mum

week 33: xoco

in , , ,


at home
in the suburbs
there are not so many places to eat.
there's the steak n shake {which is really embarrassing to be seen in if you're older than 17}
and there's mum's kitchen {which is quite yummy... but has never seen pork}
and so on the occasion,
we make a voyage to the city to try out whatzbingoinon in the chicago foods scene.
an hour of traffic and minimal driving-induced panicking by mum got us to
the newish restaurant by chicago's greatest goateed celeb chef, rick bayless
home to a zillion kinds of local/organic/bougey tortas. 
hot out of a woodburning oven.

{hallelujah! tortas are my fave!!! but does this mean i'm cheating on my beloved taco truck??}

after a batman-ride-at-six-flags-sized line,
victory was had and guacamole was in our tummies 
it was maybe the best damned guacamole i ever had, but shh don't tell stoop... she's the family guacamole maker
and tortas were ready to be eaten! yay yipee!! 

stoopie got a piggy torta with beans, pink pickled onions, and habanero salsa {which came with a nice little lecture about how we should proceed with caution}
and mum got chickens with beans and avocados.
while they really didn't resemble their taco truck brethren, 
they were quite tasty!
everything was really fresh and seazonedgood and mum/stoop seemed to enjoy them lots and lots!
however the crustiness of it all made me miss the soft white bread that made me fall in love with tortas in the first place.
...which is why it was a good thing that i got a griddle torta instead of the wood-fired ones that mum and stoop got.
this was on a softer white bread and was filled with
 prosciutto, beans, avocado, 
and 
chipotle mustard <--- hell yeah that's what swayed me.

it was like a really really scrumptious* panini.
it wasn't anything at all like the tortas i've had.
but it was good...
even though half way through i had to extract some of the prosciutto because i was on salt overload. 
but do you know how good an avocado and chipotle mustard sandwich is?! 
really good, apparently. 

*what the thesaurus in my head recommended after "tasty" was overused


dessert was a churro + vanilla soft serve
the churros in my elementary school's cafeteria < this churro < county fair churros
closer in goodness to the county fair churros. 
but, i mean, you all know that i'm a doughy food kind of gal. 
these were light and airy... good if you like that kind of thing. 


but the bottom line is:

where's the horchata, mr. bayless?!
wtf?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i will wait on that line again if and only if that dude makes a horchata. and can it be boozey.

xoco is good. 
just bring snackees for the line, as to not cause a scene when you throw a hungry tantrum.

...19 restaurants to go. omg i'm in the teens!!



xoxo


yeh



xoco is in the chicago loop. 
and because chicago's streets aren't numbered, i have no idea how to direct you there.
UPDATE: the website says it's on north clark and illinois. but that don't mean nuthin to me.



here's to mum!

in
here's to mum
for being an awesome mum
{for reasons that i am still discovering}

here's to her red spatula obsession,
her schnapps-spiked brownies,
and freshly baked scones that i wake up to every morning when i'm home.

here's to the jars of mustard
that get confiscated by airport security
every time she visits me,

and here's to all of the hours she has spent looking for her reading glasses,
when they are right on top of her head.

here's to her politically incorrectness,
her outstanding singing voice,
and to the fact that she knows i'm kidding about her singing voice.

to her garden,
to the way she makes my bed,
to her convincing me to get twitter,
and to her hilarious text messages regarding the location of my favorite food trucks.

to our future walking schnitzel tour of austria,
to that one time we almost died and went to heaven at enoteca vespaio,
and to her poise when she found a three-year-old me giving myself a haircut under the kitchen table.

to her endless encouragement,
to her support and advice,
and to her always believing in me.

i love you, mum!

happy mothers' day!!




xoxo


yeh