Must Have This: Restaurant

When one finds oneself in the midst of an absolutely frigid downtown Chicago, as we found ourselves recently, Mexican food is not exactly the first thing on one's mind. For most people, that honored spot usually belongs to any number of expletives at the curious ability of the weather to continually feel as if the sun has lost all heat and will never never ever warm the poor wretched bodies scurrying idiotically about in the gusty trenches between buildings. Or, perhaps it is occupied by thoughts of the destination- somewhere warm and comfortable, no doubt, and probably full of laughter and chipper conversation. Or it might even just be grasping desperately at how much is on one's CTA card, and will it need a refill before this trip, and can said refill occur in time to make the next train, and... Mexican food, needless to say, may be fifth or sixth in queue. Or, heaven forbid, even lower.

And to this, we say, shame.

Mexican food, we blissfully confess, may in fact be our one sole reason for living. There are many fine things about our life- this blog intends to cover them- but truly, when the lines are drawn, we fully believe Mexican cuisine to be The Reason. (In fact, we may or may not have made a rather infallible argument -if we do say so ourself- in an entirely separate blog that offers proof of God's existence based on Mexican food) One's total happiness (or lack thereof) can be directly measured by how near (or far) one is from a Mexican restaurant.

Now we certainly understand that schedules must be kept and other tasks tended to, but we would like to stress that those things can be accomplished and Mexican food can still happen. In fact, Xoco, one of three Mexican restaurants owned and operated by the celebrity chef Rick Bayless, is made for on-the-go. And, more importantly, it is outrageously good.

Looking for something scrumptious for lunch? Try the choriqueso torta (pictured). Homemade chorizo (a sort of Mexican sausage) is layered with mild peppers and sharp jack cheese on a bun. The sandwich is fantastic on it's own, but what really sent us over the edge was the tomatillo salsa. We have been hesitant to try most tomatillo salsas, as it seems to inspire chefs everywhere to turn up the heat index (and while we do enjoy a good strong spicy flavor, we do not enjoy heat for heat's sake), but this. This particular salsa is so fresh, so flavorful, so entirely palatable, well, suffice to say, we made several trips back to the counter to procure more. (It has also encouraged a rather spirited campaign to re-create -or at least match in level of flavor- here at home)

Or, if an earlier meal is more one's speed, Xoco serves breakfast until 10AM. We had the Wood-Oven Chilaquiles (below). Unfortunately a dine-in only option, the Chilaquiles is a sort of mess of lots of delicious things- cheese, chicken, peppers, tortillas. We aren't sure exactly how to describe it other than filling and very warm (temperature, not spice, although there was no shortage of flavor). Our only real complaint about it was the fact that it came with none of the tomatillo salsa.



If one needs but a single reason to stop at Xoco, that reason is the hot chocolate. The cocao beans are roasted on-site, which we were delighted to discover, and the proof is definitely in the pudding, or hot chocolate, as it were. We had multiple varieties- our personal favorite was Mexico City Thick (but perhaps has been re-named Barcelona?). Almost a pudding consistency, this chocolate is more dessert than drink. We found it easier to savor that way- as opposed to the Aztec, which, in addition to the chocolate, is spiced with chilies. That particular drink we finished in minutes- entirely too drinkable for it's own good. And then there is the Almendrado... There are five varieties. We suggest you try them all.

Xoco is located at 449 North Clark (and Illinois St) in Chicago, IL.