25 October, 2011

Eating in Chicago Eclair to Chile Relleno

While in Chicago over the weekend, The Dulcinea and I dined at a couple fine establishments.

The first was Sensational Bites, a dessert café. The D got a slice of carrot cake while I went with an eclair the size of my head.





I had a sliver of the cake and it was mmm-mmm good. Very moist and flavorful. With all the shredded carrot visible, The D said it was like there was a whole carrot in just this piece.

My eclair was great as well. Great in taste and in size. It was the equivalent of a burrito from La Bamba - the size of my head. The custard filling was among the best I've had with specks of vanilla bean in it. Much to my delight, it wasn't overly sweet. The custard was rich and creamy but not cloyingly sugary. For its part, the frosting was made from dark chocolate so it retained a goodly amount of bitterness along with that earthy chocolate flavor instead of simply being a brown-colored layer of sugar.





The other noteworthy eatery was Tuxpan Mexican Grill. It's owned and run by Jaime and Mary Cianca. It's basically a whole in the wall kind of place and the food was great. Things started out with chips and three varieties of salsa plus a pitcher of water full of lime slices. My mom order a taco plate which was a tamale and a taco, The D had enchiladas suizas, and I got chile rellenos. My dish came with two chilies - one stuffed with cheese and the other beef. All orders had beans, rice, and salad.

Mary was our server and it turned out she and her family used to live a couple doors down from my mother. And so a conversation ensued. Everything is made from scratch. Jaime does most of the cooking but Mary does a couple dishes including the chile rellenos. The tamales are are a hit with their family and I can attest that they are tasty. There were no complaints at our table and we left with full bellies. Plus the prices were very reasonable.

If you're ever in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, check Tuxpan out.

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