Having locked down the pairing of Scotch and sausage, the owners of Scotch & Sausage on Oak Lawn Avenue are now setting their sights on a companion taqueria. It'll open under the same roof at S&S, but it will instead focus on tacos and tequila.
"Our space is so big that we decided we ought to do something in the front half of the space," says co-owner Dylan Elchami. "The back half is where everyone goes to eat sausage; we've had this space we haven't utilized. We were already talking about opening a taqueria concept somewhere and figured, 'Let's do it here.'"
"We were already talking about opening a taqueria concept somewhere and figured, 'Let's do it here,'" says co-owner Dylan Elchami.
Although they'll still refer to their original concept as Scotch & Sausage, the whole thing will be folded under a bigger concept called S&S Whiskey Saloon and Tequileria, or "S&S" for short. Which is all very easy to understand. Elchami says they saw a need for a serious tequila and mescal bar.
"No one highlights tequila in the way it should be highlighted," he says. "We put together a program with top tequilas. You may not find Patron, but we'll offer something for the same price that tastes a lot better."
It won't be one of those bars with hundreds of bottles. They'll stock about 25 tequilas, smaller batch and limited-run that will rotate in and out. They'll also do margaritas, including a "skinny" frozen and five flavors such as cactus juice and coconut cream. "We expect we'll have one of the best agave programs in Uptown," he says.
Supervised by chef Joey Allette, their kitchen is large enough to accommodate taco preparation in addition to their sausages.
"It'll be all guisado style, everything's slow braised," Elchami says. "And we'll be using A+ rated meats: Choice brisket, Berkshire pork, antibiotic-free chicken breast, cooked in slow cookers overnight.
"We'll always have chicken, pork, beef and a veggie taco, and maybe change up the fish," he says. "We'll play with flavors seasonally. Every month we'll feature a different flavor profile. So you know you can get a chicken taco, but it'll have different ingredients."
He says they intend to make their own tortillas, both flour and corn, as well as two tamale options, chicken and beef.
It'll be open the same hours as Scotch & Sausage: Mondays from 4 pm to midnight, and Tuesdays through Sundays, from 11 am to "late night," which Elchami says is 1 or 2 in the morning, depending on demand.
"Just like Scotch & Sausage, it'll be very bar-driven, but we do want to be that type of bar you can have a glass of wine and get really good food," he says.
Scotch & Sausage is expanding into guisado-style tacos such as these.
The Cheese Lab offers creative twists on grilled cheese sandwiches. Photo courtesy of Cheese Lab 
BBQ Brisket Mac n Cheese Melty.Photo courtesy of Cheese Lab
Cheetos Ball.Photo courtesy of Cheese Lab