I know, I know, don’t blog about what you ate for lunch. No one cares. There is an exception to every rule and I feel compelled to blog about this lunch. It was that good. But hey, if you really don’t care what I ate for lunch then read no further.
Early Sunday morning I was up with the three year-old, he was watching every single Batman on On Demand and I was catching up on-line. I noticed a Tweet by Rick Bayless that Restaurant Week had been extended for another week, at least for lunch, and that reservations were still open at Frontera and Topolobampo. I jumped over to Open Table to see if there was anything for Wednesday, since I already had a lunch date with my mom and sister. My lucky day, I booked a reservation. I have only been to Xoco, Bayless’ new restaurant and have always wanted to get to Frontera and Topolobampo. Restaurant week is a great opportunity to get a taste of the food at a prix fixe menu. Though actually, I have to say the prices at both these restaurants are pretty reasonable, I mean in terms of caliber, obviously it does not compare to what I would normally pay for lunch.
On to the food…
The meal began with guacamole and warm tortilla chips. Homemade chips make all the difference.
The first course was a soup, Sopa Azteca. A most flavorful broth poured over grilled chicken, avocado, jack cheese, and tortilla strips. It was a huge bowl and over the top delicious. You could never believe a broth could have this much flavor, and it was so rich. Honestly, if the meal ended at that I would have been satisfied.
For the second course, I went with the vegetarian enchiladas topped with a tomatillo and poblano chile sauce. They were fresh and included a selection of vegetables that surprised me; green beans, carrots sticks, tomatillos, and possibly a few others I can’t recall. They were, of course, wrapped in homemade corn tortillas. The sauce that topped it was along the lines of Bayless’ jarred tomatillo sauce, but obviously better and extremely fresh. A great tangy flavor.
My mom had the red chile-marinated pork loin with a mole Sauce, black beans, and served with freshly made corn tortillas. Wow were the tortillas delicious and fresh. The whole dish was just as delicious as the enchiladas. His famous mole sauce is as good as everyone says. Fresh food, not pretentious, extremely satisfying.
Dessert was a crepe with a caramel sauce, pecans, raspberry sauce and plantains. There was a choice of ice cream that was served on the side. I went with the brown butter ice cream. OH MY GOODNESS, was it good. It was like a buttery caramel flavor, it just melted in your mouth. No pun intended. I only got a picture of the empty plate, I ate it that fast.
Now I have need to work on getting reservations for Frontera Grill for a dinner with the husband. In the meantime I will fantasize about the brown butter ice cream.
Next time I'm going straight for the soup! and finish with the ice cream – no need for an entree. And Dad loved the leftovers.
I am drooling and now hungry. Thanks a lot! 🙂