Topolobampo
Our arrival in Chicago was intentionally planned so that we could celebrate Steve’s birthday with dinner at Topolobampo, chef Rick Bayless’s legendary Michelin-starred restaurant. Bayless is a celebrity chef from Oklahoma who taught the United States how to appreciate authentic Mexican cuisine.
We fell in love with Bayless’s Frontera Grill in the early 2000s, when it was still considered revolutionary. I dined at Bayless’s restaurants on every business trip to Chicago, and Steve collected all his cookbooks. We have booked connecting flights through O’Hare airport and driven from Tampa to Disney Springs just to eat at his restaurants. When Bayless won the Top Chef Masters title in 2009, and we learned he brings his staff to Mexico every year to cook and learn, our admiration knew no bounds! Anyway, you get the picture - we are huge fans.
It was wonderful to be living in Chicago, just a ten-minute walk from Topolobampo. I had a fuzzy memory of it being upstairs from Frontera Grill, but instead we were ushered through a rather mysterious door on the ground floor. It was like being granted entrance to an exclusive club. Seated at an intimate banquette near the bar, we definitely felt like VIPS! There was wonderful original art on the walls, and a distinctive beamed ceiling. We ordered Topolo 2.0 Margaritas, and then the “snacks” arrived. This was not simply one amuse bouche, but four distinct and tasty starters - an oyster, a chicharron, a soup, and an empanada. The snacks were not part of the menu, so the Chef de Cuisine (Meagan O’Connor) graciously wrote down the descriptions for us. Sooooo delicious!
After our snacks, we were escorted to the dining room filled with more great art, and our unfinished drinks were brought to our table on a tray. Again, that VIP treatment! Now it was time for the tasting menu. Topolo changes the menu every six to eight weeks, and each one tells a different story. On this night, the story was about Chef Bayless’s memories of Mercado de La Merced, an iconic market in Mexico City. Each of the six courses was inspired by one of the stalls in the market. We savored every bite of those sublime dishes! Our favorites were the 32-ingredient mole and the locally harvested wild morels. (View on a computer to see the captions.)
The chef sneaked in a bonus dish, so by the time we had finished five courses, there were still two dessert courses to go. Steve helped me with the first one (cheesecake), but we both were unable to finish the last one (herbed chocolate cake), which was a shame because it was SO delicious. But the meal wasn't over yet - there was one more surprise: the most delectable dark chocolate bonbon I’ve ever tasted, bursting with the flavors of cinnamon, cardamom, and much more. I would have bought a box of those if they’d let me. They sent us home with a bag of treats to enjoy in the morning. It was a memorable meal and the perfect way to to celebrate Steve’s special day.
