Most of you know, I'm a fan of almost all things Rick Bayless. He was the nicest (yet also fiercest!) competitor on Top Chef, and I'm a long time fan of his show "One Plate at a Time". So when I started discussing an annual Restaurant Week meal w/my friend Z, I was more than excited when she suggested Topolobampo.
Restaurant Week Menu Review
First Course: Sopa Azteca - Pasilla broth with lime, avocado, tortilla strips and hand-made jack cheese
Review: More than anything I was immensely impressed with the presentation of the dish! First the plate of toasted tortilla strips, grilled chicken and jack cheese came to the table bare, adorned only by a single slice of avocado. What a delight, however, as the server soon poured out a hot broth from a single sized saucepan, tableside. The dish was a bit messy, with strings of jack cheese hanging from my mouth (I'm sure I was a classy date) but I couldn't stop dipping the large soup spoon into the bowl until near nothing remained.
Second Course: Puerco en Mole Poblano - Red chile-marinated, grill-roasted Maple Creek pork loin in Mexico’s classic fiesta sauce, mole poblano. Black beans, grilled green beans
Review: Both Z and I ordered the Puerco en Mole Poblano, each of us enticed by the Bayless famous mole. Each bite was quickly followed by an, "omg", with even the green beans packing flavor and punch. The beans were warm and filling, and the entire dish was floating above mole. Even better, Z thought to ask for hot sauce, upon which we we're brought a small bowl of habanero sauce and strong warnings of "please, it's very very spicy. only use a small amount." but greed gave in and large amounts of habanero we're slathered. Although extremely hot, the habanero sauce was done really well!
Third Course: Crepa con Cajeta - Warm, buttery crepes filled with plantain custard. Nieve de crema (sour cream sorbet), peanut crunch, homemade cajeta and bittersweet chocolate drizzle
Review: Jennifer Jones (Topolobampo Pastry Chef), I am forever your fan for introducing me to this awesome dish. This was amazing. Z and I had originally planned on hitting up Xoco post-meal for a churro and chocolate festival, but after such a larger portioned, filling meal followed by this amazing dessert, churros and chocolate was the last thing on my mind. This light crepe filled with rich plantains mixed with ice-cold sour cream sorbet was a perfect balance of everything that's right with this world.
The Service: Our waitress was so sweet, attentive to our needs, and carefully apprehensive to other requests (i.e., the one for hot sauce). Everyone was on their A-game, even though our meal was just for a lunch. Water glasses we're never empty, our quickly emptied plate never lingered, and out wait was totally forgotten in conversation, in other words really great harmony and flow in the service.
The Room: Topolobampo, Frontera and Xoco share a corner block that really should just be re-named Rick's Corner. Topolobampo's interior was filled with traditionally Mexican art, but brought together and displayed in a very upscale manner. The best surprise was seen on our way out, with the art installation of butterflies inspired by the annual staff trip to Mexico. I love everything about this place, the menu and Bayless!
Chicago Restaurant Week runs from Feb. 18 - 27. Topolobampo is located in River North at 445 N. Clark St.
