Topolobampo is an upscale Mexican restaurant currently rated one star by Michelin Guide which is kind of a big deal. Prior to this, I had never known of upscale Mexican. So out of curiosity, I chose to give it a try. Finding the website was tricky at first as it’s a subset of rickbayless’s site. Once on the site, I noticed that the tasting menus posted are for a given month, but the suggestions indicate that due to high volume, you should make your reservations ten to twelve weeks in advance. "Bollocks!" I thought; that’s a catch22. How could one try this month’s tasting menu if you can’t get a seat for 10 weeks? Well anyway, with a bit of luck, I worked my magic and I was able to pull off a Friday reservation on Wednesday, just two days prior. Cool, so I didn’t have to wait until February. I arrived around fifteen minutes prior to opening. As soon as valet had taken my car I noticed already a line around this restaurant. I made my way to the front and told the receptionist that I was there to do a review and she allowed me to photograph the dining area before anyone was seated. I fell in love with the color coordination, the decorations, the paintings, the dragon, beautiful brown wooden chairs with blue water glasses. terra cotta tiled floors, ambient light… I especially loved the chandeliers, and the women–muah, and the food! So once seated, I began with a margarita and an appetizer followed by a tasting menu with wine pairing, and ended surprisingly with more drinks that I’d like to admit to. Great Food. Good company. Great times. Highly recommended from me, to you.
If anyone knows what this dragon is, please tell me! Thanks.
or where I can get one for my house!
Compliments
Hybrid Avocados specially grown for Frontera, has a creamy texture and rich Mexican flavor
Pickled Jalapeno, Fried Capers, Hoja Santa (Acuyo), slight Anis
sarsaparilla flavor
Topolo Margarita (Modified)
Don Julio Reposado, Torres Orange Liqueur (Spain), Housemade Limonada
Perfecto!
Trio Trio Trio
a sampling of:
Ceviche Fronterizo ~ lime-marinated Hawaiian albacore with tomatoes, olives, cilantro & green chile.
Ceviche Yucateco ~ steamed Mexican blue shrimp & calamari with lime, orange, habanero, avocado, jicama & cilantro.
Coctel de Atun Tropical ~ sashimi-grade Hawaiian bigeye tuna, avocado-tomatillo guacamole, tangy fruit salsa.
Served with crispy Tortilla chips.
Topolo Classics Tasting $95; With 5 perfectly matched wines, add $65
Alvear Solera Cream, Montilla Moriles, Andalusia, Spain
Sweet sherry desert-like wine. Good. I like this.
Foie Gras con Membrillo y Chile Pasilla
Shards of cured Belle Farms foie gras, slow-poached quince (arbol chile, black pepper), sweet & sour pasilla chile, honey crisp apple and "cactus apple", pumpkinseed crumble
Sweet apples and slightly spicy, foie gras tender, creamy, and smooth. The real kicker was in the sweet & sour pasilla chile, the dark pieces you see in the dish. I would describe it is a little tart and spicy; it really stands out relative to the rest of the dish.
2008 Shaya "Habis" Verdejo Old Vines, Rueda, Spain
This reminded me a lot of reisling, a bit a smooth honey flavor.
Three bites of Oaxaca
aged beef tenderloin tasajo (tlayuda, black beans); classic chorizo (Oaxacan pasilla salsa, quail egg); red chile pork loin cecina (avocado-tomatillo salsa, pickled ripe tomatillos, pickled radish pods)
Three little delicious mini-taco creations that I rolled up like tacos and savored.
2009 Jimenez-Landi "Sotorrondero" Mentrida, Spain
This wine was kinda tart.
Chilpachole de Mariscos (Modified)
Maine Lobster, wood-grilled octopus, chilpachole (ancho and chipotle, epazote and velvety rich lobster broth), Nichols Farm sunchokes two ways, Bayless Garden mizuna, sunflower "sand"
I dislike octopus, so they omitted the octopus. Lobster was very tender. Chipotle lobster broth was poured over the dish tableside; it had a hint of spice but not too spicy.
2009 Villa Creek "High Road" James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles, California
Interesting wine, a little sweet, a little tart–smooth.
Carne Asada y Barbacoa en Mole Negro
Seared Premier Wagyu ribeye & slow-roasted Crawford Farm lamb in classic Oaxacan black mole (chilhuacle chiles & 28 other ingredients), corn husk-steamed chipil tamal, unctuous black beans, smoky green beans
Excellent sweet mole sauce. Tortillas provided for cutting up the meat and pouring the mole over them so as to make tacos. I loved this portion!
At or around this time, I noticed three cool chicks dining nearby. One of them asked me if I worked for a magazine or something. I get that a lot and it’s amusing. A few moments later, they invited me over to their table for drinks when I finished. Kinda random, kinda interesting, kinda fun…
2005 Capcanes "Pansai Del Calas" Montsant, Spain
A very sweet desert wine; awesome! I love dessert wines.
Chocolate Ama Mole de Cacahuate
Silky steamed bittersweet Mexican chocolate cake, dark chocolate-red wine sorbet, red peanut mole (sweetened with piloncillo), peanut crumble, sweet spice crisps
Chocolate red wine sorbet–how does that work?? it was amazing.
Mignardises??
I don’t know if mignardises is the proper word considering its a french thing, but they did bring me this small collection of sweets, typical of the fine dining community. Yum. (I would have liked it if there were more, but I’m not complaining)
And thus concludes my meal. This is the part where I typically leave, except I was invited to another table. I went over there and had drinks with three cool chicks. They were a lot of fun and we had lots of drinks and good conversation. Eventually the waiter kicked us out of the table to make room for dinner guests and we made our way to the bar where more drinks ensued. I don’t usually do this at a restaurant, but why not right? it was fun, careless, crazy, and carefree. I can’t say too much here other than I probably had a little too much to drink, and I wanted to go salsa dancing, but I had to leave. The last bit made my night. I won’t name names, but one of you spilled a margarita on my suit! ha. You know who you are! Fun times. "Cool chicks."
Cool Chicks & lotza tequila
We’re just having too much fun! too many drinks, or was it not enough drinks? salsa dancing?
The Bill (mangled & crumpled)
Mexican fine dining done right. I forgot to add that the bar was chock full of tequila, so be sure to drink up. The venue is small relative to the demand so you may have to wait weeks to get a reservation–unless you’re cool like me. Some may consider the venue crowded, but I had no problem moving around. Tasting menus are around $95 with wine pairings adding around $60. Most appetizers are $10-$30. Main courses are from $25-$45. Dress code is business casual, so no jackets required. Regardless of your position, this restaurant is worth the money and the wait. I would gladly do this again any given Friday.
Topolobampo
445 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 661-1434
Google Map
