Norman Fenton opened Carino last year in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. He has worked at restaurants that had Michelin stars but this is his first time earning one as a chef and owner.
Kelly Sandos
Chicago restaurant Cariño garners its first Michelin star
The Uptown restaurant, which opened late last year, was recognized for its “boldness and creativity.”
A year after opening Cariño in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, the announcement that his restaurant, “a love letter to Mexico,” earned its first Michelin star this week left chef and owner Norman Fenton feeling validation.
“[Getting a Michelin star] just validates what I’ve been doing for over 20 years and what I focused my entire energy and life into,” Fenton told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. “I’ve missed a lot of moments over the past 20 years that most people would have enjoyed — birthdays, holidays — all at the expense of trying to perfect my craft.
“It means it’s just the start of an even more beautiful journey.”
That journey for Fenton began at age 14 when he was making prime ribs at a family-owned restaurant in suburban Detroit. After graduating from culinary school and working at restaurants in Michigan, he moved in 2015 to Chicago, where he landed at the Alinea Group’s The Aviary and then Schwa, where he helped maintain the restaurant’s Michelin star.
In 2019, he traveled to Tulum, Mexico, drawn to the town’s booming culinary scene. There, he met his wife, Karina, and his future business partner for Cariño, Karen Young, the owner of Wild Tulum. He became executive chef at Wild Tulum, a post he still holds in addition to running Cariño.
His wife hails from Cancun and their two sons were born there. When creating Cariño, “the inspiration comes from my family, from my wife and kids and them embracing me into their culture, teaching me about their culture,” Fenton said.
“[Cariño] is really just a love letter to Mexico and the people there, and the people that have accepted me into their culture and embraced the different viewpoints I’ve had with some of the cooking, flavor profiles and everything within the food.”
One dish that received praise from the Michelin Guide was the ravioli with huitlacoche, a “beautiful ingredient” embraced in Mexico.
“Here in the States, we call it corn smut and the farmers were taught to eradicate it with pesticides because it was undesirable because of the way it looked. In Mexico, they embraced it and found a way to utilize it. And I think that speaks very true to their culture of how they’re very economical and how they utilize a lot of things that come from their country.”
At Cariño, 4662 N. Broadway, he celebrates huitlacoche’s “nutty, roasty, unique flavor” in the ravioli dish that’s layered with different kinds of corn ingredients, “and then, because it’s the truffle in Mexico, we pair with a little bit of truffle, and then, boom, we have a pretty stunning pasta dish that will probably never leave the menu.”
The Michelin Guide lauded Fenton for his “distinct, ambitious manner” in his approach to Mexican cuisine.
“Indeed, this tasting menu features boldness and creativity in spades, starting with ‘chips and salsa’ in the form of salsa verde jelly and a tortilla crumble. The best seats are at the counter, which offer an up-close view of this small team, all of whom work diligently and engage with guests freely.”
Also in Chicago, Alinea retained its three stars as did Smyth, which garnered three stars last year. Logan Square pasta-focused hot spot Daisies received a Green Star, honoring sustainability, for the second year in a row.
Complete list of 2024 Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago
Three Michelin Stars
Alinea
Cuisine: Creative
Smyth
Cuisine: Contemporary
Two Michelin Stars
Ever
Cuisine: Modern
Oriole
Cuisine: Contemporary
One Michelin Star
Atelier
Cuisine: American
Boka
Cuisine: Contemporary
Cariño
Cuisine: Mexican
EL Ideas
Cuisine: Contemporary
Elske
Cuisine: Contemporary
Esmé
Cuisine: Contemporary
Galit
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Indienne
Cuisine: Indian
Kasama
Cuisine: Filipino
Mako
Cuisine: Japanese
Moody Tongue
Cuisine: Contemporary
Next
Cuisine: Contemporary
Schwa
Cuisine: Contemporary
Sepia
Cuisine: American
Topolobampo
Cuisine: Mexican
Green Star
Daisies
Cuisine: Italian
Bib Gourmands
The Michelin Guide also named its list of Chicago restaurants that are Bib Gourmands. These awards recognize restaurants that offer “a three-course meal at a reasonable price.”
“What Bib restaurants do have in common is their simpler style of cooking, which is recognizable and easy-to-eat. A Bib Gourmand restaurant will also leave you with a sense of satisfaction, at having eaten so well at such a reasonable price,” according to Michelin.
The latest restaurant to join the list of unique and more budget-friendly restaurants is Sifr in River North. Michelin called it a “Middle Eastern charmer” and highlighted the hummus as “a gorgeous mosaic of charred green chickpeas, crispy chickpeas, zhoug, and za’atar raise this familiar dish to wonderful heights.”
There are 38 total restaurants to be recognized. Here’s the complete list of Chicago’s 2024 Bib Gourmands:
Birrieria Zaragoza
Cuisine: Mexican
Boonie’s
Cuisine: Filipino
Cellar Door Provisions
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar
Cuisine: Chinese
Chilam Balam
Cuisine: Mexican
Ciccio Mio
Cuisine: Italian
Daisies
Cuisine: Italian
Dear Margaret
Cuisine: Contemporary
Frontera Grill
Cuisine: Mexican
Ghin Khao
Cuisine: Thai
Giant
Cuisine: American
Gilt Bar
Cuisine: Gastropub
Girl & The Goat
Cuisine: Contemporary
HaiSous
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Kie-Gol-Lanee
Cuisine: Mexican
Lardon
Cuisine: Deli
Longman & Eagle
Cuisine: Gastropub
Lula Cafe
Cuisine: American
Mama Delia
Cuisine: Spanish
mfk.
Cuisine: Spanish
Mi Tocaya
Cuisine: Mexican
Mott St.
Cuisine: Fusion
Munno Pizzeria & Bistro
Cuisine: Pizza
Perilla
Cuisine: Korean
Pleasant House Pub
Cuisine: Gastropub
Pompette
Cuisine: Contemporary
Proxi
Cuisine: International
Sochi
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Sol de Mexico
Cuisine: Mexican
Superkhana International
Cuisine: Indian
Table, Donkey and Stick
Cuisine: Austrian
The Duck Inn
Cuisine: Gastropub
The Purple Pig
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Tortello Pastificio
Cuisine: Italian
Union
Cuisine: American
Virtue
Cuisine: Southern
Yao Yao
Cuisine: Chinese
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