This weekend is September 16 we celebrate the Mexican independence and we are going to have two grate plates, POZOLE (Rojo ) and Chiles en Nogada. Some of you have ask for the Pozole and I want to make sure that those from the LTHForum how ask for Pozole know that this next Friday, Saturday and Sunday we are going to have it along whit the Chiles en Nogada you can’t miss it.




Pozole: From Spanish pozole, from Nahuatl potzolli; variant spellings: posole, posolé, pozolé, pozolli, posol) is a traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew made from hominy, with pork (or other meat), chile, and other seasonings and garnish, such as cabbage, lettuce, oregano, cilantro, avocado, radish, lime juice, etc. There are a number of variations on pozole, including blanco (white or clear), verde (green), de frijol (with beans), and elopozole.



Chiles en Nogada: The recipe is said to have been concocted by the grateful people of Puebla, who were giving a banquet in honor of Don Agustin de Iturbide's saint's day, August 28 in 1821. He and his followers had led the final revolt against Spanish domination; as self-proclaimed emperor he had just signed the Treaty of Cordoba. All the dishes at the banquets were concocted of ingredients of the color of the Mexican flag; in this dish were the green chilies, the white sauce, and the red pomegranate seeds.



Best regards,
Antonio
____________________________
Xni-Pec De Yucatan Restaurant
Mexican Food

Chiles en Nogada is one of my favorite dishes. I'm going to do my best to get there this weekend to sample Xni-pec's version.

Last Friday, Sept. 7th, my wife and I visited Xni-Pec for the special of Relleno Negro tacos. I've been wanting to try them for a while. When we visited the Yucatan in May, inTulum, we saw the black paste in bags in the stores, but we were afraid of any airport complications in trying to bring some home. We were pretty excited about getting to try it at Xni-Pec. We ordered 4 tacos. It was soooo good, we ordered another round. They were prepared with shredded turkey, the black paste, and homemade tortillas. The flavor was way over the top, just excellent. An appetizer, tacos, 2 margaritas, and a agua melon totaled $32. We can't wait to try this weekends special.

Wound up at Xni-Pec tonight 8:30-9:15ish. Tried the Chile en Nogada. Sauce was a tad on the sweet-ish side for my taste, but I finished it all. As an aside, I could have sworn I heard another table speaking with the manager about LTH. You guys brought a bottle, and split the pozole ( I think.) We were on the wall near the TV. Should have said hi and introduced, but whatever. Pozole looked quite tasty.

I made my first visit to this restaurant late-afternoon/early-evening, after visiting the festival in the nearby La Villita neighborhood of Chicago.

For people who depend upon public transportation (as I am), the restaurant is a reasonable/not difficult walk from a CTA bus terminal (end point) and/or the Cicero Station of the Blue Line "El" (trying this in the dead of Winter, however, may prove uncomfortable).



To make a long story short: Though I chose tacos and a tamale rather than a full meal (focusing on a plated entree), I enjoyed the freshness, taste and overall quality of what I ate. Antonio was my host/waiter - and he was gracious and an excellent server.

I didn't let Antonio finish reciting the beer selections, once I heard him mention Pacifico. This Mazatlan-associated beer (not from the Yucatan, however) is one of my favorites - and that's what I ordered to accompany my meal this evening (just 2).

My meal consisted of: Taco de Peccadillo - a taco of fish in a tomato sauce/salsa; Taco de Pescado - a tacos of fish (tlapia) topped by cabbage and tomato; Taco de Cochinita; Taco de Camaron (shrimp taco); Vaporcito (tamal w/chicken and tomato salsa) - followed by dessert of Queso Napolitano.

Taco de Cochinita Pibil



Vaporcito



Taco de Peccadillo and Taco de Camaron



Queso Napolitano



Everything was excellent-tasting - and if I had to pick a favorite amongst my choices it would be the cochinita pibil - I could have made a meal out of a large plate of this meat/onion/sauce. I don't typically order fish tacos, but the two different selections I tried (which included the shrimp) were enjoyable. The tamal was okay, nothing special - and I still prefer the Chiapas renditions (in banana leaf) better. The Queso Napolitano was too dense for me (not offensive, but not to my liking) and I enjoy better the more custardy rendition you see typically served in Mexican restaurants.

Two beers, the tacos, tamal and queso - and the check came to a few cents over $20.

Good restaurant, great restaurant, restaurant worthy of "Check Please"? - I can't offer much commentary given my one-visit experience. We don't have many restaurants which present cuisine from the Yucatan in Mexico, so I understand the clamor to support this place.

Location isn't the only challenge facing the restaurant. I doubt that all that many people in La Villita and Cicero Mexican communities are going to provide a base of support here - because, in my experience, Mexicans aren't the adventurous types - when it comes to trying different cuisines . . . they stick with what they know best, food from their region of Mexico. But, one can always hope . . . and hope to educate about something "different." There were two Mexican festivals within a stone's throw of the restaurant today (La Villita and Cicero) - and I don't think the owners made the slightest attempt to market the restaurant to what we might think of it's base of support.

When I recall my visits to the Yucatan I think of sunlight, beaches, archaeological zones - and those senses are absent from this restaurant; it's a dreary, dismal-appearing interior. Maybe they should hand people flash lights as they enter, or at least a candle. The dining experience isn't just about food quality - though some will argue with me about that, I'm certain. Ambiance adds to the experience - and ambiance is lacking here - ambiance which will transport people's thinking to the Yucatan. The room is too dark and not festive enough - not "fun" enough.

It was a bit of a struggle for me to get to the restaurant today, a struggle I made because of the respect I have for the opinions of people encouraging us to give it a try - but it's out of my circulation pattern and I don't expect to get back any time soon. I did enjoy the visit, though - and thank those of you who've taken the time to comment on your own experiences.

Bill wrote:Location isn't the only challenge facing the restaurant. I doubt that all that many people in La Villita and Cicero Mexican communities are going to provide a base of support here - because, in my experience, Mexicans aren't the adventurous types - when it comes to trying different cuisines . . . they stick with what they know best, food from their region of Mexico.

I believe Antonio mentioned once that the lack of local Yucatecans made it even tougher going for him.

David, as we've observed/learned over the years: many/most immigrants who have come to Chicago from Mexico have traveled originally (some times via Texas) from northern and central Mexico; the Yucatan is a very long journey - and I don't think Chicago is a destination for many from that region (for the "Yucatecos"). This restaurant's base of support will come not from Mexicans, but from other ethnic groups here in Chicago who've either traveled to the Yucatan on vacation and have fond memories or who are adventurous as far as trying different (from their own) cuisines. Locate this restaurant conveniently on the north side of the city proper - and you'll probably have full tables most nights of the week.

Locate this restaurant conveniently on the north side of the city proper - and you'll probably have full tables most nights of the week.

But take it away from its proximity to Oak Park and I can no longer have it all to myself.

I took my parents there tonight and we had a delightful meal. They have been much busier since the Check, Please! filming and are going to need to ramp up service on Friday and Saturday nights when things have been getting slow, but the food quality is still excellent. The huachinango was slightly fishy tonight but the vaporcitos and cochinita pibil were moister and even more tasty than usual, and I can't argue with a $69 bill that includes four courses (panuchos, vaporcitos, tacos and papadzules, huachinango) for four people and four alcoholic drinks.

I'll add my own tasty and serviceable but slightly underwhelming account.

Tried Xni Pec for the first time tonight with a few friends. First off, I have to comment that there were obviously service problems. I called ahead and asked if we needed to make a reservation. The person who answered the phone suggested that this night in particular that we should. I took this to mean that they expected a larger than normal crowd due to the parades in the area.

They sure didn't seem to staff for it.

We walked in to a fairly full restaurant at 7 with just a couple of tables open. Two in our party were late in arriving, but it took over 15 minutes to get water or chips and salsa to the table. It seemed that there were only 2 people working the floor and they were obviously overwhelmed. But, delays like this continued throughout the night.

Salsa was good and chips seem fresh fried, tasty and crisp. When our party was complete, we ordered a few appetizers and then entrees indicating that we were going to share. Another longish wait followed and we were served everything at once. There may have been some miscommunication, and normally I wouldn't have minded much. But because it was well over an hour after we sat down that we actually received any food, it would have been nice to have received the appetizers out first.

The 'appetizer' portion of the meal consisted of two empanadas, one bean and one corn & mushroom. We had ordered the ceviche appetizer, but this seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle when the server had to interrupt our order to see to one of his children. This wasn't so big a deal as I frankly forgot it never arrived. But it goes to underscore some of the service issues I am describing. For our entrees, we got the pollo pibil (one no-pork eater in the group), papdzules, the huachinango entree and the chiles en nogada special.

Of these, the corn & mushroom empanada and the papdzules were the stand-outs. The pollo pibil was pretty much made by the power-packed habanero hot sauce served alongside it. But it didn't taste a far cry better than the cochinita I've made at home in my slow cooker. I do want to return to try the pork sometime given the praise that it has gotten here. The chiles en nogada wast tasty, but I found the meat filling to be a little either gristly or overcooked. The poblano added just a bit of heat to the creamy sauce, but I was hoping that there would be more contrast to the dish, more of a brightness of flavor. The pomegranate added some of this, but it would have been better had there been more of them. As a whole, it didn't really pop for me.

The huachinango was tasty and well executed. But I think I prefer the version I've had at La Oaxaquena. The papdzule really made my mouth happy. A rich pumpkin-seed based sauce over soft tamals with egg and a slightly acidic note from the red sauce on top. They were served a big lukewarm but I really liked the flavors of this dish.

To their credit, the staff realized that we were waiting a while tonight so they provided a slice of queso napolitano on the house. This was a nice touch. I don't know what other versions of this dish might taste like, but it was indeed dense. It seemed much like a caramel-topped cheesecake. It might have been too rich for one diner after a long meal, but it was perfect for 4 to split after we finally stuffed our bellies with food. And it filled us up just enough to cancel my plans to hit the Depot afterwards for fresh-fried donuts.

I'll give a restaurant some slack for service gaffes. It does irk me somewhat that they seemed to know that this would be a busy night but seemed unable to keep up with the crowds. But, at the same time, it seemed that the staff was also watching children while working which made their jobs a bit harder. I am certainly sympathetic to this. Still, I didn't feel the same warm, conversational welcome that others have felt. Things felt long and drawn out when we were waiting to place our order or get our food. And when it was delivered to the table, it was pretty businesslike. I saw the staff taking time to chat with other tables (which was pretty frustrating when we were trying to get their attention for water and taking our order and the like), but we never got the same personalized service.

So, it could have been an off night. I'll grant them that. We cleaned our plates as we were quite hungry. Everything was at least tasty. But as far as what I ate, I was not blown away. A good meal, albeit far away. Had I had a more memorable first experience, I make make a point to come back. As it is, I would like to give them another chance, but I don't feel compelled to swing by again anytime soon.

Just another data point.

jacontrerasv wrote:This weekend is September 16 we celebrate the Mexican independence and we are going to have two grate plates, POZOLE (Rojo ) and Chiles en Nogada.

LTH,

Both specials described above were stunning. Posole, one layer of flavor after another married together by broth so rich, silky, smooth, one small sip and I got a clear mental image of soup bones bubbling away over night.

Posole Rojo


Chiles en Nogada, complex, sophisticated, light clean flavored sauce with its slightly granular undercurrent of ground walnuts and scattering of pomegranate seeds lending texture counterpoint.

Chiles en Nogada


Four of us had a number of dishes, each delicious and service, which others have mentioned, at lunchtime yesterday (Sat, 9.15), was above reproach. One of the best all around meals I have had in recent memory.

Enjoy,
Gary

Well, after much anticipation for another return visit to Xni-Pec (our 7th?) for this weekend's specials that they posted on the LTH, we went Sunday, at 11:10AM. I checked the website for the Sunday hours (11:00AM- 9:00PM). When we got there, it was closed and dark, no one in the kitchen. The posted hours state 11:00AM. Another couple came up to the door as well. They were from Oswego! We waited about 10 minutes, called their phone, still no answer. We decided to make a quick run to Home Depot, and return. We came back at 11:50. Still closed and dark. We made one last call at noon, and gave up. Not a great way to run a business.

I'm sorry to hear you and the Oswego visitors were disappointed; I'd chalk it up to the Dia de la Independencia. Typically, the 15th (Grito de Dolores) is the public event, drivearounds, and fiestas, and the 16th is celebrated privately with family. As Gastro and I pointed out above, they were swamped by the end of the night yesterday. I think it was pre-planned to be closed today but perhaps they forgot to post the sign.

The website currently states 11-8 for Sundays hours, and before the Check, Please! shooting a few weeks ago, they had been closing even earlier if nobody was around. That doesn't seem to be a problem currently, but they do have to ramp up staff and communication for what certainly will be increasing demand this fall and winter.

Santander wrote:they do have to ramp up staff and communication for what certainly will be increasing demand this fall and winter.

Yes.

TheWindyCity wrote:Not a great way to run a business.

My Saturday lunch was above reproach, but I agree with WC about keeping, at least reasonably close, to stated hours.

Bill wrote:For people who depend upon public transportation (as I am), the restaurant is a reasonable/not difficult walk from a CTA bus terminal (end point) and/or the Cicero Station of the Blue Line "El" (trying this in the dead of Winter, however, may prove uncomfortable).

Do you mean the pink line that runs near Cermak Rd.? It is much closer than the blue line.

The whole "Pink Line" and "Blue Line" configuration confuses lots of people - including me. Whatever the line is called, my reference was for the station just N. of Cermak Road on Cicero.

Color Blind?

The signs on the train are blue - as has been historically the case; the Blue Line had two branches. The route to Cicero, however, has been designated "Pink", an odd choice IMO. Though the signs were blue on the train the motorman kept announcing passengers were on the "Pink Line." the Pink Line travels what was an abandoned portion of the city's elevated track system - and, after about 35 years of not having traveled that section of track, I enjoyed the trip. The Pink Line is accessed by cllimbing the stairs to the Loop elevated system - whereas in the recent past you got to Cicero Avenue by accessing the underground Blue Line subway.

jacontrerasv wrote:I want to make sure that those from the LTHForum how ask for Pozole know that this next Friday, Saturday and Sunday we are going to have it along whit the Chiles en Nogada you can’t miss it.

We did know it was a special day, but based on checking the site before we left, and the posting they made above on the forum, we figured it would be open, even more so on this day, as Mexican families go to breakfast after Sunday mass.

Also, during rush hour, blue line trains still run on the 54th+cermak branch. It's just the rest of the time that is pink-line-only.

The change from blue to pink happened what, last summer? I think it's understandable that people are still referring to it as blue. I know people who still call them the A/B trains, or the Douglas train, etc.

We were there last night (Sunday) fairly early and they were out of both specials, but said they would have them again the following weekend. There was only one other table of diners there so it seems that at least Sunday nights are still fairly quiet.

Went there with some friends last night for the first time. Antonio did a great job of informing us on the food and [in a nutshell b/c it's been covered], the food was great. We will definitely be going back to try some new things.

jbw wrote:By the way, has anyone else commented on the informal but, at least for this Yankee, authentic decor of Xni-pec? After a couple of Pacificos, I thought for sure I'd been transported into a cantina in downtown Cancun.

The friends we were with go to Mexico pretty often and they actually commented on how authentic the place looked and felt. Then, you go the men's restroom and see this:


I didn't have a camera with me so this isn't the actual poster but it's pretty darn close (i had to Google-image a comparable pic). I guess authentic Yucatan can still have a little touch of Chicago, right?

Or, more specifically, a little touch of <i>Cicero</i>.

After a terrific meal of roast duck and pan-fried noodles at GNR nominee Sun Wah last week, it was with high hopes that my friend and I made the long trek from Skokie to Cicero to this GNR nominee last night.

Sadly, I must join PaulSL and gastro gnome among the few dissenters on this thread.

It took a full 10 minutes just to get menus. The waitress was busy with the tabs for a large table, but I don't understand why Antonio or another guy on the floor couldn't have just dropped a couple on our table.

I had been looking forward to the tacos de cochinita pibil all day, as it sounded like the sort of dish that was right up my alley. But when I tried to order them, I was told that the pork was in the oven and I would have to wait a long time. I found this curious, as it was 8 p.m. Had they run out? Were they cooking it for the next day?

Instead I settled for salbutes. Here was another letdown. The masa-cakes were so greasy that by the time I got to the third one, I ate only the toppings. There was no questioning the freshness of the ingredients, but they were so bland that I had to add some pico de gallo.

For me the only highlight was the watermelon agua fresca de fruta. Delish.

My friend was not very hungry, so she ordered only the codzitos. The waitress tried to talk her into ordering an additional dish, which rubbed us the wrong way. At least the codzitos were tasty.

If I am going to travel a long way for Mexican food in the future, I will stick with Little Village.

I hope that Xni-Pec was just having an off night.

Xni-Pec is only 3 blocks from the Cicero Metra station on the BNSF line. It takes 12 minutes to get there from union station.

It is my understanding that the entire area around Xni-Pec is slated for major renovation including a multimillion dollar metra Staion Expansion

One other Xnipec dish I'd like to recommend (which I don't think has appeared before on this thread) is the choriqueso starter. It's a sausage-cheese combo served in a soupbowl, sort of a Mexican version of Chicago deep-dish pizza without the crust (that's what the flour tortillas are for). I don't think it's a Mayan specialty, and it's not very spicy, but quite flavorful and a keeper.

We think that all of you deserve and explanation, just to say sorry it’s never enough.

Last weekend was a weekend to forget. Do our financial situation we only have staff for weekends, and this weekend our staff in kitchen, dishwasher, busboy, where absent, they don´t show up to work we were exceed by work and no one to ask for help, well except for my brother who came to help and was forced to bring his little twin daughters.

After restaurants close still much work to be done, we really couldn’t be on time next day (Sunday), and we felt really sorry, we simply melt.

It’s an honest explanation, we realize that as costumers you shouldn’t care you still came to a restaurant a business and we know we need improve much more and be sure we are working on it.

Sorry to those who came on Sunday morning and we were close, if any one knows the people who came from Oswego or if they read this, please know that you are invited to come back to the restaurant any time and all is in the house.

----------------------------
Antonio Contreras
Xni-Pec de Yucatan

I can imagine that you had great difficulty operating the restaurant last weekend.

I can't speak for the people who showed up on Sunday, but it says a lot to me that you chose to visit the board to apologize and respond to some critiques.

Due to the circumstances and your effort to address them, I will definitely be back to dine again.

jacontrerasv wrote:We think that all of you deserve and explanation, just to say sorry it’s never enough.

Last weekend was a weekend to forget. Do our financial situation we only have staff for weekends, and this weekend our staff in kitchen, dishwasher, busboy, where absent, they don´t show up to work we were exceed by work and no one to ask for help, well except for my brother who came to help and was forced to bring his little twin daughters.

After restaurants close still much work to be done, we really couldn’t be on time next day (Sunday), and we felt really sorry, we simply melt.

It’s an honest explanation, we realize that as costumers you shouldn’t care you still came to a restaurant a business and we know we need improve much more and be sure we are working on it.

Sorry to those who came on Sunday morning and we were close, if any one knows the people who came from Oswego or if they read this, please know that you are invited to come back to the restaurant any time and all is in the house.

----------------------------
Antonio Contreras
Xni-Pec de Yucatan

Thank you for the explanation. I for one appreciate it and look forward to my next visit to your place. Hasta pronto.