I am very glad to hear this, as I have been trying to follow D. Nieto around, ever since Chapulin closed. The few times I ate at Blue Mesa (thank you Leah for finding him there for me,) I always thought his talents were being tied up with the necessity to adhere to their more standard N. Mexican menu. I even tried his daily specials there a couple of times, but always left disappointed. As Leah points out, his grasshopper theme is intriguing. Chapulin means grasshopper, or locust, and Chapultepec means "hill of the grasshoppers" in nhuatl, the Mayan language. The original hill Chapultepec, in Mexico City, is now the site of a museum surrounded by a large, forested park. I will second the recommendation for Ixcapuzalco. Generoso, the owner/chef, is wonderfully . . . generous, and cooks with complete heart and soul, having learned from his mother (most importantly,) and for a while in Rick Bayless's kitchen (less importantly.) He does prepare a different mole sauce for each day of the week, which will accompany any number of wonderful meats, e.g. rabbit, steak, chicken, etc. If mole is not your cup of jalapeos, he also does good things with fish. A couple of months ago, I went with a bottle of wine, not realizing that he had gotten his liquor license. He graciously opened our bottle for us, and shared a glass, without any fuss whatsoever. In spite of the relative newness of his place, and the unlikely location, Generoso has already developed a good clientele. On a recent Wednesday night during a thunderstorm, I showed up without a reservation and almost didn't eat. The place is small, so it is best to call ahead. Ixcapuzalco 773-486-7340 2919 N. Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL 60618 Joel S.
Chicago, IL
Has D. Nieto opened a restaurant?
On Tue, 22 Jun 1999 19:17:28 GMT, [email removed] (t r i l l i u m) wrote: >I read a pretty nice article by Rick Bayless in this month's Savuer magazine >on the New Maxwell Street Market. He mentions that Dudley Nieto Very interesting article, he also mentions Geno Bahena, Geno's Mother Clementina, and his restaurant, Ixcapuzalco. I found the focus of the article to be interesting, I did not realize that the Maxwell street market on Canal Street had produce vendors and food stalls. For those who have not read the article in Saveur, Rick Bayless authored an article about Mexican food and produce available at the Sunday Maxwell street market. His main tip was to enter on the southern end, near 14th street, of the market, that is where most of the food related vendors are located. There were also recipes and the Lengua en Salsa Verde is high on my list to try soon. Enjoy, Gary