Churrrrros! @ Xoco

Last Saturday we woke up and decided we needed to grab breakfast in the not-so-usual spot (our favorite cafe a stone's throw from our house where they all know us).

We decided on Nola's Cup, an Oak Park corner joint that we've gone to a few times (but would be there constantly if we lived in the area). We love their beignets and pain perdu, and they always made excellent coffee. As we approached the corner, the place was closed, a for sale sign in front (I found out they closed over the summer). What could wipe the frown off our faces?

We jumped back on the expressway and headed downtown to Xoco -- Rick Bayless' new place (yes, we did just go to Topolobampo a week before, but who could resist more Mexican food... for breakfast). There was no traffic there and we lucked out with parking a block away -- so we decided we need to come here every Saturday! There was also no line, and a few open places to sit (we arrived about 9:30 a.m.); we sat a long the wall at the high bar.



Matt and I have different styles when we go to a new place. I like to order a lot (to try everything in case we can't go back or it closes), Matt likes to wait for me to order something for myself and then says, "Let's split that." It drives me up a wall (in that "good, we've been married for 6 years" way) so then I counter-act it with, "Let's try this too." And what we end up ordering is just the perfect amount. (We balance each other out).

So when I ordered my poblano empanada and he wanted to split it -- I added in the breakfast torta (and good thing because they were on the smaller side). In the end we ordered: poblano empanada, breakfast torta, churros, and 2 Aztec hot chocolates.
The churros came out first, along with the hot chocolate. The HC was spicy at first but then mellowed, and the churros were fried perfection, sweet and cinnamon-y. I dipped them in the HC and the crispy outside sucked in the HC as if they were meant to be together. We went back for another order to-go.


Then came the savories. The empanada filling and pastry was delicious ( I haven't had an empanada since I was in Buenos Aires in 2000). Savory and spicy all together in a cute package that was easy to eat. The torta was a little less successful to eat, only because it was on this huge piece of bread, covered with jalapeno (hot!), salsa, beans, and a poached egg. When the egg broke, it was really delicious but messy; we didn't realize there were utensils on the counter, so we tried to eat this with our hands. The very refined gentleman to my right probably thought we were crazy slobs.



Neither item was very large, and while Matt and I left happy (with our to-go of churros), I could have eaten more (like I want my own empanada next time, Matt, no more splitting). Next time I also want to try the almond hot chocolate and go for lunch to try and soups and sandwiches.

Anyone want to join us?