The Gluttonous Gourmet: Topolobampo - Chicago, IL; May 6, 2010

Topolobampo
Location: Chicago, IL
Executive Chef/Owner: Rick Bayless

Chips & Salsa: Jicama & Cucumber Slices with Guacamole, Bacon, Tomatoes, Red Chile Peppers

Yum! We were greeted at the table with a heaping pile of homemade guacamole (yes, this stuff is the real deal, not just some mixture of powder and sour cream) and jicama and cucumber chips. Although the cucumber slices were a bit too room temperature (they were soft and thus difficult to scoop up the guac), the jicama was crunchy, cool and surprisingly sweet. I don't think I could recognize an entire jicama, so I just looked it up- it looks like a big fat earthy turnip, or an Asian pear on steroids. Not too appetizing to the eye, they make for great salads and add a crisp crunchiness to any dish. I believe they are a highly under-utilized/under-appreciated ingredient. Bayless' guac was true to its word, with a hint of smokiness and a lot of heat from the red chile peppers. And the bold flavors? Yes- that comes from the bits of bacon and bacon renderings infused into the avocado. Why? Let's face it- everything's better with bacon.

Camarones y Cangrejo a la Rusa: Atlantic "Royal Red" shrimp and Alaskan king crab in creamy lime-serrano dressing with cucumber, chayote and grilled jicama. Bayless Garden microgreens, plantain chips

Trio, Trio, Trio (Trio of Ceviches)
sashimi-grade Hawaiian yellowfin tuna cocktail with chunky avocado-tomatillo guacamole and tangy mango-grapefruit salsa.

Classic preparation of Rushing Waters trout in tangy, cool escabeche of olive oil, sweet spices, caramelized onions, garlic and ginger. Beet-pickled knob onions, shiitake mushrooms, Napa cabbage, puffed wild rice.

Sashimi-grade Hawaiian day-boat catch with La Quercia prosciutto crust, lime pudding, three-chile salsa, grilled pineapple, red chile cracker

Pan-seared red-chile "enchiladas" of jicama "tortillas." Crispy chicken, roasted carrots and potatoes, homemade fresh cheese, pickled jalapeno

Savory red chile short rib soup with epazote, chayote and chochoyotes (corn masa dumplings)

Slow-poached egg and seared pork belly with roasted tomato-habanero sauce, black beans, orange-dressed pea shoot salad, rustic tostada

Pork cheek carnitas with savory chicharron "crema." Roasted tomatillo salsa, first-of-season morel mushrooms, grilled Spence Farm green garlic, crunchy pinole.

Roasty golden carnitas of Maple Creek pork shoulder and pork belly (slow-cooked confit-style) with fresh green tomatillo-avocado salsa, homemade tortilla, lime air, radish

Pan-seared Alaskan black cod with sesame pipian. Bare Knuckle Farm ramps, blue crab roe, sweet peas, hoja santa-flavored black barley, Bayless Garden arugula micros

Smoky walleye capped with roasty arbol chile-peanut salsa. Uchepo crumble, roasted tomato-guajillo sauce, Nichols Farm beets, wood-griled knob onions

Grilled baby octopus, Viking Village sea scallop, soft-shell crawfish, PEI mussels, tender squid in velvety chilpachole borth of chipotle chiles, epazote and tomato. Yuca "sand."

Roasted Elysian Fields lamb "ribeye" in classic Oaxacan black mole (made from chilhuacle chiles and 28 other ingredients). Seared lamb belly, black bean tamalon, huazontles, jamaica whip.