Address: | 445 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA |
Phone: | +1 312-661-1434 |
Site: | rickbayless.com |
Rating: | 4.3 |
Working: | Closed 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 5:30–10:30PM Closed |
ZO
Zorin Dobson
Some might now chef Rick Bayless from his series on PBS. In order to conjure up that memory you would have to reach way back to 1979, six years before my birth. You also may know him as the brother of ESPN announcer Skip Bayless. Others might know him as the very first winner of Top Chef Masters, also how I remember him. He went into that season and is portrayed as an underdog that rallies in order to win with his pedestrian Mexican dishes. We all want that which is comforting. I must admit it is hard for me to think of Mexican cuisine as something to be bought to a fine dining level. Once you taste the food here, you will be a believer. It was my first time at Topolobampo since Restaurant Week a year earlier, and I wish I would have went more often. In the meantime, my fix for Bayless dishes has been satisfied by eating at Tortas Frontera in the Chicago OHare airport. If you ever fly through OHare, it is a good place to stop in for a quick bite before your flight leaves. I often stop there if I have bags to claim on the way back as it gives just enough time for the bags to start at the baggage claim carousel. Dinner at Topolobampo is definitely a classy white tablecloth fine dining experience. The octagonal brown floor tiles break through any since of pompousness that may be present and bring things back down to earth. Combine that with the beautiful low hanging blue lights and comfortable booths and you feel as comforted as some of the amazing dishes you will eat. You would be remised to come all this way and not enjoy one of the signature Margaritas. I went for the Blood Orange Margarita. They are shaken for you tableside. These drinks are dangerous as you taste the sweetness of the blood orange with a little tanginess from the lime juice and subtle floral notes from the tequila. All in all a pretty awesome drink. Guacamole and chips, take the place of the bread and butter here. Their Guacamole (Capital G used on purpose because Bayless guac is so good that should be referred to as a proper noun) is the best Ive ever tasted. If a place like Topolobampo seems a little out of your price range, you can also try this dish at Tortra Frontera, or at the neighboring (and much cheaper) restaurant Xoco. The restaurant week menu started off with Beet Salad. It was pretty tasty, and you had the yummy bit of peanut oil. To be honest though the beet salad at Aria was a little bit better, but not by much. I also found the orange in the salad slightly too bitter. I added in the Soupa Azteca between the appetizer and main course. It is essentially a Chicken tortilla soup so good that in the middle of a Michelin star restaurant, you have to use tons of restraint in order to prevent yourself from picking up the bowl and licking up the tasty broth. The elegantly plated thin strips of crispy tortilla along with tender chicken get the wonderful earthy broth poured over them tableside from a beautiful copper saucepan. One stir and you can scoop up a bit gooey melted cheese at the bottom with each bite. (A similar soup is also served at Tortas Frontera, but Ive had it and it is great but not quite as good) The main course was pork shoulder. It was served with this tasty earthy black bean sauce. The dish also had corn tortillas. Im not a fan of corn tortillas at all to be honest, but Rick Bayless is kind of like the Godfather of Mexican cooking, constantly making you offers that you cant refuse. The tortillas are light and dont have that heavy, overpoweringly strong corn taste to them. For dessert you get these very rich and buttery crepes, served with a nice sweet cinnamon ice cream.
A
A Private User
Id like to address some of the other "bad" reviews. Small portions: Maybe theyre used to going to hole in the wall places (I love them, dont get me wrong) where you get a huge portion of food for a very reasonable price, but what one should consider is that as a Chef, you have to consider healthy portions. Keep in mind a meal should consist of 5 courses and that food is there for you to experience different emotions (yes, its true), flavors...etc. not just stuff your face and make you feel bloated for hrs. If thats what youre looking for, then dont bother going to any Chefs restaurant, stick with Burger King or hole in the wall places. Food poisoning: while I can see how this could have happened (I will explain) I dont believe there is anything wrong with the food quality or mode of preparation. Rick uses authentic ingredients which may have different bacteria (everything has bacteria, its just how your body is used to it that matters. Hence dont drink the water in a foreign place because while the locals are used to that bacteria, you are not. Its not because the water is bad) therefore your body may not be used to where the food came from and you may get sick. Some of the other criticisms include the food being "over-engineered", to which I say, if you dont want to train your palate to differentiate between complex flavors then you may want to stay away from restaurants with seasonal menus or innovative chefs. Overrated: Rick Bayless is one of very (VERY) few chefs with a real grasp for authentic Mexican cuisine. By that I dont mean authentic in the sense that some people that come from a small rural town and cook home cooked meals is authentic (Im Mexican, in case youre wondering), but he has a true understanding of the complex flavors of the country, from coast to coast, north to south. He brings together these flavors and complexity the way a French chef would. Sadly the people of the US are not used to this level of complexity because Mexican food to todays American consists of burritos (not a Mexican invention by the way) and tacos (I like tacos). Most of you reading probably have no idea (and probably wouldnt eat) what huitlacoche (French counterpart: truffles) is. Without dragging this on too much longer, dont bother going to any of Ricks restaurants if youre expecting run of the mill Mexican food with huge portions and expected flavors and dishes. BUT if youre looking for an authentic Mexican cuisine experience (complete experience, with sight, sound, feel, smell AND taste) then by all means dine here and experience the best Mexican restaurant in Chicago (understatement).
SH
shannon sterne
My man took me here as a surprise to celebrate my birthday. Im aware of how long it takes to get a reservation, so I was impressed he was on top of it! Im a Mexican foodie and Rick Bayless is awesome, so job well done! For the experience, the room for Topo is behind a sliding door that connects to Frontera. Its like you are seating in first class of a plane and they are coach. You definitely do feel a difference in atmosphere in this room. The overall decor was very dated, they probably could update the space, but it didnt seem like it was effecting anyones experience too much. he service was great, - everyone at the restaurant treated you with royalty. Although it was hard to understand our server at times - she had a thicker accent and my boyfriend is part Mexican and wasnt sure what she was saying half the time! But she did seem like she knew her stuff! We caught that she recommended the Sopa de Azteca and decided to start with that. It was amazing and was the highlight of the night! We will dream about this soup and only hope we can come back to try it again! I had the idea that I could make it when I came home, but saw the ingredient list was 20 deep and realized I could never handle such a task. We did not order the tasting menus because almost half of the items were fish and we arent big seafood eaters. We opted for the carne asada and the chicken. The portions were very underwhelming when they came out, but they looked nice. We were full anyways, so I guess it didnt matter. The carne asada was cooked more medium than the medium well, but it was fine - pretty good overall. The chicken was cooked perfectly - very moist, but the plate was nothing to write home about. We then got the tres leches for desert and it was wonderful. We drank sangrias, mojitos and the pisco sour - the mojito was probably the best of the bunch. I would probably come back if someone decides to surprise me (and pick up the tab) again! It was a nice experience overall and will be one of our more memorable dining experiences!