Topolobampo Wine Recs

My boss is taking his wife to Topolobampo for her birthday tonight (Friday)...although I know he is a big fan of mole'.

I assume he is getting the mole', but he asked if anyone on LTH has had any blow your mind food/wine pairings at Topo.

I've read Eat Chicago's post of five courses, any other comments would be appreciated.

pd

Why not do the current chef's tasting menu with wine pairings?

http://www.fronterakitchens.com/restaur ... _menu.html

"Chef’s Tasting $75.
With 5 perfectly matched wines, add $40."

I believe that the current sommelier at Topo is new since my last visit, but I have high respect for Bayless' focus on wine and I trust that he'd hire a very talented person.

I'd feel very comfortable leaving myself in the hands of Topo's sommelier.

This is the post referred to in the original post:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2961

Best,
Michael

When The Wife and I were at Topolobampo earlier in the year, she went with the tasting menu with accompanying wine and I, in a rare act, had a few margaritas. My tequila/mescal cocktails were fabulous...but The Wife had the right idea; just about every glass she had was perfectly in sync with the food, and there's such a range of flavors, I'd have to suggest going with the suggested pairings (I know it seems like a weak ass default position to take, but it probably makes the most sense).

And try the chili relleno...

Hammond

... i actually just went here yesterday for lunch... I'm sure I don't need to say it, but it was fantastic, and totally not your typical cuisine.

one thing i really like in a place with many courses is a good selection of wines by the glass.. that way you can get something that matches each course. topolobampo didn't seem to have a huge selection of wines by the glass.. their wine menu was rather large, but the "by the glass" selection was only a small blurb on the front page...

perhaps they have more for dinner... there wasn't even a chef's selection for lunch, maybe that's dinner only (or maybe it was a different menu that we just didn't know to ask for..)

so we stuck with margaritas... they were awesome. they serve them straight up in martini glasses, so they seem slightly stronger and not as sweet as the typical not-so-good margarita..

so they seem slightly stronger and not as sweet as the typical not-so-good margarita..

If I may rant momentarily - the Bride has become inured to my reference to cheap margaritas as roughly akin to drinking Tidy Bowl, though it probably is more like having Country Delight, Gatorade, or Tang, with a touch of alcohol added to it (maybe all these products are actually the same?).

Anyway, I really do not get the attraction of fake citrus flavorings added to some water and tequila, but I recognize I am in the minority here, so I avoid Margaritas unless I am certain a mix is not involved.

As to wine service, it seems to me that a good Argentinian Torrontes, or some of the fruitier Spanish reds are decent matches and what Bayless was featuring last time I went to Topo, admittedly some time ago. There are some wilder pairings possible with some of the SA wines, like Malbec or Carmenere depending on what you are eating, but you need to know the specific wine and get one of the fruitier renditions.

Does anyone know the status of Bayless' attempts to import Mexican wine? Last I heard he was enthusiastic about some of the wines being made in Mexico, but struggling to get the authorization to bring them into the US. That also was a while back and I hope he had had some success and would like to hear about them. If there are Mexican wines on the list, ask about them and then order one - that is my advice anyway. Given Rick's focus on the best of Mexico I expect it will be a delghtful, reasonably priced, discovery.

I agree with your assessment of the status of margaritas... most of them just aren't good, usually because its a bad mix. sometimes its not even a mix, though, and just a bad concoction of a bartender going nuts with his/her gun (sour mix + orange juice + god knows what does not = margarita). even places that charge insane amounts of money (i was at rockit last week, their margaritas were $11 and totally not good) can't get them right.

Anyway, I'm pretty certain that there were only fresh juices, no mixes involved in the tompo margarita.

btw, as far wine... i wanted to start off with a glass of cava... which is really pretty ordinary.. no dice on that one on the menu, and nothing really comparable on the 'by the glass' menu...

Not to put Saint Bayless on too high a pedestal (if that's possible), but I would be shocked-to-unconsciousness if the margaritas at his places use anything but fresh ingredients.

Worst margarita I saw (didn't order one) was at Playa Azul on Broadway: mix poured from gallon jug, generic tequila, no ice, quite bad...glad I went with beer. The ladies I was with all ordered one, and none could finish; it had the Tidy Bowl coloration dickson referenced.

Hammond

I would have a Margarita at Topo - did not mean to suggest they were from a mix. I trust Rick on this.

Unfortunately, Topo's wine list is not on its website, and I did not see anything relating to the status of Bayless' attempt to import Mexican wines. (With all the mediocre Mexican beer imported into the US, you wouldn't think that importing wine would be an issue.)

When we were in Mexico last year, I actually sought out Mexican wines. One of the more well-known labels (and one that was drinkable and enjoyable) is Monte Xanic from the Guadalupe Valley. If Bayless has Mexican wines, I'd imagine that their wines made the cut. If not (and not having seen Topo's wine list), I would think that a Spanish tempranillo or a SA malbec probably would fit the bill.

dicksond, I agree with your assessment of bad margaritas -- particularly those served in the N'ville "Mexican" restaurants -- although I'd have to add lime juice and plenty of salt (on the rim of the glass) to your list of ingredients.

Thanx for all the recs, looks like one could hardly go wrong choosing something from the tasting menu.

pd

The one thing I would do differently at Topo than at most places would be to start the evening with a Margarita rather than a glass of Champagne. The menu is geared for it, and it is a fun way to start.

They are, of course, outstanding.

Hello, I know that the dinner is over, but some suggestions for next time come to mind. For margaritas they have a blood orange one which is delicious and also the mezcal margarita is a fav of mine because I like the smokyness of the mezcal. For wines they used to have some Turley's, wonderful rich, leather, chocolate, barnyard. Recently I like their Jim Barry red from Australia. They have also added some hard to get top of the line wines from the Baja Peninsula. Very scrumptous. They only use fresh lime juice for the margaritas. They ingredients are listed for each one. They also have a wonderful raw bar with oysters, and a three seviche app called Trio Trio Trio.

psychchef

psychchef wrote:They have also added some hard to get top of the line wines from the Baja Peninsula. Very scrumptous.

Thank you, psychchef - those are the wines I was wondering about.