Revisiting Chilam Balam

One of my good friends, Sam, asked me to dinner last Sunday. The destination? Chilam Balam. This cozy Mexican small plates restaurant is a relatively new addition to the East Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. This fantastic new place just happens to be approximately 6 blocks from my apartment – lucky me

This is my second visit to Chilam Balam – the first visit was detailed in this post, and it was incredibly delicious and fun. Sam and I decided to share several small plates and forgo the large plates. We started with the delicious guacamole which was just as great as the first time I tried it.

Our subsequent choices came from the ever-changing menu. Unfortunately, I was so busy catching up with my friend (whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time after she started culinary school), so I didn’t write down descriptions of our menu choices – sorry!

But I did take some great (by iPhone standards) photos of our scrumptious meal.

This yummy dish had a chipotle tomato sauce, an acid-filled salad, and a white bean puree in something similar to puff pastry. Delish!

Next came the pork belly with blood orange glaze, toasted pumpkin seeds and a salad (which I think had apple in it). This was totally unbelievable. This was the first time I tried pork belly and it was the best few bites of pork I’ve ever eaten in my life. This plate has to rank among one of the top five things I’ve ever eaten. So good. Crispy, moist, tender – tender doesn’t even cut it as a descriptor here.

We also ordered this seasonal dish that featured black beans and lamb chorizo. It was accompanied by an avocado sauce that was heavily infused with cilantro. It was good, but not my favorite. The pork belly was my favorite. Duh!

Then came time for dessert. Sam ordered the chocolate chile mousse, which came with plaintains and an orange and toasted marshmallow sauce. This was rich, fluffy and creamy – just what a mousse should be. The orange marshmallow sauce was quite interesting, providing a brightness to the dish.

I ordered the chocolate bread pudding. Dear lord! It was like the most delicious brownie you’ve ever eaten had a baby with your grandmother’s homemade chocolate pudding. Served warm and topped with a rhubarb (my first time eating rhubarb!) sauce, this was the perfect end to another fantastic dinner at Chilam Balam. The ice cream was mapley and nutty, and served atop a walnut butter with crunchy nuts (macadamia?). It was fantastic. I could have eaten about 5 more of these. And 5 more plates of the pork belly – make that 10!

I definitely recommend Chilam Balam if you haven’t tried it yet. If you aren’t a Chicago resident, I suppose you can just live vicariously through me! If you have visited, be sure to cast your votes for Time Out Chicago’s Eat Out Awards 2010. Chef and owner, Chuy Valencia, is nominated for best new chef, and Chilam Balam is also nominated for best new Mexican restaurant.

P.S. Check out those great fingerless gloves that Sam is wearing – she knit them!

What fantastic Mexican restaurants or recipes top your lists of good eats?