Good Mexican Food in River North

We are traveling into the Windy City tonight and staying in River North. Have eaten at Frontra many times, hate the wait and pricey but good food. Know of any comparable Mexican restaurants waking distance in River North area besides Frontra? P.S. Good drinks too!
Doug
Louisville, KY

I ate at Topolobampo at 7:30 a few Thursday nights ago, and there was virtually no wait to be seated at Frontera Grill. So don't rule it out for fear of a wait that might not exist. (Many of us locals go early to avoid long waits.)

You can also try XOCO, Rick Bayless's new restaurant serving "Mexican street food", right around the corner from Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. Details on his website.

One strategy to reduce the cost is to go for lunch rather than dinner. All three restaurants are open for lunch during the week, and lunch at Topolobampo is surprisingly similar in price to Frontera's. Also, Frontera Grill is open for brunch on Saturdays.

There's nothing else I would recommend that's walkable (or within "waking distance" ). And I don't think anyplace else is really comparable to what he is doing. We actually have at least a dozen other restaurants throughout Chicagoland serving creative regional Mexican food, most of which are excellent, but none of them are within walking distance (Salpicon is the closest, and it's a mile away) and none of them are significantly less expensive than Frontera Grill. If you would like to try one of the others (or even just to check out its website), my favorite is Mundial Cocina Mestiza in Pilsen, near the CTA Pink Line station at 18th Street. Another excellent one that's a bit more unusual and not all that far is Mexique, which serves French-influenced Mexican food; it's in West Town, two miles west of River North and accessible by the #66 CTA bus that goes down Chicago Avenue. A bit further away are Fonda del Mar, on Lincoln and accessible by the #11 CTA bus (or a half mile walk from the Irving Park station on the CTA Brown Line), and Mixteco Grill, a half mile east of the Montrose station on the CTA Brown Line.

nsxtasy wrote:
You can also try XOCO, Rick Bayless's new restaurant serving "Mexican street food", right around the corner from Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. Details on his website.

While I'm not trying to be confrontational in any sense, I do feel that a more accurate description is that XOCO is serving "Chef Rick's 'TAKE' on Mexican street food." If I went to XOCO expecting what is widely perceived to be "Mexican street food," I'd assume the sticker shock factor would be pretty high. I'm sure we all know five or six places we can go for a torta de carnitas for under 5 bucks (my personal favorite is under $3) that are stuffed with succulent porky bits. I'm not saying XOCO is overpriced, I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying that straight up "Mexican street food" might be a misleading label of what they are slinging out. If you go there expecting a couple of tortas and a drink or two, and go in armed with a 20.00 bill, thinking you're gonna get change back...

seebee wrote:While I'm not trying to be confrontational in any sense, I do feel that a more accurate description is that XOCO is serving "Chef Rick's 'TAKE' on Mexican street food."

No offense taken. That's what Chef calls it on his website. You can see the XOCO menu (including prices) there.

For more detailed views on XOCO, see these discussions here on LTH:

Xoco
Bruno's Comments in XOCO Review

I stopped at XOCO last week. I enjoyed what I had, and was not put off by the prices or - unlike my recent dinner at Topolobampo - the portion sizes.

We also need to realize that we locals get exposed to a variety of restaurants around town, including outlying neighborhoods and/or suburbs, particularly those close to home. Those places for "street food" may not be convenient to visitors from out of town staying in River North, for whom it may not be worth traveling to those outlying neighborhoods for the few dollars difference in price.