Yesterday, Laura and I decided to return to XOCO, Rick Bayless' popular take on Mexican street food, for lunch. Appropriately enough, XOCO (pronounced "shoh-coh") is Mexican slang for "little sister," which is how the cafe is viewed within the Bayless empire. And although XOCO is Bayless' foray into quick-service dining, the tenets of sustainability and local sourcing that govern both Frontera and Topolobompo apply here as well.
Laura and I have been to XOCO for lunch before, right when it opened and the lines were spanning entire city blocks. So it was nice that there was only a reasonable line inside the actual cafe when we arrived. However, even though the lines seem to be a bit more manageable these days, it should be noted that XOCO's system of ordering food and being seated is a little... different. You walk in, get in line, place an order at the counter. Standard fare, except for one twist. While you're in line, a hostess approaches to ask about your seating preferences (aka tell you what's available -- "Counter service okay?"). After you've placed your food order, you reconnect with said hostess so that she can lead you to your seats.
The XOCO menu is divided into parts: tortas from the wood-burning oven, tortas from the griddle, caldos, salads and sides, pastries and bean-to-cup chocolate. (FYI, tortas are sandwiches -- or paninis in the case of those from the griddle -- which are served anytime after 11:00 a.m. and caldos are hearty soups that are served only after 3:00 p.m.)
The tortas from the wood-burning oven are served on big, hearty rolls that are a little too robust for my liking. The bread is fresh and tasty, but the rolls are so big that they get in the way of managing to incorporate every delicious element of the sandwich in each bite. Also, when you bite into the torta, it's easy to lose a lot of the filling, which tends to spill out over the sides. (This is especially true for tortas like the Gunthorp Chicken Breast torta since the pieces of chicken aren't uniformly shaped and don't really lie flat.)
The tortas from the griddle are like delicious paninis with what is, in my opinion, a much better bread-to-other-ingredients ratio since they're made with thinner bread.
All right, that's enough of the overview. Time to get down to business. Between the two of us, Laura and I ordered the chips and guacamole, the Choriqueso torta, the Milanesa torta, the Mexican chocolate hazelnut cookie and the Polvoron.
The guacamole is solid at XOCO. Nothing crazy or crazy creative, just good solid guacamole. They do stick a couple of radishes in it though, so that's a little something different. But other than that, it's pretty straight forward guacamole served with chips that are perfectly crispy without being overly greasy.
The Choriqueso torta is one that's prepared in the wood-burning oven on the hearty rolls. I know I just talked about how the bread on these tortas is too much, but the choriqueso works much better with this bread than the Gunthorp chicken breast did. Here's why: the ingredients themselves don't add as much volume in addition to the bread. You've got Rick Bayless' delicious homemade chorizo, roasted poblano peppers, artisan Jack cheese and a delicious tomatillo salsa. All of these ingredients lie flat -- and therefore, manage to stay in the sandwich when you take a bite. It's a fabulous blend of spicy, smokey and savory. Great sandwich.
However, I have to say that the Milanesa is my favorite sandwich I've had at XOCO thus far. This little panini-like sandwich is one of those "from the griddle" tortas, composed of crispy Gunthorp chicken breast (nothing but the best for Rick) that's been pounded out so it's thin and manageable in panini form, coated in breading and all kinds of amazing spices then fried, black beans that have been coarsely combined so that they're really more of a spread than actual beans, artisan Jack cheese, pickled jalapenos and the amazing XOCO tomatillo salsa. The sandwich is also supposed to come with cilantro crema, but due to my hatred of creamy condiments that interfere with my heat, I took a pass on that. This sandwich is phenomenal. When I first saw it, I thought "wow, this looks like something a little too fried for my liking" -- as somehow I'd missed the "crispy" description of the chicken in the menu. But it was love at first bite. Every element was in perfect balance and all of the ingredients played off of one another in perfect harmony. I could eat this sandwich every day of my life. For real.
Laura and I closed the meal down with two perfect, albeit very unnecessary, cookies. We had the Mexican chocolate hazelnut cookie and the Polvoron, a Mexican shortbread creation that reminded me of a big Mexican wedding cookie. (People with nut allergies beware -- they're ground up and sneakily incorporated into this cookie.) Both were extremely tasty. I'm glad that Laura suggested making a diversion from our usual chocolate and churros selection. I thought I'd regret it, but I have to say that the pastries do represent at XOCO as well.
Speaking of chocolate and churros, definitely try them. The churros are a level above anything I've had anywhere else in the U.S. They're served warm, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside... and the flavor is perfect. To supplement the churros, Rick also turns out traditional thick, high quality chocolate served hot and in a cup (like hot chocolate, but thicker, richer and infinitely better). There are four options: authentic (freshly ground chocolate and water), Aztec (freshly ground chocolate, chilis, allspice and water), chocolate (a chocolate shot and 2% milk) and Barcelona, which I've never had and which is described only as "thick and rich." My favorite of the options is the Aztec, as I love spiced Mexican chocolate. (Well, really, I love anything spicy.) But I have yet to meet a chocolate at XOCO that I don't like.
Next on my list of things to try there: the seafood caldo, which was recently written up in Chicago Magazine's list of the 30 Best Mexican Dishes in the city. Have you had the seafood caldo? Is there something I haven't mentioned that you think is an absolute must-try? Let me know.
XOCO is located at 449 N. Clark Street (right next to Topolobampo and Frontera Grill), on the corner of Clark and Illinois. (The entrance is on Illinois.)
I have been dying to go to Big Star since it opened, but hadn't made it over since I just haven't been around Bucktown much lately. However, I couldn't wait any longer and some friends and I made plans to go for a late lunch/early happy hour.
For those who haven't heard, Big Star is the latest "street food" venture by well-known gourmet chefs. The main man behind Big Star is Chef Paul Kahan of Blackbird, Avec and Publican acclaim. Let me tell you, the man knows what he's doing with this honkey tonk taco stand in the former Pontiac Cafe space on Damen -- and he's gotta be bringing home big money. The place is crowded at all times.
My friends and I snagged seats on their patio. Big Star specializes in whiskey and is supposed to have some pretty amazing cocktails, as the man running the libations part of this show is the same mastermind behind Big Star's famous neighbor, The Violet Hour. Though it was tempting, we felt that 2:00 p.m. was a little too early to start hitting the hard stuff. Instead, we decided on some Tecate (and Miller High Life). And then we concentrated on the menu.
Naturally, I ordered pretty much everything on it. Literally. We ordered some chips and guacamole and some queso fundido to start. The guacamole was delicious. It may rival Adobo in terms of delicious gauc in Chicago. The chips were a little bit hit or miss in terms of uniform crispiness, but the guac absolutely made up for them.
The queso fundido was absolutely the best queso fundido I've had in a long time. It was layers of deliciousness -- a layer of roasted poblano peppers, followed by chorizo, followed by delicious melted cheese. It was savory and spicy and a little bit sweet mixed with gooey cheesy goodness. I need to eat it again soon.
Then I ordered four tacos... for myself. But most importantly, between the three of us, here's what we had:
Tacos Al Pastor (traditional pork shoulder with grilled pineapple)
Tacos de Borrego (lamb shoulder)
Tacos de Panza (pork belly)
Tacos de Raza de Poblano (poblano chilis)
Tostada de Pollo (chicken tostada)
The Tacos al Pastor were awesome. The sweetness of the grilled pineapple is the perfect complement to the savory pork shoulder. A classic favorite done well.
The Tacos de Panza, with pork belly and a fabulous tomato-guajillo sauce, topped off with onions, cilantro and queso fresco, were probably my favorite of the tacos I tried. The savory richness of the pork belly was tempered by the sauce and the onions. The cilantro added some freshness and the queso fresco balanced everything out. This was probably my favorite menu item. Definitely give it a try.
The Tacos de Raza de Poblano were also tasty -- a nice combination of roasted sweetness from the poblanos, along with some cheesy, creamy goodness and a hint of spice. Well done.
The Tacos de Borrego were the low point of my meal for the simple reason that it lacked the complexity I found in the rest of the dishes I tried. I love lamb and think it's great that more and more chefs are doing interesting things with it. However, it's a tricky meat since it is so rich (read: fatty) and can have a flavor that may be too gamey for some people's taste. The Tacos de Borrego fell victim to lamb's richness. It was overwhelming -- even thought the taco also featured radishes (interesting!) and queso fresco. Maybe I just got a taco that didn't have enough radish because that flavor should do the trick to cut into the richness and balance it out. Instead, it just tasted like I was eating flour tortilla, lamb and queso fresco. Disappointing.
The Tostada de Pollo was fabulous -- and I even went ahead and got it with the poblano crema (big step since I absolutely abhor sour cream -- and all creamy condiments really)! It was so well done. The flavors combined perfectly -- and there were many layers of them. The tostada was crispy, the chicken thigh was perfectly cooked, the black beans added depth, the crema was not overwhelming and added a cool creaminess. The spices and red onions added a pop of fresh flavor that rounded the whole thing out impeccably.
The service was great -- everyone from the hostess to the servers were super friendly and attentive. I'm happy to report that I didn't experience any attitude here, despite the fact that it's on everyone's hot list. And with good reason, since the food's delicious and it is home to one of the absolute best patios in the city. The people-watching is incredible. Such a fun place to spend an afternoon. (And by the way, our tab only came out to a total of $63 for food and drink for three people, all of whom had between 3-4 beers each. Awesome.)
I can't wait to get back to Big Star to try everything else on the menu -- and I'll definitely be ordering up some more Tacos Al Pastor, Tacos de Panza and Tostadas de Pollo. Since I didn't try any whiskey or cocktails during this visit, I absolutely plan to do so next time around.
Way to live up to the hype, Big Star. See you again soon.
As soon as I heard about Lakeview's new Mexican BYOB Chilam Balam earlier this year, I was busting out emails left and right to assemble my foodie posse and give this place a try. A super young chef who cut his teeth at both Frontera and Adobo -- and whose philosophy stresses the importance of using seasonal, local ingredients and sustainability? I smelled the potential for greatness.
Chilam Balam delivered in every sense of the word. Some friends and I went shortly after it opened and I am obsessed with it. Warning ahead of time: the space is small and it is still drawing huge crowds. This means that there is always a wait and the restaurant gets loud. Don't bring Grandpa.
It's a new season since I dined there, so the menu may be different now -- but don't worry, the high quality local, seasonal ingredients are what really drive the greatness behind the dishes. And I'm confident that's still the case.
Nonetheless, when we went...
Three of us ordered six small plates and I got an order of the soup, which was corn with cream topped with Shitake mushrooms. The soup was honestly some of the most delicious soup I've ever had. Every single small plate was impressive: the halibut ceviche, the memelas, the flautas, the two salads (one greens with poblano dressing, the other heirloom tomato) and the empanadas. The balance the chef executed within each of the dishes was probably the most impressive part of the meal -- and he did it again and again.For dessert, we ordered the chocolate chili mousse with a spiced goat cheese center and empanadas filled with peanut butter and served with black mission fig and chocolate sauces. The empanadas were the shining star -- completely outstanding -- but the chocolate chili mousse was tasty as well.
Just thinking about the empanadas makes me realize I need to get back there ASAP! A foodie friend I went with says she literally dreams about them sometimes.
I'd highly recommend Chilam Balam: a restaurant on a mission to preserve the planet with delicious food for reasonable prices.
To learn more about Chilam Balam, visit their website: http://www.chilambalamchicago.com/
I love guacamole. I used to make it multiple times a week -- experimenting with different variations on my recipe and loving every minute -- until I was forced to acknowledge that my mass avocado/chip consumption was making me fat as a bastard.
Though I've cut back on quantity since then, I have a hard time imagining a more perfect summer scenario than enjoying some quality chips and guacamole with margaritas (or delicious Mexican beers) and good friends on an outdoor patio.
Enter Adobo Grill. While I've had mixed experiences with their entrees, nothing beats their guacamole. This was confirmed after a day at the beach with Jenny, when we decided to do an impromptu progressive dinner in Old Town. Naturally, our first stop was Adobo for some margaritas and delicious chips and guacamole.
I am happy to report that it still gets my title for the best guac in the city. Made fresh tableside, you're asked to select your desired level of spiciness: mild, medium or hot. Since Jenny and I love to supplement chips and guacamole with salsa, we went with medium -- which had the perfect level of kick for us. (Note: the medium is still relatively spicy, so definitely stick to the mild if you don't have much of a tolerance for heat.)
Adobo's salsa sampling is featured in the photo above as well. While some of the four flavors (pico de gallo, chipotle, verde and hot) are more interesting than others, it really pales in comparison to what Adobo does best: chips and guacamole.
