Chicago's food scene has won plenty of attention for its pizza and hot dogs, but I have often thought that the city's greatest unsung achievement is its Mexican food. Sure, we may not be in Texas or Southern California, but it is nearly impossible to throw a rock without hitting a corner taqueria in this town. We have legions of roving Tamale Guys who satiate our drunken cravings for tamales out of ziplock bags. We have Maxwell Street Market, where street food is served with the excitement of an open-air bazaar. Then, we have Mexican titan Rick Bayless to cover the haute gourmet end of things as well. Take that, San Diego.
However, fancy 30-ingredient mole sauce is not the reason we are gathered here today. Instead, we are here to celebrate the classic taco, elegant in its simplicity, difficult to master. With all the taco joints around town, how do you separate the fresh tomatillos from the canned? I will not pretend to have exhaustive knowledge of the city's taquerias, but here are two of my favorites, which happen to be conveniently located within a couple blocks of each other.
Continue reading "Tacos on Ashland: La Pasadita and Tierra Caliente" »
With a PBS series, several cookbooks, multiple James Beard awards, and a prolific Twitter account under his belt, Rick Bayless is an undisputed elder statesman of Chicago's culinary scene. Despite my best intentions though, I never made it to either of his flagship restaurants, Frontera Grill or Topolobampo. There was always some new opening to see, another hole-in-the-wall to discover. Then last September, Bayless won Top Chef Masters, the lead time to get a reservation increased exponentially, and I put it off visiting some more.
But, strange things happen when you decide to move out of town. My normally procrastination-friendly mindset has evaporated and I am suddenly scrambling to check off items from an ever-growing bucket list. Should I be trying new restaurants? Revisiting old favorites? Should I be embarrassed that I've never eaten a burger from Kuma's? Is it really worth waiting in line for 4 hours at Great Lakes just to say I've tried the "best pizza in America"? I think I've covered a fair amount of territory already, but there are certainly missing Legos. Where would you go if you had two months left in Chicago? Anyway, the combination of impending deadlines and Restaurant Week was sufficient motivation for me to make a reservation at Topolobampo, 6 weeks in advance. And now that I have finally tried the Mexican maestro's work, I am upset that I didn't haul myself here earlier.
Por Ernesto Adduci
Es notable lo del Chef Rick Bayless: un Americano muy americano, que supera a los mexicanos preparando su propia comida. Considerando la extension y variedad de la comida mexicana, esto es un verdadero logro. Cierto, ganar Top Chef Masters lo ha encumbrado a la fama a nivel nacional, sus libros venden y la gente mira sus programas de tv, pero nada de esto se compara al triunfo de cada una de sus creaciones culinarias.
Hace tiempo queria ir a Frontera Grill, el restaurant que se transformo en su marca bandera, pero no fue hasta hoy que logramos encontrar una mesa en el bar. Probamos tres “Platillos Pequeños”: las empanadas de puerco, los sopes rancheros y del menu de Topolobampo, las mollejas de ternera en mole verde. Pedimos las flautas de pato, pero se habian terminado. El tener una mesa en el bar resulto beneficioso, pues pudimos probar platos de ambos menus, incluidas las deliciosas mollejas de Topolo, el restaurant formal de Bayless.
Continue reading "Frontera Grill – Profeta de Tierra Ajena" »
My first encounter with the Maxwell Street Market, I am ashamed to say, came in the heat of road rage. What on earth is going on, I said to myself, why did they block off traffic for this ridiculous display of dilapidated pick-up trucks and pirated DVDs? I fumed silently. A man with a walker surpassed me.
Later, I was informed that the mysterious road closure was due to the long-running Maxwell Street Market. Despite not being located on Maxwell Street for quite some time now (the market is now in its third location), the market has kept its name and stayed close to its original roots as Chicago's premier open-air bazaar and flea market. In over 100 years of operation, the market has always been a hotbed of immigrant vendors who will gladly "cheat you fair." This is the one place in Chicago where you can buy cherries, used books and a washing machine, all in one location.
When you are tired of wandering through the 2,000+ vendors at the National Restaurant Association show, the Culinary Pavilion offers some respite for aching feet. This year's convention features a number of celebrity chefs, many of whom are hometown stars, like Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard and Lockwood's Philip Foss. Several other famous names are on hand for book signings, including Daniel Boulud and Art Smith. And naturally, the indisputable patriarch of Chicago's culinary scene, Rick Bayless, was on hand to give a cooking demonstration.
I had never seen Bayless cook before, on Iron Chef, PBS or otherwise, and was impressed at the amount of food history he packed into a 45-minute demo session. For those of you who love reality cooking shows, Bayless will also be competing on Bravo's Top Chef Masters (alongside Art Smith and Graham Elliot Bowles), which debuts on June 10 at 9 pm.
For this demonstration, Bayless created an old favorite at Frontera Grill, grass-fed flank steak marinated in salsa with fresh corn tamales and grilled knob onions. Though the menu at Frontera Grill changes every month, this dish is a constant staple. The salsa rojo recipe is also available online. Some Bayless thoughts on Mexican cuisine follow below:
If you're feeling motivated enough to venture out into the cold to try some exotic foods I can guarantee you've never had before, then be sure to check out the Taste of the Aztec World event going on from Sunday, January 11th through Saturday, January 17th.
Local restaurants will be preparing Aztec inspired drinks and dishes to commemorate the opening of The Aztec World exhibition at the Field Museum. 16 restaurants will be offering Aztec inspired dishes that range from truly authentic Mesoamerican to more loosely interpreted Mexican classics. For the classic, try Aria’s melt-in-our mouth chili-braised short ribs with tomato and cheese tamales.
For the truly authentic visit Mundial Cocina Mestiza where owner Mario Cota took the challenge literally, working with chefs in Mexico City to create some rustic dishes from the past. For starters you can munch on the Aztec version of nachos with your choice of topping; crickets, worms or prawns. The crickets on top of salsa Cruda, a raw blend of tomatillo and avocado, have a great mix of sweet and salty crunch.
I’ve recently discovered Cotija (ko-TEE-hah) cheese and I love it. Actually, I’m certain that I’ve had it many times at various Mexican restaurants but did not know it by name. I first discovered it on the menu board at Frontera Fresco where it is deliciously sprinkled on their salads and Huaraches.
Cotija It is a hard, dry cheese that is typically sold already grated and has a very salty and robust flavor similar to Feta, Parmesan or Romano. It also goes by other names such as Queso Anejo or “aged cheese” and Queso Seco or “dry cheese.” Cotija is not the best melting cheese but it is extremely versatile and has a long shelf life, which is why I love it.
You can grate it over any type of food and it works perfectly. I’ve been using it as a substitute for Parmesan (similar in calories and fat) and grating it over pasta and lasagna. It works great on salads, vegetables, soups (especially tomato), chili, tacos and enchiladas. The cheese is sold in grated form at Devon Market at Devon and Clark. I'm sure you can also find it at any Mexican grocery store. It truly is the most versatile cheese out there and now the only cheese you’ll consistently find in my refrigerator.
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