Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Xoco Chicago

The pepito torta at Xoco in Chicago.

First time I have been to a Mexican lunch spot that didn't serve burritos. I was surprised, a bit confused, but very intrigued. The menu is meaty. Pork, beef, chicken and chorizo. The menu has a number of oven baked tortas (read sandwiches), griddled tortas, soups and salads with prices ranging from about $8 to $12 per main menu item. You order at a counter and then they bring you your meal. Service was good and swift. The place gets a huge lunch crowd and the line was out the door. So the service is quick for a reason, they don't want you to hang around too long. One bummer was that the one vegetarian torta on the menu wasn't available for my wife. They instead let her order anyother item without meat and maxing out the veggies. I had the pepito which was a braised short rib sandwich with jalepenos, cheese, and some other deliciousness. The sandwich was good. Not out of this world, but unique, tasty, and satisfying. Apparently this place is owned by Rick Bayliss and is adjacent to his Frontera Restaurant. I have heard good things about that and look forward to checking it out. The guacamole was really really good. It had red chilis initial which made it spicy.

Overall, this was an interesting place with some good mexican sandwiches.  I don't think it really lives up to the hype nor is it worth a 30 minute wait.

More photos:






http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco.html

Xoco on Urbanspoon

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