Feast of flavors at Rick Bayless’s XOCO

I typically have a constant craving for Mexican food, but lately I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on my favorite milanesa torta. And of course it’s at one of the best Mexican joints in town, Rick Bayless’s XOCO.

I’ve written about it on Chicago Food Fights before, but it’s worth repeating: if you want quality Mexican food for a decent price, there’s no better place than XOCO. Seriously. If you haven’t been here yet, then you’re truly missing out on some amazing flavors. So today, while I had a hankering for my usual order, a chicken milanesa, me and my hubby decided to order a few things to give them a try.

Absolutely everything, no surprise here, was packed with flavor.

The meal started with some great chips, guacamole, and salsa. The guacamole is super fresh here and creamy. It’s one of my favorites. (But I also love Big Star’s guacamole, which seems to use different avocados, and they add some fresh radishes to the mix).

Next came some Pickled Pigs’ Feet Tostadas (one order includes two small servings). Now I’ve never had pig’s feet, so this was where trying something completely new came in. The toppings, including jalapeno-picked vegetables, crema, and cilantro, were spot on... but the pig’s feet? Very chewy.

Unfortunately I couldn’t passed that texture and only took a couple bites. After all though too - I had to save room for the tortas. 

My husband got the Thursday special of the day, Al Pastor. As if the red chile smoked pork didn’t pack enough flavor, it was topped with some delicious queso fresco, grilled onions, and pineapple-tomatillo salsa. It seriously oozes with flavor. Even once you get full, you’re going to want to eat every last drop.


And then there’s my all-time favorite, the chicken milanesa. Don’t get me wrong. There’s other tortas I love in the city (including at the incredibly inexpensive La Pasadita), but Rick Bayless at XOCO takes this milanesa to a whole new level.

Maybe it’s because it’s cooked on a griddle, unlike the other tortas in a wood-fired oven, and so it offers the perfect amount of crisp. Or maybe it’s because they use Gunthrop chicken. Or maybe it’s the way the jalapeno Jack cheese and pickled jalapenos add to the sandwich. Or maybe it’s even the tomatillo-avocado salsa, which adds the right amount of spicy heat. But really, I’m sure it’s all of these things combined.

It’s, hands down, the best milanesa torta in the city. And I’m already dreaming of the next time I go back.

Food fight preview: chicken tacos!

Ok, so tacos aren't a decidedly Chicago dish by any means--unless you count the tortillas, which are made by Chicago food manufacturers like Azteca Foods, El Milgaro, and Del Rey (and I'm sure I don't know them all). But, like hot dogs, taco stands and restaurants litter the city from hole-in-the-wall joints to upscale restaurants run by none other than Top Chef Master Rick Bayless--so why not feature them in a food fight?

The taco, of course, originated from the indigenous people who lived in the area now known as Mexico back in 3000 B.C. The tortilla, back then, was called the tlaxcalli, which was often filled with various toppings--just like we fill them today. But unlike the original taco, we won't be topping our tortillas with fish, locusts, and snails.

Rather, we're going for chicken. No pork, no steak, no beef--just chicken, simply for ease of comparison.

All of the food fight participants will bring their own favorite tacos--from places such as La Pasadita, Picante, Frontera Fresco, among others--after ordering them 'as is' off the menu. Once gathered, we'll divvy them up and vote!

Where do you get your favorite taco in Chicago? Which restaurant should be in this Mexican food fight? Share your opinions below!

In praise of Topolabampo

I already spent a lengthy post praising XOCO restaurant, but now it's time to heap the praise on another Rick Bayless restaurant. I don't normally frequent fine dining establishments, but ever since my boyfriend Tyler got into cooking Mexican food (long before Bayless won on Top Chef Masters), he's been enamoured with the ingredients, cooking styles, and pretty much anything Bayless-related - so it only made sense for us to take a trip to the one Bayless restaurant we hadn't yet frequented: Topolabampo.

Luckily, we made the restaurant reservation for four - for Tyler, his parents, and me - days before Bayless won Top Chef Master. Wait times for reservations are even longer now; plan on calling at least six to eight weeks ahead of your desired reservation date/time.

There really is nothing bad I can say about this place. Yes, prices are high, attire is formal, and reservation wait time can be long - but you're not going to find better quality food or service at any other place, whether it's a Mexican restaurant or not.

Whether ordering the ahi tuna in Bayless's signature black mole sauce, or the trio of ceviches, or any number of other dishes like we did this past Tuesday night, the food experience at Topolabampo is an amazing treat to the senses and the tastebuds.

After eating our two appetizers (and oohing and ahhing over the black mole), Tyler just happened to mention to our waitress that he'd love to get a picture with Chef Brian Enyart, the restaurant's Chef de Cuisine, or head chef, at Topolabampo. Amazingly, this tactic worked. Within minutes, our waitress whisked Tyler & I away to the kitchen doors, where Brian appeared moments later to shake our hands and take a picture with Tyler.


The shock of meeting such an amazingly talented chef - who was working on our meals - kind of made us giddy with excitement. Did that really just happen? Was it really just that easy? Sure, people associate Bayless with Topolabampo because he's the owner - but Chef Enyart is the HEAD CHEF. He's in charge of the food we were about to eat!

And the food is why you're reading this - not to hear about my latest food celebrity encounter/handshake. (Granted, it is pretty awesome that I not only met Chef Enyart but also saw Rick Bayless in person all in one week; yeah, I know I'm bragging).

Everyone ordered someone different - the lamb, the halibut, the hen, and the trout. Sounds pretty simple, right? Think again. When deconstructed, each part of the meal seemed somewhat average. I tasted my the main part of my dish, the halibut, by itself and thought it was okay. But the true test of the dish comes when you tie all the different parts together.

Every dish comes with a sauce, poured onto the plate by the server just before you take a bite. The halibut, after dipping it into the green squash blossom sauce, suddenly had layers of flavor. One moment delicate and barely there, another moment sweet. The sauce encouraged me to savor every bite. And then there was the side items that decorated the plate. The crunchy spinach, filled with Oaxacan string cheese, crumbled in my mouth. It, too, tasted absolutely divine with the sauce and the halibut. This was not unusual. Every piece of every dish - in which everyone shared - worked so incredibly well together in large part because of the complex sauces that come with every plate.

While I never ever wanted these flavors to leave my mouth, the servers brought a small truffle to finish off our meal. Considering the chocolate was the size of a marble, it was yet another shock to the system how much flavor exploded with each nibbling bite; again, you have to savor every bite of every thing they serve you. The service itself is spectacular; keeping in mind the fact that the server arranged for us to meet Chef Brian, she also was attentive to the fact that we needed to leave by 7:45 and had many recommendations for what to drink and eat.

My praise for Topolabampo and Bayless's restaurants is done, for now. I hope this answers the question: when you want a special night out and a lavish dinner, where do you go in Chicago?

Topolabampo

445 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654

Ph.: 312-661-1434

Mexican food winner: XOCO

Rick Bayless makes the food at XOCO, need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway.
Photo: Fuzzy Gerdes/Flickr

Gold Coast Dogs is to Hot Doug's as Burrito House is to XOCO. In other words, XOCO is in a class of its own. Unless you're comparing XOCO (which in ancient Aztec language is slang for "little sister") to the other Rick Bayless restaurants - Frontera Grill, Frontera Fresco, and Topolobampo - there is no comparison. Just as in the other Bayless restaurants, the wait will be long but your growling stomach will for sure be satisfied.

The restaurant's website proclaims that XOCO is a quick-service cafe that serves contemporary street food - but this definitely isn't your typical street side vendor. (For one, service isn't that quick when there's a line going out the door). After standing in line, orders are placed with the cashier, and you take a number before being shown to one of forty available seats. Chips do not come with every meal, but can be ordered for $3 with salsa or $4 with guacamole.

Tortas are available starting at 11am, and caldos, or meal-in-a-bowl soups, are available beginning at 3pm. The typical drinks line the menu, but hot chocolate drinks, made from Mexican cacao beans that are ground right there in the restaurant, are available as well.

To supplement my Wednesday lunch, I ordered a churro, made in the XOCO kitchen, which came warm on my plate and covered in plenty of sugar. I tried to ignore the temptation of eating it before my torta arrived, but gave in easily, making dessert my appetizer. Both crunchy and soft, the sugar fell onto the plate with each bite.

Just as we were done with the churros and waiting for the food to be delivered to the table, out walks Rick Bayless from the back kitchen. It took me a second to realize that he was there, not on the TV show Top Chef Masters, but right there in the restaurant, wearing his white chef jacket, standing two feet away from me. TWO FEET! Very surreal. But also really cool to know that one of the best chefs in the country - even before he was dubbed so by the Bravo TV show - was making the food I was just about to eat.

Oh the tortas! First, cooked in the wood burning oven, the torta bread on the choriqueso was crunchy. The filling was made of a spicy chorizo tempered by jack cheese and the tangy taste of a tomatillo salsa. Some roasted poblano rounded off the dish, giving it just a bit more kick and crunch.

While I enjoyed the choriqueso, the cochinita pibil torta won me over with an explosion of flavors. The heart of this dish is tender suckling pig meat, which is slow-cooked to soak up the marinade of citrus - from orange and lemon juice, typically - and achiote, which adds both a sweet and slightly peppery taste. Pickled onions, made with a dash of cumin, add a bit more sweetness as well as a crunch (a different variety of crunch than the torta bread provides). A habanero sauce came on the side, but I didn't dare use more than a drop for fear of burning away my taste buds. The black beans somewhat got lost in the mix, but otherwise all the flavors intertwined wonderfully, resulting in a hearty taste that makes you never want to take a sip of your drink again - even if it is one of XOCO's chocolate drinks that are sinfully delicious and have the consistency of pudding - because you don't want the taste to leave your mouth and you can't imagine Mexican food ever tasting this good again.

Seriously. It's that good. Don't believe me? Go try XOCO for yourself and then tell me what you think.

XOCO
449 North Clark Street (enter on Illinois St.)
Chicago, IL 60654
Ph.: 312-334-3688
Hours:
Tues.-Fri.: 7:00am – 9:00pm
Sat.: 8:00am – 9:00pm