Xoco was the last meal Michael and I had in Chicago. Xoco is owned and operated by Rick Bayless of Iron Chef fame. If you have never heard of Rick Bayless I think he might be one of Chicago’s biggest celebrities. Every piece of literature I read about Chicago and or food in Chicago mentioned Rick and his trio of restaurants: Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and Xoco. This being our last meal in Chicago I felt we had to make up for the disaster at Lou Malnati’s. Xoco’s upscale Mexican street food was the perfect rebound.

I ordered the Pepito torta which is braised tailgrass shortribs, carmelized onion, artisan Jack (that’s obnoxious), black beans, and pickled jalapenos on a fresh baked baugette. Michael ordered the Ahogado torta which is golden pork carnitas, black beans, tomato broth, spicy arbol chile sauce, and pickled onions. Mine was nice and gooey thanks to the “artisan Jack” and the shortribs had great flavor. This was the first time I had seen a torta that was served in a soup bowl and while I did enjoy the broth it took away from the pork’s flavor. Overall they were the best non-traditional torta’s I have ever tasted.

Xoco was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. It is head and shoulders above other upscale Mexican street food, like La Esquina in New York. Everything had an incredible flavor and I didn’t feel sluggish afterwards like most massive Mexican meals I eat.

Chicago is one of the few cities outside of California that exceeds at both high and low Mexican food. I believe this is because they have a large population of Mexicans who can make the traditional dishes and stores with the ingredients to do so. This gives people like Rick Bayless a base with which to create their own interpretations of the classics. I will eat at one his of restaurants every time I go back to Chicago.