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.

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