Mole. Masa. And Montrose? WTF?

Sometimes I’m of the mind that senior citizens have it down pat.

Point-in-case: Sunday's dinner took place at 5 PM because The Sadie and I were standing outside of Mixteco Grill at 4:45 PM drooling over the menu taped to the window. Comments of “Did you see…?” and “Oooh, look…” flew as our eyes wandered. And having heard the rave reviews of Chef Raul Arreola, and how crowded the place gets in the evening, we decided to wait until the doors opened at 5 PM, and try to get seated without a reservation.

Which wasn’t a problem. And while we did have to wait for a few minutes while the hostess and 3 waitstaff sat a party of six (a bit of the WTF? since only two of the party had arrived), once the hostess gave us her attention, we were seated quickly and the chips and salsa arrived.

While the chips were completely servicable fried tortillas, the salsa verde bordered on the sublime. Cool, tart, and sour, the limes, cilantro, and tomatillos took centerstage. This is the kind of salsa you sit in your backyard during a cookout and enjoy with a couple of beers.

After that came the Sopes de Tinga de Pollo, small boats of masa filled with shredded chicken in a roja mole sauce, crema, and crumbled cheese. The chicken was moist and in the roja mole reminded me of Brunswick Stew, a delicious slow cooked Southern stew of pork, chicken, and tomatoes. The crema and cheese cool the flavors and bring a smoothness to the mouthfeel. The masa, for being as dense as it was, had a light cornbread flavor that completed the dish with a nice earthiness.

For the entrees we had the Carne Asada and the Cochinta Pibil. The Carne Asada was tender, flavorful, and cooked to perfection. Grilled with scallions, the sear had a wonderful spring flavor that complemented the char. And the Pibil was stunning. I’m a huge fan of the fruit of the swine, so slow roasted chunks of pork served in a zippy annatto (or achiote) sauce was heaven. Soft and succulent, the chunks fell apart with but a twist the fork. The pibil is served with a side of Habanero Salsa that’s fruity, sweet, and hotter than Georgia asphalt in August. To use all of it would be suicidal, but it was so tasty that I was willing to brave the heat in order to add 4 drops to my pork.

Since Mixteco Grill is is BYO, I’d heartily recommend skipping across both Montrose and Ashland to Rayan’s Discount Liquors and picking up a couple of bottles of beer. For the meal I had, I’d recommend something lighter like Pacifico or Sol. Negra Modelo might work too, but it’s about as heavy as I’d want to go. Leave the Corona for the backyard cook out.

All in all this was a wonderful meal to end the weekend on. I would definitely recommend making reservations, as when we were leaving two patrons that didn’t have reservations were getting angry because the hostess couldn’t seat them. 6pm on a Sunday night, the place was packed, and had patrons waiting outside, so Mixteco is doing something very right. I would like to see some drapes or wall coverings added to absorb some of the noise, but once the food arrives you’ll forget about everything else!

Mixteco Grill is located at:
1601 W. Montrose Ave.
Chicago IL 60613
(773) 868-1601

Food Writing 101 Part 2...

So here we are after completing the second part of the Newberry Library's Food Writing course. Between last week's class and this week's class we were to either write a food memoir, or to write a review of a restaurant. We decided to focus on the second and after much deliberation (i.e. we went to lunch at Hot Doug's)the mouse and I decided to submit a review of Chicago's own sausage superstore. So for your perusal, we not so humbly present...

Red Brick in Chicago.

From its red brick exterior, Hot Doug’s Sausage Superstore, has the same gravitas and appeal as the back of Wrigley Field. There’s character there. Moxie. History. It’s a working man’s brick. You know that only a few feet away greatness waits. But unlike the Cubs, Doug Sohn’s crew at Hot Doug’s really does perform like a world class team.

To say that Hot Doug’s is a hot dog stand is like saying “Chicago is a big city”. It’s true. But both Chicago and Hot Doug’s are much, much more. Hot Doug’s does serve the standard fare of the typical Chicago dog stand, but like the Art Institute’s ever changing collections, it’s the ever changing selection of gourmet sausages that make Doug’s different. And it’s not just the encased meats that are gourmet. Sometimes the toppings are as much of a treat as the sausage itself.

Imagine the savoriness of a jerk pork sausage served on soft and chewy French roll, dressed with a spicy passion fruit mayonnaise, sautéed sweet plantain, and a Crème de Brie cheese served with a large helping of Duck Fat Fries (served only on Friday and Saturday).

Or what about the richness of spinach and the bite of feta in a gyros sausage topped with a tapenade mayonnaise and Kasseri cheese? Definitely hold the ketchup.

Or even the dog that got Doug into trouble: a Sauterne-infused duck sausage topped with foie gras. Served during Chicago’s short-lived ban of foie gras, it garnered Hot Doug’s the only fine levied during the entire ban. And thanks in no small part to Doug’s drive to make gourmet affordable, the fine pointed out the absurdity of Chicago’s food ban, and struck a blow for common sense.

And that’s the other thing that’s so great about Hot Doug’s. It’s pure Chicago. You’ll take a seat next to a table of game designers from the nearby offices of Midway Games. On the other side will be a table of roughnecks from ComEd on their lunch break. Hipsters will be sitting next to cube dwellers, who are sitting next to tourist, who are sitting across from suburb visitors from Naperville, and everyone is having a good time. From the primary colors, to the faux sausage facts, to Doug greeting each customer, everything at Hot Doug’s seems to bring a smile to your face. The atmosphere is the appetizer, and the final fun condiment on each order served.

The one thing you will have to reconcile is the wait. Open from 10:30am to 4:00pm Monday through Saturday, locals will cheerfully wait 45 minutes to an hour in some of the worst Chicago weather for Hot Doug’s. You should too. But unlike Cub fans who wrestle with the uncertainty of whether or not this will be be “the year”, you can relish the knowledge that dining victory is yours.

So there you go! Review aside, if you've never been to Hot Doug's just go. And if you've got some feedback with regard to the review, well, we here at Your Daily Bourbon and Bacon always welcome that! Just make sure that you submit it in a case of Neuske's Bacon...

In this time of economic downturn, we're all feeling the pinch. In fact the mouse and I are currently underemployed and have turned to Careerbuilder, Monster, and cruising the CL job ads (yeah, we feel dirty...). But sometimes it's the little things that help us feel better about who and where we are in life.

...little things like a delicious rasher of bacon.

Starting this week we will be seeking out brands of bacon and/or bourbon to review for you. So at the beginning of next week, you will have the new Weekly Bacon Forecast, and, hopefully, midweek there will be a new bacon or bourbon review. I'm leaning toward a review of Nueske's since I always hear such good things about it, but I'm willing to take recommendations from our loyal readers.

In addition, we'll be covering some other topics like our myriad hobbies, as well as bringing in some guest writers. All-in-all, we want to add more than just bacon and bourbon to our little half acre of internet heaven. But don't worry. Bacon and Bourbon will still get top billing here!

Finally! Some Bourbon...

So there it is. Quite possibly one of the finest bourbons I've ever had. So how did I find out about this wonderful elixer? Well, I have to tip my hat, and offer a sincere and heartfelt "Thanks!" to Da Creech, who gifted me with a bottle of it two Christmases ago.

Originally, I was uncertain about Basil Hayden's. I had tried a couple of the small batch bourbons and found almost all of them had that rough and raw flavor and finish typical of bourbon. Almost all of them required ice or a splash of water to ease the burn of drinking them. The worst of them required a healthy dosing of Coca-Cola to smooth it out. So needless-to-say, I was a bit gun shy when it came to another small batch bourbon.

Basil Hayden is an 8 year old bourbon produced in the Small Batch line, and smooth doesn’t even begin to cover its flavor. Its got the typical hints of caramel and vanilla, but there’s a touch of pepper from the more than average rye included in its making.

I’ve found that 2 large ice cubes are the perfect accompaniment to a generous pour. But I wouldn’t turn it down neat or with a splash of branch water.

Seek it out. Add it to your bar.