xoco

chicago, il

website

christine and val, fellow foodies, suggested xoco for dinner. i was very excited because i've wanted to try a rick bayless restaurant ever since he won top chef: masters. xoco is a casual restaurant located next to bayless's more formal restaurants. it's an interesting set-up, like a high end fast food joint. there's a large blackboard with the menu listed in chalk. you order and pay at the register, they give you a number, and then you sit down at your table and wait for a server to bring you your food.

at 7:30 pm on a friday night, the place was packed. they wouldn't let us order until there was room in the dining room for 3 people. after about a half hour, we were finally allowed to order. not one to pass up homemade chorizo, i chose the choriqueso torta with homemade chorizo sausage, roasted poblano, artisan jack cheese, and tomatillo salsa - delicious. the blackboard also explained that xoco grounds its own chocolate in-house, so i ordered a chocolate cafe con leche - which was a bit bitter, but rich and chocolatey. val and christine ordered fresh churros for the table - unbelievable - the churros were perfectly crispy on the outside, steamy and chewy on the inside, and covered with sugar and cocoa bits. an amazing meal with excellent company, unique and delicious food, and even a celebrity sighting ("hey, that's rick bayless walking into the kitchen!").