I'm a big fan of the guac; we get it every time. It's very fresh, with a subtle kick to it. It's also served in a cool silver serving dish. Another option might be the assorted appetizer platter from the menu, which includes the guac, ceviche, a chicken enchilada-type item, and a cheese-enchilada-type item (sorry I'm not sufficiently well-versed in Mexican food to know their proper names, but I do know that they're all excellent).

seebee wrote:

BR wrote:All sounds good . . . I wouldn't waste my time with the guacamole though. It will fill you up and there's nothing very special about SdM's guac.

The guac was just something that could be set on the table to munch on while waiting for everyone to show, pouring drinks, chatting, etc. But thanks for the intel. Might go with something else now, or skip it altogether.

You might just ask Carlos what he would suggest, although personally, I think that stacks of fresh tortillas and moles for dipping would be a perfect way to start the meal.

Sooo - The dinner was last night. I posted in another thread that I was a little disappointed that by the democratic process I used in letting the other 8 ppl choose the dinner spot, that sdm was the vote. (I only gave them a choice of Thai or Mexican. Thai would've been Tac. I kinda wanted to try some new things over there, but anyway -)

I could not have been more wrong about thinking TAC would have been better. SDM came through BIG TIME for us.

BTW - THEY HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE NOW!!

The menu ended up like this:

Appetizer samplers for 9. Traffic was not the best all over town, and a few were running late. I told a member of the group that if they saw an app that looked good, just go ahead and get it. The app sampler was a little on the fried side (taquitos, cheese in fried breading, etc) but the ceviche was pretty darn good. Entire table commented on how it stood out as very good.

Pre-arranged courses:
I spoke to Carlos several times over the past few weeks to set up a menu for everyone in the party to try this place's stuff. Kind of like a family style tapas kind of thing. He totally nailed it. Totally.
Course 1:
Ostrich w/ mashed potatoes and tortillas.
Wow. I read upthread that the ostrich was not tender. It is not a fatty bird, so when overcooked it is not the best stuff. Ours was done absolutely perfectly. The entire table was absolutely gushing about this stuff. Perfectly med rare, it had the texture of a cross between a nice med rare sirloin, and a medium rare filet, with the flavor of filet. Some were hesitant with their first taste of ostrich, but all were completely thrilled after their first bite. The mashed potatoes were also a highlight - with the flavor of garlic and some kind of tangy cheese. If I went back tonight, I'd get a whole plate of ostrich for myself, and not share. Fantastic.

Course 2:
Mahi Mahi w/ rice with tortillas.
I've had fresher mahi mahi, but I will not complain. I think my quibble might really be stemming from the fact that this came after the damn near perfect ostrich presentation. This was served Mojo de Ajo style. Sauce was very light with plenty of caramelized onion, with bits of avocado. The rice was cooked with broth, olive oil, butter, and wine. It was QUITE flavorful. The fish was good, but the sauce and the rice was better. On a scale of 1-10, the fish would have gotten a 5, and the rest of the presentation was a 9 bringing the average up to a 7. Throw in the homemade tortillas to pinch up bits of onions/avocado in that sauce, and as a whole, it was an 8.5. Not BAD at all, and actually quite good, but the fish was just average.

Course 3:
Tampiquena - family style.
The skirt steak was ON!!!!
We had a few platters of the skirt steak, a platter of chicken enchiladas, beans, and plantains. The enchiladas were OK, suffering from the "white meat only" chicken choice. The beans were remarked on multiple times as being excellent, but the skirt steak was ON!!!.

Dessert:
Tres Leches. I asked Carlos if he could make a tres leches for us, and he repeated over and over again - My God, we are going to make you the best tres leches in the world. No-really, you don't even know how good this cake is gonna be!" I'm no expert, but I thought I did not like tres leches...until last night. His version was single layer, about 4.5 inches tall. It looked absolutely dry, but was SOAKED! All of the groaning about being too full for desert from everyone at the table was replaced with refrains of, "holy SH*T, is this good" followed by a few surprisingly clean plates, and a request for a few clamshells to take the few bites left home. SDM kicked our asses last night. My Hat's off to Carlos, La Dona Bahena, and the staff that had to clean up all of those btls of wine and beer bottles we left behind. A GREAT dinner from a GNR.

Stealing a line from that thread on Katsu, I am SDM's B*tch.


BTW - Food and Wine rag is giving SDM some love in some article about "Where to go next in Chicago"
ARTICLE/BLURB

BTW2 - we brought a cooler full of beer, and wines, and they let the beers slide, and I believe corkage was 4.50. They got the license last Saturday, and are giving a little bit of a grace period. We saw others walking in with 12 packs.

Again, I repeat,
THEY HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE NOW!

seebee wrote:BTW - THEY HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE NOW!!

That's too bad.

aschie30 wrote:

seebee wrote:BTW - THEY HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE NOW!!

That's too bad.

This was my first reaction. But in retrospect, maybe it's a good thing (as is the press from Food & Wine). It might bring people (and more $$) in the door and help SdM to succeed.

seebee, I'm curious about the tres leches because I have not had it at SdM, and yet, it's one of my favorite Mexican desserts. Do you recall what the flavoring in the milk mixture was? And was the cake topped with any cream or just served as is?

BR wrote:seebee, I'm curious about the tres leches because I have not had it at SdM, and yet, it's one of my favorite Mexican desserts. Do you recall what the flavoring in the milk mixture was? And was the cake topped with any cream or just served as is?

Flavoring in the milk mixture was probably a vanilla, because if it was anything else, I would have definitely noted it. It was topped with a frosting that was not dense, but a cross between a whipped cream, and a very light buttercream.

BR wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

seebee wrote:BTW - THEY HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE NOW!!

That's too bad.

This was my first reaction. But in retrospect, maybe it's a good thing (as is the press from Food & Wine). It might bring people (and more $$) in the door and help SdM to succeed.

I went through the same thought process as well. One of the things I enjoy about SdM is my ability to pair my beer of choice with their food.

But, for a restaurant like that, serving alcohol may indeed be their key to longevity. I'll gladly sacrifice a welcome BYO policy if it means that their moles will be around for the foreseeable future.

Best,
Michael

I went to Sol de Mexico last week - must have been at the same time as seebee, unless there were others with coolers - and despite my determination to enjoy the experience, it just wasn't in the cards for me and my friend.

First, we drove there, which is a huge concession for me given my penchant for taking any combination of buses and trains absolutely everywhere. To me, driving + parking = truly going the distance, so I had some high expectations walking in because of the "trouble" I had gone through to get there.

Second, we walked in, happy as clams with our 6-pack of beer, so you can understand our confusion when we saw that people at the other 3 occupied tables had margaritas or wine that didn't look brought from home. Certainly didn't look BYOB anymore. Our waitress confirmed this for us, and in fact, sounded incredulous and confused that I could think that they were still BYOB, and did not sound understanding that I was not up to date on what may have transpired in their business within the past week. Needless to say, we were shamed into getting margaritas when she informed us that their corkage fee was $15 and that they now had a sign in the window that indicated their non-BYOB status. (we could have sworn she said the corkage fee was $50, and I even asked her to repeat herself, but that's just crazy, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here and assume it's $15) Regardless, not going to pay $15 to drink our own beer.

Next was the food. We ordered the guacamole to start, I had the duck, my friend had some vegetable dish. The duck was really good, but I was not a huge fan of the mashed potatoes, mostly because I expected mashed sweet potatoes (as I thought the menu said) and they were regular potatoes. My friend was lukewarm on the vegetable dish...I was trying to convince her to try the rabbit that was on the menu, but let's face it. I keep trying to take her to places like SdM, but she just gets thrown off when menus in Mexican restaurants don't consist entirely of fajitas, burritos, and enchiladas. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just keep forcing someone out of their element when they don't want to be, so I'm not surprised she was disappointed. For dessert, we had the flan, which was much firmer than any flan I had ever eaten. Not sure if that's the way flan is *supposed* to be, but it was not my favorite flan.

Then there was the service. The guys filling the water glasses kind of made a point to not fill our water glasses after our main courses were cleared. I say this because they filled water at the tables next to us, but not ours, even though our glasses were completely empty and those of our neighbors' were not. We had to ask for more water, after 15 minutes, the dessert menu, even more time, the check. A dinner that should have taken maybe 90 minutes took almost three hours and I felt completely ignored.

I don't know what it was, but every exchange I had with everyone in the restaurant seemed to be carried out on their part with an attitude that I should have known better. First, with the new non-BYOB policy, and then, when I tried to pay with a credit card that they didn't accept. I'm all for being corrected about stuff, but I felt kind of belittled. I left feeling pretty sad that my experience wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped for.

jn2001,
Thanks for sharing your experience, and sorry it didn't measure up to your expectations. While I've had 2 meals at SdM, and both were excellent, I think it's really helpful to have reviews like yours to balance all the positives. Maybe you caught a particular server on a bad day, maybe the kitchen had some off moments that you had to bear the brunt of, or maybe SdM just isn't your cup of tea. Whatever the reasons for your less than stellar experience, I'm glad you had the "guts" to post about it even knowing that this is a favorite place of so many people on the board.

May your next dining experience be better,
Kennyz

This was probably the first negative post in a long time about SdM, but I agree that it's helpful to hear a variety of opinions. One thing I'm contemplating is to what extent the new non-BYOB policy will change the SdM experience. One of the joys of SdM, for me, at least, has been the BYOB policy. There's a certain pleasure in making your own margaritas at home, or picking out that nice bottle of wine from your home collection or the neighborhood store, and then enjoying it with the typically wonderful food and service at SdM. Selfishly, it also makes the SdM experience a lot more affordable. Now, I understand that liquor service is a huge money-maker for most restaurants, and I'd much rather see SdM succeed for a long time rather than go out of business on account of not having a liquor license, but I fear the loss of at least one joyful aspect of the SdM experience.

eatchicago wrote:But, for a restaurant like that, serving alcohol may indeed be their key to longevity. I'll gladly sacrifice a welcome BYO policy if it means that their moles will be around for the foreseeable future.

We recently made our first "post-liquor license" visit to Sol de Mexico at the peak of the dining week (Saturday night, 8pm). I was pleased to see the place bustling with Carlos behind the bar shaking margaritas and pouring "sipping" tequila for a crowd.

The food was still up to the high standards that we've come to expect from Sol de Mexico. Cookie's favorite sopecito sampler was just as nice a way to start a meal as it has always been. She wanted to follow it up with some red meat but thought the tampiquena to be to basic for a Saturday night out. I suggested the ostrich in red mole (a new-to-me dish), and I'm glad I did. The meat was very tender the mole, was fruity, bold, and complex.

I went for the picadillo-stuffed quail in guajillo sauce. Another nice dish, but I think the quail would have benefitted from a little brining. Nevertheless, they were only a supporting player to a top-notch sauce.

This is not the same Sol de Mexico that I first met many months ago. The small plates menu is basically trimmed to a few plates*, the quiet neighborhood vibe has been replaced with the hustle of a hot hidden gem, and BYOB has been replaced with high-end tequilas. But I knew that this had to happen. Sol de Mexico was in a "grow or die" situation from day one, and Carlos has always had strong ambitions for his restaurant. If SdM didn't become the restaurant it is today, it wouldn't exist. I'm glad they have their liquor license and it warmed my heart to see Carlos laughing and smiling with his customers while he shook up margaritas.

Fortunately, the heart of the restaurant is still there. Terrific moles, nice preparations of regional specialties, beautiful handmade tortillas, and a welcoming host.

Best,
Michael

*I really miss the cheap chunks of fatty lamb shoulder swimming in black mole. Now they use more upscale lamb chops.

I don't like Sol de Mexico's margaritas. Too much triple sec. (a drop is too much for me)

OK, with that out of the way, and having proven that I'm able to speak about this place with a degree of balance, let me say that I had perhaps the single best dish of 2008 this past Sunday at Sol de Mexico. It was a grilled marlin special with an intoxicating mix of roasted garlic pieces, rajas, and another vegetable or two topping it. The marlin was moist, fresh, and perfectly cooked. The roasted garlic in the topping was like candy. I just couldn't get enough of it (thankfully, there was plenty to be had). The server explained the several-hours-long process used to make this garlic: first flash fry it with skin on, then shock in cold water and peel, then very slow roast/ poach in olive oil for at least 2 hours. Serve garlic pieces whole atop fish, and use the intense roasted garlic oil to pan roast the rajas and veg that supplement the topping. My mouth waters every time I think about this dish.

If you're a garlic lover like I am, I'd suggest that you call Sol de Mexico and find out if this dish is on the menu. If it is, get there!

Very nice dinner at Sol de Mexico tonight.

We started with guacamole which was good, but nothing mind blowing. We also had some marlin ceviche served on top of tortilla chips. The ceviche was bright and fresh with just the right amount of spice.

For my main course I had the duck in a red mole. This was out of this world, probably one of the best Mexican dishes I've ever had. The duck was tender, perfectly cooked perfectly spiced. The mole was a perfect complement, with that "complex" flavor that really does describe it perfectly. The wife had skirt steak, which was also both perfectly cooked and seasoned. She doesn't like chicken so I got her enchilada. I just wanted to bite, but I somehow managed to finish the whole thing.

Desserts were crepas with caramel and pecans and empanadas filled with fruit served with vanilla ice cream. The empanadas were ok, but the crepas were simply outstanding.

We sat down at 5:30 and there was only one other party in the restaurant. By the time we left at about 7:15 a couple more tables were filled but it looked like it was going to be a quiet night. The chef came out midway to make sure were enjoying everything and to also ask us to tell our friends about the restaurant. It would be a real tragedy for a restaurant of this caliber to suffer a lack of business. We plan on going back, and I hope other LTH'ers will remember to give Sol de Mexico a little love.

Odd to see this at the top of new posts, as we went last night for the first time in awhile. As Anabelia was explaining the specials, I inquired about a dish I'd had there last fall. Turns out it was on the regular menu, not specials. I remembered the mone de pescado as one of the single best things I've eaten in a restaurant (or anywhere), and it proved itself again last night. Halibut, sliced tomato, two thin slices of chile guero, two slices of platano on top of the fish, a leaf of hoja santa underneath it, all wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf and served with a serrano chile sauce on the side. Herbaceous, a hint of picante, earthy, fishy, wonderful. It will be on the menu for a few more weeks while Carlos can still get the fresh hoja santa leaf. I will go back to have it again.

Himself had the duck with red mole, which vanished without any offer of a bite for me. As I wasn't offering any of mine either, I can only assume it was too good to share.

This might fall under the "save this restaurant" category. My wife and I were heading into the city from the North Shore on Saturday night around 730pm, and decided to veer off the Edens at Wilson and head to Sol de Mexico. We illegally used our cell phone to call first to see if they could handle our party of two, and were told no problem. Arriving around 8pm, there were only four tables occupied, with the entire south wall and window table empty. No other parties arrived by the time we were finished around 915pm.

The food was excellent, as always. Started with the appetizer platter, then on to corn tamales and the special, pork loin in black mole. The house margaritas were terrific, too, and the service was stellar. The place looked great, too, with a new banquette, silverware and candles.

I fear that the move away from BYOB has moved SdM away from the top of mind in favor of places like Mixteco Grill. Or maybe it's the natural shelf-life of most restaurants. In any event, we will keep SdM on our semi-regular rotation.

ParisCat wrote:This might fall under the "save this restaurant" category.

It has: http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles ... -de-mexico

I must admit, I haven't been to SdM in over two years, and I feel a little guilty about that.

David Hammond wrote:It has: http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles ... -de-mexico

Interesting - that article was from over a year ago.

It seems that Geno Bahena opens and closes restaurants quite often. Time will tell whether the pattern also holds for his family members at SdM.

We had a typical, lovely dinner at SdM tonight with a group from our neighborhood. The Tamipquena was still the most delicious steak, and perfectly cooked. The moles were complex and savory, the tortillas fresh and toothsome. The service was, as ever, warm, considerate, and well-paced. Yet it was Saturday night and the place was only half full. If you love SdM, please come dine there so we do not lose it!

Jen

We were there last Sunday. 6pm reservation, 2 other tables occupied when we sat down, we were the last to leave. Granted it was a Sunday night, but still.

This could be another GNR that needs saving.

We had a very nice meal here this past Sunday, but they were really slow even by Sunday night standards. One table of three ladies was on dessert when we walked in at 7:15 p.m. They left mid-way into our dinner and only one other couple came in before we left at shortly after 8:30 p.m. I do hope their Fri/Sat business is still strong. Please go on a weeknight or Sunday evening! We shared a wonderful calamari appetizer special. It was sauteed with banana peppers and onions and served with a chunky green salsa. Husband had the pork chop in red mole and I ordered the salmon (med-rare,) in green mole. Both came with their signature mashed potatoes and mine was garnished with a pile of super-thin and crispy fried onions. House-made tortillas were fresh and warm. Service, as always in our experience, was welcoming, informed, and efficient. It's a tad above our price point for frequent dining, but we're definately going to try to show our appreciation for what they do by getting there more often.

We had another outstanding meal here last night. Thought I'd mention here that there are some new items on the entree menu, including my choice last night - Lobster Tail with Black Beans and Peppers. It was beautiful - perfectly broiled, slid right out of the shell, moist and tender meat, complimented by the smokey beans, and scooped up with their housemade tortillas. I thought $21.95 was a very fair price for this dish. Plan to head back soon for Scallops in Mole.

It's hard to believe that the last posts on SdM are from last summer-- I guess I am partly to blame, as we have been consistently enjoying the place. We went tonight with my parents and 5-year-old daughter and had a lovely time. The service, by Carlos himself, was attentive and gracious. They kindly turned down the music on request (it wasn't really loud, but I am a bit hard of hearing and my husband is soft-spoken). As always, they were completely polite and gracious to my daughter, even bringing her a lollipop after dinner.

The food was delicious-- dad and I had the tampiquena, which was cooked perfectly and a bit larger of a portion than last time I was there. I had to take some home, lucky me. The handmade tortillas were really good today-- perfectly toothsome, soft, and fresh. My husband had the veal chop with black mole and braised fennel-- a new dish on the menu. He tried a bit of my skirt steak and then said: "I won!", so I guess he liked it. He mopped up the sauce with the tortillas until his plate was nearly clean. I wish we remembered the camera. Happily, they seem to have quit making the fried beet tangle garnish thingie-- that was always a bit odd.

Last year I was a bit concerned about the lack of traffic at SdM, but I am happy to say that the place was busy-- even on a Sunday night. We got there early (5:15) and by the time we left around 6:30, there were 5 or 6 full tables. I guess business is good, because they are expanding (!!) into the space next door. Carlos said he expects the extra space to open in about 4 weeks.

My husband and I were commenting how lucky we are to have such a great restaurant in our neighborhood.

Jen

We went to SdM for a belated Mothers' Day-- another great meal. They have re-worked the menu again and added a few "lighter entrees" including a tacos al carbon plate with choices of chicken, fish, or "meat". I had the tacos with fish-- they were out of their usual mahi mahi and just had tilapia-- fine by me-- and the tilapia was delicious. The fish was grilled and topped with poblano peppers, and served with a side of pinto beans and meat, and guacomole. This was great-- I love their tortillas and this gave me a mode to eat as many as possible. My husband had the duck in green mole, also excellent. My daughter is looking over my shoulder and she wants to add that "it was so delicious it almost made me fall over" She also wants some smilies:

Anyone else going to SdM??

Cheers, Jen

Pie-love wrote:We went to SdM for a belated Mothers' Day-- another great meal. They have re-worked the menu again and added a few "lighter entrees" including a tacos al carbon plate with choices of chicken, fish, or "meat". I had the tacos with fish-- they were out of their usual mahi mahi and just had tilapia-- fine by me-- and the tilapia was delicious. The fish was grilled and topped with poblano peppers, and served with a side of pinto beans and meat, and guacomole. This was great-- I love their tortillas and this gave me a mode to eat as many as possible. My husband had the duck in green mole, also excellent. My daughter is looking over my shoulder and she wants to add that "it was so delicious it almost made me fall over" She also wants some smilies:

Anyone else going to SdM??

Cheers, Jen

Jen,

I quit going to Sol de Mexico a few years ago when they removed the small plates/tapas from the menu. I always felt that these little tastes were the strength of SdM and when they disappeared form the menu, the place lost its appeal for me. It sounds like they have restored at least the small orders of tacos. Do you remember what else was on their "lighter entrees" section? Are any of the old favorites back?

stevez wrote:
Jen,

I quit going to Sol de Mexico a few years ago when they removed the small plates/tapas from the menu. I always felt that these little tastes were the strength of SdM and when they disappeared form the menu, the place lost its appeal for me. It sounds like they have restored at least the small orders of tacos. Do you remember what else was on their "lighter entrees" section? Are any of the old favorites back?

Steve, I think the time of the old favorites was before I discovered SdM, but I checked the website and the listed menu seems to be the same menu I saw on Sunday:
http://www.soldemexicochicago.com/interior/menu.html

My only disappointment was the loss of the Tampiquena

Jen

Hi,

I had not been to Sol de Mexico in years, when I arrived for a small party last night. Their space has doubled with their acquisition of the storefront next door. Their service was better than the early days, when I always strapped my patience belt tight for any evening meal.

While I am vague on the details of this meal, since it was ordered by our hosts, I am not vague on my reaction: I was in total clean plate club mode collecting all the mole from my plate. When a friend wasn't quite up to finishing hers, I did the honors using the bit of tamale and chicken to swoop up more of that mole. Heck, why not put the mole in a soup bowl and let me work my way through it with their fresh tortillas to wipe the bowl clean. I probably should be embarassed by my behavior, though I was making up for a mole drought of my own doing.

Prior to the main course of chicken and corn tamales with this wonderful mole sauce, which one I don't really know. There were sopesitas to share, those wee fill masa boats were each quite dynamic on their own. What was inside precisely, I don't know though each bite was terrific. We began with guacamole, a fine version though the chips accompanying them were the weakest element of the night.

Dinner finished with a pineapple upside-down cake no longer offered on the menu. This cake had crushed pineapple in the center with pecans edging the sides. I who ate everything in its path last night, finished my cake, too. I then took three pieces home to my family from those who were too full.

In full dining revery last night, I could have still had more mole. I definitely need to return more than every few years.

Regards,

BR wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

seebee wrote:BTW - THEY HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE NOW!!

That's too bad.

This was my first reaction. But in retrospect, maybe it's a good thing (as is the press from Food & Wine). It might bring people (and more $$) in the door and help SdM to succeed.

seebee, I'm curious about the tres leches because I have not had it at SdM, and yet, it's one of my favorite Mexican desserts. Do you recall what the flavoring in the milk mixture was? And was the cake topped with any cream or just served as is?

Definitely. This BYOB thing is killing restaurants. I generally avoid BYOB joints because I know they have to compromise somewhere and generally it will be in the food. Also it will tend to attract people who are not willing to pay for quality food but rather a cheap drinking and dining experience and the food will eventually be targeted (watered down, homogenized) to meet the expectations of such clientele.

Having said that I tried the place and had the appetizer platter which was recommended. Guac: Good, Taquitos: good in that they are hard to screw up, Ceviche: unremarkable. Tampiquena: good, probably the best thing I tried there but not great or mind blowing. Godorniz Al Guajillo: acceptable but nothing to write home about. It seemed to get soggy when I got it.

Overall, I don't feel this place deserves the recognition it gets. Maybe because it was lunch and I need to try it for dinner. I don't know why restaurants don't realize that lunch is the time to use the advantage of a slow time to put their best foot forward and to impress business types who will generate word of mouth. Maybe they already have enough word of mouth. But hey what do I know? A place can't rest on its moles.

I think it's a shame that Sol de Mexico has fallen off of most people's radars. It's definitely one of my favorite Mexican places in the city.

jesteinf wrote:I think it's a shame that Sol de Mexico has fallen off of most people's radars. It's definitely one of my favorite Mexican places in the city.

Agreed. After introducing it to my dad, I think he's eaten there twice in the last year. It's probably been 18 months since I've been there.

sr1329 wrote:Definitely. This BYOB thing is killing restaurants. I generally avoid BYOB joints because I know they have to compromise somewhere and generally it will be in the food. Also it will tend to attract people who are not willing to pay for quality food but rather a cheap drinking and dining experience and the food will eventually be targeted (watered down, homogenized) to meet the expectations of such clientele.

TAC Quick, Sticky Rice, Habana Libre, Mixteco Grill.........what a shame it is that all those cheap people who just refuse to pay for quality food get such watered down experiences....