Chilam Balam
Twenty-three-year-old Chuy Valencia is only the latest—and possibly the youngest—graduate of the School of Bayless to come out of the Frontera/Topolobampo kitchens and stake his own claim. After a pit stop as chef de cuisine at Adobo Grill, in late August he opened Chilam Balam, a cramped but not claustrophobic subterranean spot offering a small-plates menu along with a list of monthly seasonal specials—mostly more antojitos plus a few larger plates. It was a dish from this changing list that would crush my heart: a plate of roasted scallops in sweet corn chilatole, garnished with the year’s last cherry tomatoes and wax beans. It disappeared the day after I ate it, as did a salad of the freshest, most vibrant tomatoes of the summer and a mulatto chile-and-chocolate mole, so multidimensional that I barely noticed the slices of lamb leg it was meant to accent. Happily, not all the good stuff is so ephemeral. The braised mushroom-and-cheese empanadas remain, pockets so light and flaky I’m at a loss to explain how they can contain the earthy fungus, braised with pipian verde and epazote. Even something as mundane as a grilled hanger steak transcends itself, plated on a lava field of guajillo sauce. Solid but not quite so mind-blowing efforts include a cross-stacked plate of pasilla-glazed pork ribs accented with radish and queso fresco and a chocolate mousse with a tangy goat cheese core. But I’m scratching my head over the dessert empanadas stuffed with peanut butter and figs, as tough and leaden as the savory ones were miraculous. Still, in a fall restaurant season crowded with upscale-Mexican, small-plate, and farm-to-table menus, Valencia’s managed to distinguish himself combining all three. —Mike Sula
Some savor authenticity; for others, it’s all about the flavor. Neither, unfortunately, will be found at Cosina Grill, an Andersonville restaurant inexplicably jammed on a weekday night. Guacamole was so stunningly tasteless it could have been mistaken for green mashed potatoes or mayonnaise. The touted Dona Esperanza mole, ladled on a spongy chicken breast, tasted of burnt tar, with none of the sauce’s traditional complexity; we couldn’t stomach more than a bite or two. The tortilla soup, our server told us, was too spicy for many guests, but we found it had no heat at all. The enchiladas? Also nada. Grilled tilapia was edible because it was just decent fish, not messed with, and so relatively benign though bland. Our hostess, who like everyone here was friendly and outgoing, told us the tortillas were made in-house, but they had the flavor and mouthfeel of mass-produced varieties. Leaving Cosina, I wanted to grab newcomers on their way in and shriek, “For god sakes, flee!” —David Hammond
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Sophisticated nuevo Latino comfort food in a sophisticated space. Appetizers looked so tempting it was hard to make our choices, but the vegetarian ceviche was a good pick: crunchy hearts of palm, mushrooms, asparagus, avocado, and pico de gallo in a bright-tasting citrus dressing. Flautas de barbacoa, corn cigars stuffed with savory slow-roasted beef and served with a red salsa, were also tasty. But the standout of the evening had to be the moqueca do mar, a seafood stew with saffron-perfumed tomato-coconut milk sauce served with a little dish of rice and a few tostones. Other main dishes include beer-braised beef short ribs and a bone-in double pork chop, one gigantic hunk o’ meat. But we still couldn’t say no to the Oaxacan chocolate mousse cake with house-made sweet corn ice cream. —Kate Schmidt
At this Ravenswood restaurant, chef Luis Perez applies French bistro cooking techniques to the Mexican food his mother cooked when he was growing up. His brief menu offers unique takes on Mexican favorites like roast pork (his version is a thick tenderloin, rosy and tender and served with a guajillo cream sauce) and delicious combinations like a crunchy almond-crusted trout laced with coconut cream sauce and caramelized plantains, a lovely contrast of earthy and sweet. For dessert there’s one of the richest flans around and a moist, light tres leches cake. —Laura Levy Shatkin
To kick things off at this restaurant from veterans of Mia Francesca, tacos estilo ensenada (fish tacos) are tasty, with a clump of whitefish dressed with avocado and cabbage, and the shrimp ceviche is a knockout. Soups are spiced with a light hand: seven seas soup is a chile-kissed tomato broth with just a few select slices of seafood; chileatole del mar brims with seafood, peppers, and corn in a tomatillo-based broth seasoned with epazote. A tilapia fillet is served with a rich poblano cream sauce; shrimp get the mojo de ajo treatment; lamb chops in a mole negro are expertly grilled. Of special note on my last visit was a roasted pork loin served in a fruity mole manchamanteles. For our salad we shared a small plate of julienned jicama and cucumber accented with orange segments and drizzled with hot sauce and vinaigrette. —David Hammond
