Chilam Balam (Mexican) - Lakeview

The Chicago Magazine Dish newsletter bit on Chilam Balam intrigued me so I decided to give it a try last night. The chef was apparently a sous chef at Frontera/Topolobampo and the chef de cuisine at Adobo Grill.

I called yesterday, late afternoon, to make a reservation and I believe I spoke to the co-owner of the restaurant who suggested I didn't need a reservation and could walk in. Nonetheless, I asked if I could make a reservation and she said yes. Good thing as it turned out because at 8pm last night, it was packed.

In the event you go, please note that it is cash only right now (I hope this is only temporary but I did not ask) and byo, and we were not charged any corkage fee.

The space is downstairs on Broadway (next door to CVS), a little difficult to find if you don't know the address and if you didn't see the banner in front. The interior is minimally, but decently decorated. It was a little warm inside last night making it just slightly uncomfortable, and the wood chairs and benches could certainly use some cushions. No big deals though. I was a little disappointed with the servers' attire - all were in various rag tag t-shirts apparently of their own choosing and it just looked unprofessional. Black t-shirts would have been perfectly fine but a couple had t-shirts on which had certainly seen much better days, probably years ago. Nonetheless, service was efficient and very friendly, as if this place had been open for months rather than days.

As for the food, the big question in my mind going in was whether this place would skew more towards Frontera or Adobo or a totally different direction. They are touting their reliance upon local and sustainable suppliers so I was at the very least intrigued. But after my one meal last night, I'd say it's leaning more towards Adobo in quality and they have quite a bit of work ahead of them.

The menu leans heavily towards small plates, with only a few mains. We started with the guacamole ($7.95), which only upon perusing the menu at home on their website did I realize could be ordered mild or spicy (we were not asked how we wanted it prepared and it was very mild). The guacamole itself was a nice start, plated attractively, and it featured very good quality avocados and a nice balance of flavors. It was topped with pickled onions (doesn't Frontera do this?) which was very nice. The chips served with the dish were few and nothing special but overall the guac had good flavor.

We next moved on to the empanadas filled with braised mushrooms and served with a pipian verde ($7.95). This dish was not impressive. The empanadas themselves were apparently fried at too low a temperature because the exteriors were too greasy and rather pale. The mushroom filling was pretty bland, and the pipian verde did not deliver the tangy tomatillo flavor we expected. It seemed as though the kitchen pulled back on the reins a bit here with the sauce, and this was a very noticeable trend throughout the evening.

We moved on to the raw ahi tuna in chileagua, pickled red onions and charred purple carrots ($10.25). Apparently the dish is supposed to be served with tostadas, but this didn't happen last night (not a big deal really but I would have liked the texture). The dish was decent but needs work. The tuna (a very generous portion) just was not very impressive in quality - average at best (too stringy), and if I were running a restaurant that wanted to be taken very seriously, I would have rejected the fish when delivered). The sauce served with the tuna was more evidence that the chef needs to release the reins. The pretty green sauce featured wonderful color but merely a hint of serrano - the flavors were ok but just didn't jump off the plate. Better quality ahi tuna and some more heat and we've got a really fine dish.

The grilled pork ribs with a Oaxacan pasilla glaze and sweet plantains ($9.50) was just another example of the chef holding back, perhaps afraid to scare away the Lakeview contingent accustomed to ordering burritos as big as their heads. The ribs were meaty, just the right amount of fat and perfectly grilled. But these ribs can take a lot of flavor and this is where things fell flat. There was very little of the pasilla glaze on the ribs (plated and stacked beautifully and topped with queso fresco and radishes), and the glaze that was used was too sweet and did not deliver that distinct, earthy, slightly smoky flavor which pasilla can deliver. To Chilam Balam I say get to work on that glaze because this dish has star potential. As for the two sad, overcooked plantain discs on the dish, well, let's just say Chilam Balam needs some work.

Our one large plate was the roasted leg of lamb in a sauce of mulato chiles, bitter chocolate and sesame seeds and served with a roasted garlic-potato puree. ($20.95). At most Mexican restaurants, the chef would call the sauce in this dish "Oaxacan mole negro." But at Chilam Balam, perhaps they assume that their customers don't understand that word (although they do even at El Jardin and the like). I don't know. But this dish, which showed much promise, still had other problems.

First, the lamb was a little fatty and was not sliced cleanly. No, it wasn't like the lamb G Wiv photographed in this thread (in fact, it was much better), but it should have been prepped and sliced far more professionally. Moving to the potato puree, this was smashed potatoes in reality (there is a difference, especially when you find a seemingly microwaved - you can tell by the hot but very dense texture - 1/2 yukon gold potato in the mix). But the flavor of the potatoes was excellent and buttery rich.

As for the mole, this showed the greatest promise. It was just a tad too sweet and not earthy enough in my opinion, although the Oaxacan mole negros are going to to be sweeter than other mole negros (or so my Mexican friend who first taught me to make a mole negro insisted) - and of course I'm assuming that they intended the Oaxacan mole negro. Nonetheless, very nice flavor and worth mopping up with the tasty house made corn tortillas, although the mole was apparently dialed down a bit for this crowd.

To sum it up, there's potential here but two things need to happen if Chilam Balam is going to lure fans of authentic Mexican food (or even fans of just good food). First, they're going to need to eliminate the sloppiness in the kitchen. The mistakes with the ahi, lamb and potatoes are simply amateur mistakes that cannot happen at serious restaurants. Second, they need to ease up on the reins and let the true flavors of the chiles and other ingredients shine.

Chilam Balam is extremely new (about one week old as I write this post) so I think it would be unfair to assume that this is not a work in progress. And you can tell by the friendly and efficient service, and by co-owner Soraya Rendon constantly walking the dining room making sure everything is flowing, that there is a desire to get things right. But most of the work that needs to be done is in the kitchen and they've got their work cut out for them.

Chilam Balam
3023 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
773.296.6901

Has anyone been here more recently? Any update on how the kitchen is performing now that they've been open a while?

I was there about a month ago and found it to be far from exceptional. We stuck exclusively to the small plates and, aside from the ceviche, nothing jumped out as more than slightly above average.

As a positive, the service was terrific.

I'm surprised at the dearth of reviews here. Hasn't anyone else been to Chilam Balam?

And if you have, but don't care to comment on the food, what is the wait like these days?

I was there about a month ago with 3 friends and we were able to make a reservation (or put our names on the list by phone--don't remember which). In any case, they were very accommodating--we were running late and it didn't faze them at all, even though they were quite busy). Food was very good--portion size was on the small side so value was relative. Service was terrific as mentioned already. Wish i could remember more of the specifics--maybe that's saying something but if you're looking for creative mexican small plates in a warm, friendly evironment, I'd definitely recommend. Just probably not a "destination" in and of itself.

fj123 wrote:I'm surprised at the dearth of reviews here. Hasn't anyone else been to Chilam Balam?

And if you have, but don't care to comment on the food, what is the wait like these days?

Have you been? Care to comment on the food?

My apologies for keeping my cards hidden. I have not been, but I am contemplating a visit tonight. If I go through with it, I will be happy to report back.

To me, Chilam Balam is the Veerasway of Mexican cooking, which means I like it. The kitchen uses fresh, high-quality ingredients and cooks them so they taste as much like themselves as possible. Fancy microgreens adorn most of the plates. My favorite dish was the plate of memelas topped with black bean puree. If you ignore the fact that menu calls the bean puree "smoky" (it isn't, and is in fact very subtly flavored), you can just appreciate the superb masa shell, which is light and flaky, with a texture close to a French pâte à foncer. Very good guacamole too. The texture of the hibiscus flan was creamy and wonderful, and it could have tasted great too if not for the overpowering macerated cherries that topped it. I do think those would have been great in a Manhattan, so order it and bring the whiskey: Chilam Balam is byob. Still cash only.

We got to Chilam Balam at about 6.45 or 7.00 last night (Friday) and our party of four was seated immediately. Well not quite immediately because first they had to clean up the bottle of wine that I dropped on the floor as I entered the restaurant. They were good natured about it, and thankfully the broken shards of glass stayed in the bag, but I felt pretty foolish.

In addition to a tasty virgin sangria that we mixed with our replacement bottle of wine (quickly acquired next door at CVS), we had the corn masa, the empanada, the ceviche, the guacamole, the pozole, the pork belly, the tlayuda, and the tamal azteca. You can see more details about every dish in the online version of their menu. (Without it, there's no way I would have remembered everything we had.)

It was all tasty enough, with the masa and particularly the empanada standing out. The pozole had a nice smoky flavor, but we never quite figured out how to share a soup among four people. The only dish I wouldn't order again was the pork belly-a little too stringy.

For dessert, I had the sweet empanada. (Others at the table shared the mousse, but I didn't try it.) I already knew they could make the perfect empanada, so it wasn't much of a surprise that stuffing one with peanut butter and providing a chocolate and a fig dipping sauce was wonderful.

Amazingly, all that food for four people came to exactly $100.

We had a wonderful evening at Chilam Balam Saturday night. Thought the food was wonderful, service excellent and friendly. We had a party of 8 and enjoyed a great meal in a cool, cozy space. Will write more about the evening, courses, etc. but wanted to make sure that there was a glowing review in this thread. The owners are clearly working hard to make this a special place and I think they are succeeding.

I was in Chicago this weekend and had a pretty good overall experience at Chilam Balam.

If you're looking for traditional Mexican fare, this is not your place. I prefer to think of it as Mexican Fusion. Really good ingredients are prepared to highlight their flavor with usually an accompanying sauce that highlight the flavors of Mexico.

I stuck with three small plates (which was a bit much food for me).

The starter was two big marrow bones topped with a sweetly seasoned, carmelized onion and chile ratatouille. It was served with a wonderful house made pickle cured with both vinegar, sweet brown sugar and fiery chile to make for a great taste sensation. The marrow, which is normally served with toasted croutons, was served to me with warm corn tortillas at my request.

My second course was a bit less successful. Sauteed halibut cheeks, served over a creamy, yet crispy, fried grits cake. The dish was accompanied by a serving of pureed fresh garbanzo season with a little salt, a little pepper and what tasted to be an Anaheim Chile. The halibut cheeks were a bit overcooked- probably the victim of a busy Saturday night. The garbanzo puree was simply a wonderful accompaniment.

I closed with the recommended Chocolate mousse. Served with and orange caramel sauce. The molded mousse has the tiniest chunk of savory goat cheese in the middle.

The dining room was pretty packed on a Saturday night. It was still BYOB. And the pay policy is still cash only.

It certainly seemed worthy of another visit to me.

I have been here twice now in one month. While it's still good, the novelty of this place is wearing off a lot quicker than I thought it would. I, personally, need to take a break from Mexican fusion and hip hot spots in general.

If you haven't been here you should definitely check it out. It's BYOB. Space is a little cramp because it's in a garden unit but there's an outdoor patio table. They're only 1 years old so I would consider it a trendy hot spot. Talked to the waiter and he says they're looking to move soon if they can find another place. It definitely feels like a small start up company that's trying to compete with Topolobampo and Bayless. If they move, I hope they don't become too pretentious.

Service, oh the service. We ordered everything at once and meal took 2 hours. Luckily I was drinking so I didn't mind. Either they were trying to bring out the plates slowly like a tasting menu style or they were having a hard time keeping up with the crowd.

guinness wrote:Service, on the service. We ordered everything at once and meal took 2 hours. Luckily I was drinking so I didn't mind. Either they were trying to bring out the plates slowly like a tasting menu style or they were having a hard time keeping up with the crowd.

their tables are tiny...they can only get so many plates on them at once. Both times I've been, they staggered service in courses on purpose, both so that we didn't get hit with a buffet of stuff at once and to accommodate the table capacity. I guess 2 hours would be long if you ordered say 3 plates but not long at all if you were there with a couple of other people and ordered 8.

One thing's for sure--there are plenty of places to try so no reason you should burn out on a place if you don't want to...

boudreaulicious wrote:

guinness wrote:
One thing's for sure--there are plenty of places to try so no reason you should burn out on a place if you don't want to...

True enough. I would like to try a quiet place that's not crowded but have really good food and it won't burn a hole in my wallet on the north side. Is that even possible? PM me with suggestions. I don't want to move this thread off topic.

boudreaulicious wrote:their tables are tiny...they can only get so many plates on them at once. Both times I've been, they staggered service in courses on purpose, both so that we didn't get hit with a buffet of stuff at once and to accommodate the table capacity. I guess 2 hours would be long if you ordered say 3 plates but not long at all if you were there with a couple of other people and ordered 8.

Yeah. I'll just blame it on the fact that they're a very new place but they really need to figure this out. Are they trying to have a tasting menu or are they doing tapas? They told me tapas. I like all my tapas to come out at once. There tables are small but they can fit 4 plates easily. I was also outside for the second time so there's really no excuse there.

guinness wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:their tables are tiny...they can only get so many plates on them at once. Both times I've been, they staggered service in courses on purpose, both so that we didn't get hit with a buffet of stuff at once and to accommodate the table capacity. I guess 2 hours would be long if you ordered say 3 plates but not long at all if you were there with a couple of other people and ordered 8.

Yeah. I'll just blame it on the fact that they're a very new place but they really need to figure this out. Are they trying to have a tasting menu or are they doing tapas? They told me tapas. I like all my tapas to come out at once. There tables are small but they can fit 4 plates easily. I was also outside for the second time so there's really no excuse there.

I would imagine they always try to course it out unless you ask otherwise. I don't know many people who order tapas and expect everything to be brought out at the same time, particularly if you've ordered a large number of dishes.

jesteinf wrote:I would imagine they always try to course it out unless you ask otherwise. I don't know many people who order tapas and expect everything to be brought out at the same time, particularly if you've ordered a large number of dishes.

I've had tapas at Twist a Tapas and Cafe Iberico. Both times they came out very quick and all at once. It's fine that it comes out in courses--just tell people that. It's all about expectation. If people know what to expect, they'll be fine.

guinness wrote:Are they trying to have a tasting menu or are they doing tapas? They told me tapas. I like all my tapas to come out at once.

Then you should let them know that. For many people, "tapas" connotes smaller plates, period. Furthermore, many people prefer that they not all arrive at exactly the same time. So let them know your preference instead of leaving it up to them to guess.

I ate there solo a few months ago, and arrived when they were opening (at 5:00 pm - it was before a night game at Wrigley). They explained the smallish plates and I told them which plate I wanted first, etc. The meal was well-paced, not at all rushed but not slow either, and I was done within an hour. I had three courses (including that mousse for dessert).

I thought their food was very creative, like they had thought up many of the dishes themselves. Everything was okay but nothing really "wowed" me, so it didn't join the group of Mexican restaurants that I look forward to returning to (led by Mixteco Grill, Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Amelia's, Mexique, and Frontera/Topo).

guinness wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I would imagine they always try to course it out unless you ask otherwise. I don't know many people who order tapas and expect everything to be brought out at the same time, particularly if you've ordered a large number of dishes.

I've had tapas at Twist a Tapas and Cafe Iberico. Both times they came out very quick and all at once. It's fine that it comes out in courses--just tell people that. It's all about expectation. If people know what to expect, they'll be fine.

i've eaten at Iberico at least a dozen times and I've never had more than 2 dishes come out at once unless we had more than 4 people in the party. Food there does come out quickly but you can't compare--that restaurant serves hundreds of covers every night--Chilam Bilam only a fraction of that. It's pretty obvious from looking at the "kitchen" (and I put that in quotes b/c it's so small it barely qualifies as that) that food service is going to be a bit rustic. And by the way, I don't think this has anything to do with them being "new" since they really aren't at this point. Sounds like you might be more comfortable in a larger, more efficient restaurant on several levels. While I think the food at CB is perfectly good, I go back because it's fun, it's a good value and I enjoy being there. As they say, different strokes

Chef Chuy has left the building. Via twitter @ChuyValencia:

well guys....chilam balam (my restaurant) has no more Chuy Valencia. My former partner wants the biz to herself as of now sadly I'm leaving.


http://twitter.com/whatsmatteating

milz50 wrote:Chef Chuy has left the building. Via twitter @ChuyValencia:

well guys....chilam balam (my restaurant) has no more Chuy Valencia. My former partner wants the biz to herself as of now sadly I'm leaving.




http://twitter.com/whatsmatteating

Wow. He was there as recently as last Saturday night.

Or not:

After last night my partner wants to work things out, I may be going back to chilam balam... hold your horses! I'll keep all of you posted!

http://twitter.com/ChuyValencia

ahhh...the joys of twitter in the restaurant world Where the competition for daytime emmys is cutthroat!!

Last night we had an amazing meal at Chilam Bilam.

First of all, I wouldn't think of this place as a tapas joint. We ordered 5 plates (plus a dessert) for the 2 of us and they were properly coursed out. The meal would not have worked as well if they were all brought to the table at the same time.

We started with guacamole which was definitely among the better guacamoles I've had in Chicago. Pickled onions on top elevated the dish.

Next was an Ono ceviche served with cauliflower and dehydrated corn. The fish was incredibly fresh and buttery, and the sauce from the ceviche was nice and spicy (if not a touch to acidic). The cauliflower and corn added some nice textural elements.

3rd course was tamales with market vegetables, which looked to be kale. The tamale was nicely done, hearty but not too heavy, and with a pronounced flavor coming from the vegetables.

Next was grilled tuna with a habanero-carrot puree and wax beans. The puree didn't pack nearly as large of a punch as I thought it was going to, but it still had a nice flavor to it. The tuna was cooked to a perfect rare (I usually tell servers to just run it through the kitchen), with a nice sear on the outside. The nice thing was that you could actually taste that it had been grilled.

Our final savory course was grilled flank steak with crispy onions. This kitchen here does a nice job with temperatures. Following the perfectly cooked tuna, we enjoyed the perfect medium rare steak. The steak came with a guajillo sauce that complimented the meat extremely well.

Dessert was a real highlight. My wife doesn't like dessert, but she proclaimed our dessert from last night her favorite course. Empanadas filled with gooey, melty, salty peanut butter and served with both strawberry compote and Oaxacan chocolate for dipping. This is the kind of dessert that makes you want to change your pants. Every single part of this dessert was fantastic, and the different elements combined was just pure magic.

It's a shame that it's taken me this long to get to Chilam Bilam since it's about a 5 minute walk from my place. As soon as we walked in we could feel the positive energy coming from both the staff and diners. It's one of those restaurants that just makes you feel good to be eating there.

One warning though: "Check, Please" was in last week filming, so go now while things are still civilized.

Question - do they have enough non-spicy courses that someone who doesn't like spicy AT ALL could be OK there? I really want to go, and we've got a good opportunity, but we'll be with my mom who lately seems to think red bell peppers are spicy. Oy.

leek wrote:Question - do they have enough non-spicy courses that someone who doesn't like spicy AT ALL could be OK there? I really want to go, and we've got a good opportunity, but we'll be with my mom who lately seems to think red bell peppers are spicy. Oy.

I would think you should be fine. The ceviche was the only thing we had that I would consider to be pretty spicy.

leek wrote:Question - do they have enough non-spicy courses that someone who doesn't like spicy AT ALL could be OK there? I really want to go, and we've got a good opportunity, but we'll be with my mom who lately seems to think red bell peppers are spicy. Oy.

She should be fine. At my dinner there a few months ago, I don't recall anything I ordered being even remotely spicy.

nsxtasy wrote:

leek wrote:Question - do they have enough non-spicy courses that someone who doesn't like spicy AT ALL could be OK there? I really want to go, and we've got a good opportunity, but we'll be with my mom who lately seems to think red bell peppers are spicy. Oy.

She should be fine. At my dinner there a few months ago, I don't recall anything I ordered being even remotely spicy.

I would agree. Of all of the courses I ordered on my visit there, nothing came across as overly spicy.

jesteinf wrote:As soon as we walked in we could feel the positive energy coming from both the staff and diners. It's one of those restaurants that just makes you feel good to be eating there.

We went last night for the first time, and I absolutely agree with this. Hard to lay a finger on the intangibles that contribute to this, but the feeling is palpable.

As for the food--in my opinion, good, not great. This makes it everything it needs to be and more for a well-above-average neighborhood spot, but nothing knocked me off my chair. We had empanadas (the pastry part especially good), guacamole, a refreshing salad of greens with something citrussy going on (unexpectedly, this was, in terms of taste, my favorite thing we had), tuna, walleye, crispy flautas (enjoyable texture), and the flank steak, which was chewier than I would have liked.

I wish them well. In some ways, the place reminded me quite pleasantly of the Chicago restaurants of my youth (i.e., the seventies, when I was in my twenties). By which I don't mean there's anything retro about it--just that it was the kind of place there were more of back then.

I wish them well. In some ways, the place reminded me quite pleasantly of the Chicago restaurants of my youth (i.e., the seventies, when I was in my twenties). By which I don't mean there's anything retro about it--just that it was the kind of place there were more of back then.

That's how I felt. It would have been my favorite date restaurant when I first moved up here in the 80s-- cozy with its irregular banquettes and the half-subterranean space which is like an Italian restaurant in a 40s movie, adventurous food (or what would have been, then). I didn't feel like it was that thrilling for 2010, foodwise, partly because (as is often the case with upscale Mex) I found it hard to feed my kids there for less than a small fortune, and even then it wasn't food that made tham all that happy. (They love downscale Mex, see no reason to change it.) But for the right audience, it's charming, in a vaguely throwback way.