Topolobambo - Chicago Dine Out

Had lunch at Topolobambo today as part of the Chicago Dine Out--$20, three courses, and a bottle of San Pellegrino. Overall, it was a very nice meal, well worth the cost, a great opportunity to try an excellent, well-reputed restaurant for a reasonable price. Lunch, in general, I suppose, is a good way to sample some of the cooking at the higher end places in town, though even $20 far exceeds my regular lunch budget of bring a sandwich from home and a piece of fruit. The on-menu price for the prix fixe items was probably about $30, to give you an idea of the savings.

I ate:

Sopa Azteca--Dark broth flavored with pasilla chile, garnished with chicken breast, avocado, Amish handmade cheese, thick cream and crisp tortilla strips

Good soup, generous portion, very much as described. The pasilla certainly made its presence known, in a good way. The broth was quite rich. The texture of the chicken was a bit unpleasantly mushy, but the tortilla strips maintained an excellent crunch as I slurped my way to the bottom of the bowl.

Puerco en Salsa de Huitlacoche--Maple Creek Farm pork loin with earthy sauce of corn mushroom, pasilla chile and roasted garlic; served with savory Veracruz-style fresh corn torta, braised verdolagas and esquites from Three Sisters garden sweet corn

As you can see, the menu descriptions are a bit precious. I enjoyed this dish, but there were a few too many things going on. It was served with freshly-made tortillas and garnished with another unmentioned herb with long thin leaves--pepicha, maybe? The sauce was colored deep brownish-red by the pasilla; the huitlacoche added a subtle mushroomy undertone, but did not hit you with its full fungal force. I don't like "corn mushroom" (a bit euphemistic, no?) nearly as much as "corn smut." "Savory Veraruz-style fresh corn torta" must be Spanish for cornbread. It was very good cornbread, and a nice compliment to the sauce. I'm not sure quite what made the corn esquites, as it was pretty much just tossed in with everything else. But then again, I don't know much about esquites.

Crepas con Cajeta--Buttered crepes with homemade cajeta (goat milk caramel), toasted pecans, fresh fruit and sweet plantains

This dessert is typical of fancy Mexican places. I think they really get excited about goat milk caramel. The cajeta does have a pronounced goat flavor that some find off-putting, but I rather enjoyed it. I don't recall any plantains but the berries were mmm mmm good. A nice end to the meal.

Oh, and the meal began with some fresh guacamole, very good, wonderfully creamy texture with a nice punch of lime. The chips were not as fresh as I would expect, but perfectly fine in service of the guac.

While I greatly enjoyed my lunch, I won't rush back to have it again tomorrow. None of the dishes blew me away, though I thought they were all quite good. At $20, I feel like I got a pretty good deal. At $30, not so much. If I went for dinner and had a similar meal for $40+, I'd feel like I got ripped off. But again, it's not exactly fair to judge the place on their three-course prix fixe for charity.

Incidentally, my lunch companion was a co-worker who grew up in Guadalajara, and constantly mocks my praise of "high-end" Mexican cuisine. "There is no high end in Mexico," he likes to explain. He enjoyed the meal well enough, but was fairly taken aback by what he called "southern flavors," that didn't fit his experience of Mexican food from his home and his family. The fellow's a good cook and has a great appreciation for the food of his homeland, so I found these remarks very interesting, if not completely surprising.

Tell your friend he's an idiot.

There's certainly plenty of upscale Mexican in Mexico. Patricia Quintana's restaurants in Mexico City are probably the most famous. I don't think Guadalajara is that great of a food city, though. (But it is a fantastic city overall.)

Based on my one trip to Topolo (I've also been to Frontera), I think your description is on the mark. I found him to be trying a little too hard with the food and not entirely succeeding. Too many elements seem ad hoc, trying to give the impression that the dishes are upscale without putting too much thought into them. What? Stewed pork doesn't say **** dining and require a $25 price tag? Okay, add a medallion of Maple Farms Pork Loin to it.

I wish Bayless would do what Archibald here in Portland did: just stick to making traditional Mexican with high end ingredients and impeccable preparations. I think he's much better at that (from one visit and from all the reports).

And man does he need to tone down the menu descriptions.

Aaron Deacon wrote:Incidentally, my lunch companion was a co-worker who grew up in Guadalajara, and constantly mocks my praise of 'high-end' Mexican cuisine. "There is no high end in Mexico," he likes to explain.

Even if he is right about this, which I'm pretty sure he is not, I don't understand what there is to mock? Does he find the idea of "high-end" Mexican food to be insulting? Or does this perceived inaccuracy simply amuse him?

Urge your friend to have an open mind about dining out. I love a simple taqueria as much as the next guy, but I also love the vast array of options that our city has to offer. There is no cuisine that is off limits to American chefs for a "haute"-transformation. I, for one, see nothing to mock.

eatchicago wrote:

Aaron Deacon wrote:Incidentally, my lunch companion was a co-worker who grew up in Guadalajara, and constantly mocks my praise of 'high-end' Mexican cuisine. "There is no high end in Mexico," he likes to explain.

Even if he is right about this, which I'm pretty sure he is not, I don't understand what there is to mock? Does he find the idea of "high-end" Mexican food to be insulting? Or does this perceived inaccuracy simply amuse him?

He says it somewhat tongue-in-cheek. He certainly doesn't believe that there are zero high-end restaurants in Mexico. I've never really grilled him on what he really means, but I've always felt like I more or less understood.

I hope I'm not being too controversial when I say that most Mexicans are poor. According to the World Bank website, the average Mexican makes just under $6,000/year, and half live in poverty, however they define it. For sure, there are wealthy Mexicans. And there are wealthy, or even not-so-wealthy Americans and other foreign tourists that can support a high-end dining culture.

But part of the point to me is how foreign that culture must seem to someone growing up in Mexico, especially someone who now lives abroad (in the U.S.). When I was in Europe for four months, and I wanted homestyle American food, I wasn't thinking of a mozzarella balloon or a caviar staircase. I wanted a cheeseburger and french fries, or a slice of pizza, or a pork chop, fresh corn, and mashed potatoes, not served with some fancy reduction, but simple and delicious like my mom used to make.

And then there is the issue of value. When we were eating the guacamole yesterday, and I was commenting on how good it was, my friend replied with, "Yeah, well, it tastes like good guacamole," nothing more, nothing less. And he's probably right. If Maxwell Street Market is fetishized by dive-loving chowhounds, Chicago's high-end Mexican scene is at least as fetishized by inveterate foodies. Me, I like both a lot.

As for my Mexican friend, I think a lot of it must have to do with expectations. He liked his meal just fine. His initial turn-off to haute Mexican came at Salpicon, with his girlfriend who has no Mexican heritage, and they both thought it was pretty mediocre. Our Topolobambo meal was quite a bit better, he said. But if he wants to go out for Mexican food, he probably won't go back.

Aaron Deacon wrote:He enjoyed the meal well enough, but was fairly taken aback by what he called 'southern flavors,' that didn't fit his experience of Mexican food from his home and his family.

Almost everyone who grew up in a particular food culture has a taste memory for what seems authentic. Often, we are not very tolerant of diversions from that remembered ideal.

I'm happy to eat fusion fare, and to try new combinations of flavors. I enjoy nouvelle cuisine and nuevo Latino and so on -- but when it comes to Jewish cooking, nobody better mess with my matzo balls!

LAZ wrote:but when it comes to Jewish cooking, nobody better mess with my matzo balls!

OK, I gotta. It's off topic, but I can't resist these suggestions:

* Lite Matzo Balls with fewer net carbs
* Basil, Fresh Mozzarella and Proscuito Matzo Balls in Clam Sauce (the triple trafe treat)
* Matzo Meal Soup Dumpling on a log cabin of parsnip root (as close as I can get to an Aschatz interpretation)

I had to deal with years of 'messed with' matzo ball soup with several sodium-sensitive hypertensive great aunts. Imagine chicken soup and matzo balls without salt -- the fights for the salt shakers were brutal.

JoelF wrote:

LAZ wrote:but when it comes to Jewish cooking, nobody better mess with my matzo balls!

OK, I gotta. It's off topic, but I can't resist these suggestions:

* Lite Matzo Balls with fewer net carbs
* Basil, Fresh Mozzarella and Proscuito Matzo Balls in Clam Sauce (the triple trafe treat)
* Matzo Meal Soup Dumpling on a log cabin of parsnip root (as close as I can get to an Aschatz interpretation)

The last one could work -- if it's only a matter of presentation. I was thinking of an actual dish I sampled once: Southwestern chicken soup with cilantro and chili matzo balls. It was just ... wrong.

"* Matzo Meal Soup Dumpling on a log cabin of parsnip root (as close as I can get to an Aschatz interpretation)

The last one could work -- if it's only a matter of presentation."

For an authentic Aschatz interpretation (and experience) you'd probably want to present the dish on a bed of hot coals over which the waiter dribbled droplets of chicken fat.

jbw wrote:For an authentic Aschatz interpretation (and experience) you'd probably want to present the dish on a bed of hot coals over which the waiter dribbled droplets of chicken fat.

Now you've got me thinking: could you sear the outside of a matzoh ball (or slice thereof) like you would polenta?

Only if it's a sinker.

extramsg wrote:I wish Bayless would do what Archibald here in Portland did: just stick to making traditional Mexican with high end ingredients and impeccable preparations.

The best place I've been for traditional Mexican done very well is Riques in Uptown. I don't know if the ingredients are even that high end, but the preparations have been failsafe.

Keep eating,
J. Ro