Summary of Topolobampo

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Topolobampo

445 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60610
312-661-1434

www.fronterakitchens.com

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If you’re a fan of Rick Bayless’s TV series, you may not even need to read further, once you know these are his restaurants. One address gives you two options: the boisterously festive, casual Frontera Grill and the serene, elegant Topolobampo. But don’t think that these are simply the same place in different price ranges. The two restaurants have very different personalities. What the two do have in common is Mexican food that takes you miles beyond the usual border fare with which most Americans are acquainted. The lower-priced Frontera Grill actually has the longer menu. There are more than a dozen small dishes, from cheese- and chile-stuffed plantain fritters (plátanos rellenos) to crispy corn masa cakes filled with shredded pork chilorio (gorditas). Specialties include a sour-orange marinated, wood grilled pork dish from the Yucatan (puc chuc de puerco) and serrano-marinated sea scallops in a sweet corn and chile sauce (callos de hacha). Next door at Topolbampo, a good place to start is with sopa Azteca, in which a bowl artfully heaped with crisp tortilla strips, cheese, and avocado is presented and the flavorful broth is poured in at the table. Or perhaps you’d prefer the empanadas de chivo, turnovers filled with chile-braised goat. Among the entrees, roasted lamb with a classic Oaxacan sauce of dark chiles, sweet spices, and ground almonds (chichilo de Borrego) beckons, as does the adobo-marinated, pan-roasted duck breast with lentils (pato con lentejas). Or you can opt for the chef’s tasting menu, which brings five courses, ending with a best-of-the-day dessert sampler.


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Tags

Features: Has Bar, Valet Parking, Outdoor Seating, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Wine, Full Bar, Smoking Section, Private Rooms, Tasting Menu, Notable Wine List, Notable Chef

Cuisine: Mexican

Dress: Dressy, Smart Casual

Smoking: Smoking Section

Atmosphere: Romantic, Chic, Quiet

Reservations: Reservations Recommended

Type: Fine Dining

Tags are maintained by our suppliers and members and are subject to change without notice.


Related information for Topolobampo

Frontera Grill and Topolobampo - Forget all your notions of burritos and chalupas.

Topolobampo - with each new menu he manages to come up with words and phrases that would make a Spanish teacher run to his or her dictionary



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