Have been to quite a few Mexican restaurants that bill themselves as “Mariscos” or seafood. Sometimes the Mariscos is so large that one might think Mariscos is the name of the restaurant. In every restaurant that serves Mariscos I have seen (and usually eaten) the dish called Vuelva a la Vida.

Vuelva a la Vida is served chilled, it consists of cooked shrimp, cooked octopus and a few raw oysters in a V-8 style (I know poor choice of a descriptor but best I can come up with) tomato sauce. Also in the mix are lots of chopped avocado, onion and cilantro. Either tortilla chips and/or Saltine crackers are served with the dish.

edited to add: Also served alongside are wedges of lime to squeeze onto the dish, adds a great citrus flavor.

This is a VERY refreshing lunch, doesn’t bog you down, the seafood is great, this is quite the dish to have on the high temp days we have been having in Chicago this summer.

I’ve never had a mediocre Vuelva a la Vida, all have been very good.

Today, I had this dish at:

7 Mares
7111 N. Clark
Chicago, IL
Open for lunch/dinner
Phone: 773.743.1253

Not much, if any, English is spoken at 7 Mares, but that’s OK as the menu descriptions are listed in English, so just point.

Next week I will go back for the Caldo Mariscos (seafood soup), lots of patrons were eating this or the Vuelva a la Vida.


[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 09-12-2002).]