Healthy Eating at Hota in Evanston

by Lee A. Litas
Dining Columnist

“Imagine I take you for a date and say, ‘Come, I want to take you to a healthy place.’ What would you say?” It’s a provocative question and one which Jona Silva, executive chef and owner of newly-wrought Hota (formerly Jacky’s on Prairie) in Evanston, thinks the majority of people would automatically eschew.

“We call it the Stealth Movement because a lot of people get turned off by the word ‘healthy.’ It’s not romantic, it’s not trendy, it’s not anything (but) as a responsible chef, that is how you should be cooking,” said Silva.

Silva points to the fact that the function of the restaurant has changed in society. “Twenty years ago we would go to restaurants to celebrate special occasions. Today people eat out almost every day. So restaurants are where people are getting their nutrition.” As a responsible chef, Silva believes in making sure that what he is serving makes sense from a nutritious point of view.

“At the end of the day your food has to be nutritious and served with purpose, the way it was intended to be,” said Silva.

This focus is not surprising as Silva and his co-owner and wife, chef Erin Winston, met while working in a vegetarian café. Adding their cultural histories to the mix which have taken the two individually from Mexico to Spain to France to Montreal, and the resulting cuisine at Hota (a stylistic wording of the Spanish letter “J”) is an eclectic mix of all the cultures with an emphasis on healthy eating.

For starters or light meal, Silva offers Flautas, a delicacy direct from his homeland in Mexico. Filled with duck confit and covered with crème frâiche and queso fresco, the spicy dish carries a bit of zing. Its rich red sauce, far from being sweet, borders on the bitter and is made complex with the crunchy texture of hand-made tortilla flutes ($7).

The Roasted Beets salad takes everyone’s favorite vegetable these days and offers a pared-down version. Large wedges of al dente-roasted golden and red beets are served with Capriole goat cheese, orange vinaigrette and pistachios; perfect for in-between courses to cleanse your palate or instead of dessert, as the French and Italians do, for a light finish to your meal ($7).

For main course, the Langoustine Estilo Coyuca is a specialty of the chef. Infused with bits of squid and ink, the arroz negro is reminiscent of Spanish paella yet smooth enough to be a risotto. The langostinos veritably swim down your throat to a very happy stomach ($28 / $14 - half portion).

“The main point is the delicious food and the ambiance. (People) don’t know that they are also eating well,” said Silva.