Maya del Sol – Oak Park, IL

I was so lucky today! Along with about 15 other people, I get to test a possible lunch menu for a restaurant in my town called May del Sol. They’ve been open for a while, but soon will be open for lunch in a few weeks and wanted to test the menu. It was like I was a judge on Top Chef or something! Plate after plate of different foods came out, were explained and we got to write down what we liked or didn’t like about it. It was so cool!

The architecture firm I work at designs restaurants, (Aria Group Architects, Inc.) and friends of mine at work designed the interior of the restaurant so I got to know the owners very well during the long construction process. In the end, the restaurant turned out great and they have an awesome outdoor patio with an outdoor bar, lots of seating, a fire pit and gorgeous flowers and plants.

Here are some of the shots I took today.

Here are some pics of the interior:

And, of course the main reason for me going there was to try the food! The menu is still being tweaked, but this is what I got to try today.

This dish was kind of on a flat bread, it had steak, avocado, pico de gallo, black beans, it was one of my favorites!

This was salmon that is smoked in house with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and an awesome vinaigrette. I am not a huge fan of salmon usually, but I ate this whole thing! – Wonderful!

This was tamales that had roasted chicken inside that is cooked in a banana leaf. I ate my whole portion of this too, it was amazing!

This was a salmon burger, the bread on this sandwich was so tender and the flavors of whatever the chef made with the salmon was out of this world.

This was another one of my favorites, it had three different kinds of cheese, and a really spicy but flavorful sauce on top.

And this chicken sandwich, the chicken was so tender, the bun they used was perfect. I hope this one stays on the menu!

So, all in all, it was such a great experience, we got to meet the chef as well as the General Manager, and I already know the Owners!

Maya del Sol is located at 144 S. Oak Park Ave. Valet parking is available. Their website is www.mayadelsol.com. Their phone number is 708-358-9800. They are open for dinner every night and for Sunday brunch. The Friday and Saturday lunch will start within the next month, so look out for it! You can also book the back patio for a private party too!