Don Carlos brings new seafood offerings to Cherokee Street

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Photo by Brandi Wills

Raw shrimp tostadas at Don Carlos restaurant (cooked shrimp are available as well)

Don Carlos, a tienda at 2800 Cherokee (the southwest corner of Cherokee and California), is stocked with items that bring the flavors and culture of Mexico to the Midwest. The restaurant, located inside the store, recently invited chef Pedro Diaz (Mariscos El Gato) to helm its kitchen and create a Nayarit-inspired seafood menu.

Photo by Brandi Wills

Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant provides a small bowl of Nayarit-style ceviche, free of charge.   

Ceviche is ubiquitous in the cuisine of Riviera Nayarit, located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. In place of the standard basket of chips and salsa, each table is greeted with complimentary ceviche with chips, saltines, and salsa verde made with Serrano peppers, lime juice, cilantro, and soy sauce—the latter ingredient an unexpected yet distinct feature of Nayarit cuisine.

The menu consists of almost entirely seafood (save for the kids’ menu), featuring standard street fare like tostadas (but no tacos), alongside more epicurean dishes such as extravagant seafood platters, molcajetes, and raw oysters drizzled with fresh lime juice and served with seven kinds of Mexican hot sauce.

The tostadas are made to order with a choice of shrimp (raw or cooked), crab meat, raw clams, tilapia, scallops, or octopus, tossed with lime, red onion, tomato, and cilantro, topped with hearty avocado slices. The same seafood items are present on the various platters, as well crab legs, mussels, oysters, and langostinos.

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Photos by Brandi Wills

The costalito, which translates to “little sack,” is a Mexican take on a seafood boil, with a mix of shelled and shell-on shrimp, langostinos, mussels, crab legs, potatoes, and corn on the cob heavily seasoned with paprika and guajillo pepper, among other spices, steamed and served at the table in its own bag.

Micheladas—Mexican cocktails made with beer, lime juice, tomato juice, chiles, and a combination of sauces and spices—are served in everything from a beer bottle to massive glassware and elaborately garnished with shrimp, crab legs, and more.

With the tail end of patio season upon us, it’s the perfect time to spend a sunny weekend or clear evening enjoying fresh seafood and a bucket of cervezas on the Don Carlos patio, taking in the sights, sounds, and culture of Cherokee Street.