Was just at Cafe Iberico the other night, I can see how some might say that the quality has slipped as there were some dishes that were just ok, but most were still wonderful, & let that Sangria pour !! ^ !!

Write ups from Crain's for 1492 and Cafe Iberico

1492 Tapas Bar
42 E. Superior St.
(312) 867-1492
Price range at lunch, $4.92-$21.92

This attractive restaurant provides a lovely setting for a business lunch: The dining room is painted a creamy yellow, it's softly lit, tables are covered in linen and service is mostly excellent. It's housed in an old Victorian townhouse — a little spooky on the outside, but inside it's warm, welcoming and clean.

Start with the jamon serrano plate ($8.92): In a nice twist, the toast that accompanies the ham and cheese is topped with a sun-dried tomato. Another winner, the queso de cabra (also $8.92) — goat cheese melted in a tomato sauce — is made by the book and with excellent ingredients. Beef tenderloin ($9.92) is sliced thin and served on toast with sun-dried tomatoes and manchego cheese. Pimiento rellenos ($8.92) are soft red peppers stuffed with a seafood mash, a feast for the eyes and very filling. Grilled squid ($6.92) is tender, but its broth didn't please. Ditto the Sevilla salad ($10.92), its greens soggy and its dressing too sharp. The flan ($5.92) is more cake-like than a typical custard, but still serves as a wonderfully sweet endnote.

Diners accustomed to tapas-sized portions — servings the size of an appetizer — should beware: Many here are oversized. We had too much food for two.

We were one of only three tables occupied on a recent weekday. The gracious, attentive service, quality food and just-off-Michigan Avenue location makes 1492 deserving of a crowd.

Cafe Iberico
739 N. LaSalle St.
(312) 573-1510
Price range at lunch, $3-$12.95

This vast place comes to life at night: It's noisy and filled with young and old professionals catching a good and not-too-expensive meal of tapas and paella while sharing a pitcher of sangria. Daytime is different, and it's then you see that the bar area is a bit grungy (though it's a quiet place for solo diners to catch a meal, much as in Spain) and the main dining room oddly lit. Though not full, Iberico certainly attracts a noontime crowd, mostly long tables filled with co-workers and families. I brought a bunch of teenagers who had the day off from school. One had traveled in Spain, but the others were new to the cuisine. We all enjoyed the hubbub of passing, sharing and comparing the tapas and paella and had a wonderful meal.
TOP TABLE
1492 Tapas Bar is a better choice for a quiet business lunch, but we preferred the fare worth fighting over and festive atmosphere at Cafe Iberico, which reminded us of Spain and of another top tapas restaurant in Chicago, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba (2024 N. Halsted St.), open only at night during the week.
Cold tapas arrived in a flash and the lunchtime paella (ready in half the usual 45 minutes) was a pleasing mix of rice, chicken, fava beans and thin yellow beans, surprisingly good for a "quickie" paella ($7.95). We tussled over certain hot tapas: the tender grilled salmon in green peppercorn sauce ($6.25), beef tenderloin skewers set on caramelized onions ($5.50) and the queso de cabra with herbed toast. Our favorite was the jamon Iberico ($5.75), a platter of razor-thin ham, manchego cheese slices and toast topped with chopped tomato. Piled together, it's one of life's great taste treats: salty and cooling with a crunch.

Desserts are freshly made and very good. Flan ($3.25) has the appropriate jiggle, and we left not a bite of two specials, a chocolate-filled sponge cake and a chocolate-filled crepe ($3.95 each).

Our server was competent but a little rushed. She smiled and lingered only once, to help us correctly pronounce certain Spanish words.