, Velvet Taco will offer thoughtful, globally-inspired tacos crafted with local ingredients, served in an industrial loft setting.

At the heart of Chef John Franke's counter-service menu are from-scratch tacos that feature slow-roasted chicken and pork, along with flank steak, seafood and vegetarian options. The chicken, pork and corn are continuously roasted in-house on vertical rotisseries. Velvet Taco's tortillas include hand-made classic white corn and blue corn, as well as locally sourced soft flour tortillas. Every hand-held meal is designed to provide a study of flavors, textures, spices and tastes that take tacos to an unprecedented level.

The taco menu features chicken (buffalo; rotisserie; crisp tikka), veg (fried paneer; falafel), pork (Cuban pig; annatto shredded pork; crisp pork belly), beef (bacon burger; grilled flank steak), fish (Mediterranean calamari; fish n' chips; raw ahi poke) and egg (bacon and egg frittata; roast pork and egg frittata). Signature side dishes include elote-style roasted corn with queso fresco, asadero cheese, Valentina cream and lime, as well as crisp tots with local egg, herbed goat cheese, smoked cheddar, avocado crema and bacon. For a sweet treat, Velvet Taco offers red velvet cake to cap off your meal.

The Gold Coast restaurant will be open seven days a week, with the menu being available all day as well as late night. For updates on the opening date, follow @TheVelvetTaco or like Velvet Taco Chicago on Facebook.