I just recently got back from Chicago and although Graham Elliot does not open until the Spring… (Mayish?) I managed to have myself a fabulous meal anyway. One of may ALL TIME favorite restaurants is Rick Bayless‘ two for the one Topolobampo/Frontera Grill. I discovered this place when I lived in Chicago a while back… before he had his TV show but after several really great cookbooks that I somehow had not discovered. I remember vividly, how adorable his daughter was (she must have been 10 or 12) one weekend lunch as she served all the patrons water. I love this place. I visit it every time I am in Chicago. They have the only drinkable Margarita’s in all of Chicago. (You can not get a decent Margarita in Chicago to save your life. Don’t order one in that town, save your taste-buds… I promise you they are awful).
So thankfully one my very short trip to Chicago I managed to make it to Frontera… and since that restaurant was full, we ended up at Topolobampo. I love both of these restaurants, but usually take the uninitiated to the Frontera side since it is a bit more approachable. We were seated after a tiny bit of confusion with the wait staff…. apparently they really are staffed very differently despite the shared space. We had all ordered a round of Margaritas. I have a Blue Agave one which was lovely and the rest of the crew had the traditional kind. I did have to convince one of my friends that a unfrozen Margarita was even better than the alcho-pop ones she was used to. (she agreed after trying it… but it took some doing to get her to order the darn thing) We took these wonderful beverages to out table and were enjoying a lovely chat.
Then the waiter came by with the menu… and he was a really great waiter by the way. Which had three choices of a 5-course tasting menu and then their traditional menu. I soooo… wanted to do the tasting menu and wine pairings but thought it would be way too pricey and I was not paying for dinner and there were four of us for the poor guy to pay for (well his company any way). So I looked and looked and waited to see what everyone else would order. Well, he managed to endear himself to me forever by convincing us all that we wanted the tasting menu and the accompanying wine selections (1/2 a glass per course!) YAY!
The Menu I selected was the Modern Mexican. An ode to Chef Patricia Quintana’s new cookbook Mulli.
Course 1
Callos Ahumadoas, Salsa Papanteca
Smoked New England Sea Scallops with salsa papanteca (chipotle, sesame, piloncillo) roasted garlic mayo. Pepita-sesame crucnh, Three Sisters Garden “shoots” salad, homemade fresh cheese.
Wine: Pairing 2005 DeFalco Greco Di Tufo, Campania, ItalyCourse 2
Ancho Relleno de “Huevos con Chorizo”
“Pickled” ancho chile stuffed with 45-minute slow-poached egg, homemade chorizo, and slow cooked favas. Guajillo-nata salsa.
Wine Pairing: 2006 Tablas Creek Vineyard “Cotes de Tables” Blanc, Paso Robles CaliforniaCourse 3
Caldo Michi de Lobina
Herb and chile marinated Blue Heron striped bass, pan-seared and served in luxurious caldo michi (rich fish broth, roasted apples and knob onions, xoconostle, carrots)
Wine Pairing: 2003 Cabanon Estate Bonarda, Oltrepo Pavese, Lombardia ItalyCourse 4
Lechon Pibil
Maple Creek Farm Pork two ways: achiote marinated, banana leaf roasted crispy skin suckling pig and grill roasted pork loin. Tracey’s organic black beans, guero chile salad lip smacking pibil pan juices, very spicy hababero salsa.
Wine Pairing: 2003 Reserva Marques De Vargas, Rioja SpainCourse 5
Tartaleta de Chocolate y Tamarindo
Tamarind Mole chocolate tart lucious bittersweet and Mexican chocolates tangy tamarind pasilla chile Tamarind almonds
Wine Pairing: 2006 Coume Del Mas Galateo Banyuls France
It was really, really wonderful:
The first course it still vividly remember the flavor of the smoked scallops. Lightly smokey, still with the delicate flavor of the scallop shining through. The wine was really great with the scallop… a very nice pairing to the smokiness. The pepita “crunch” was perfect with the smokey scallop and wine as well. A little crunch to go with all that soft roundness. Soooo…. goooood. I think this was my second favorite course.
The second course was the play on a chile relleno. Beautifully presented. The perfect rectangle of an ancho chile softly draped over the poached egg… all hiding the chorizo and the fava. These were accompanied by some of the all time best corn tortillas I have ever had the pleasure of eating. They were soft, just the right thickness, perfectly fresh and warm. These lovely tortillas need no butter. I made little tacitos with the egg and chorizo, chile and fava, in the tortilla. I could have eaten only this ALL night and been perfectly content. It was simply, perfectly amazing. I absolutely loved the wine that came with this. Perfect with the unctuous smoothness of the egg, and the spicy heat of the chile and chorizo. And as an aside… a 45 minute poached egg?! I had no idea you could do that. Must find out how that is done.
The third course was a lovely light soup. The fish was perfect and the apples were a surprising touch that was quite nice. This was a great transition into the meat course. Light and cleansing, it was lovely.
The fourth course was probably the weakest. Although I enjoyed it alot. The grill roasted pork was not as good as I have had. Drier than I expected. Once you made the tacito with the crispy pork, the bean, salsa, salad and those totally amazing tortillas it was completely satisfying. The wine was wonderful… the reason I asked for more info on the wines in the tasting menu. Loved, loved… but falling in love with a restaurant wine basically means I will never find it anywhere else.
the fifth and final course was really really great. I love Tamarind and the tartness of it matched with the chocolate was simply surprisingly great. Unfortunately I was well on my way to over full on the pork… so the dessert was not finished. Just more then I could really manage. Given the choice though I think I would prefer the little donut holes and chocolate sauce that one of the other tasting menus came from. That was amazing! The sweet port-like dessert wine was great with the tart and I would drink it again. Lighter then port, but still candy-like. It appealed to my Port-loving soul.
Lovely, lovely meal. PLEASE visit them if you have a chance. I think they are great and there is a meal there for every pocketbook!
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