Topolobampo!

For my B-day, we celebrated at Topolobampo for dinner. It was incredible. You may have seen the chef, Rick Bayless, on PBS. He has a couple cooking shows where he cruises around Mexico finding authentic recipes and eating really good-looking food. He has two restaurants, Frontera Grill and Topolo. They are connected, with Frontera being the more causual of the two. But you gotta go fancy on your birthday, right? Yes. Check out what I had:

Crema de Elote, estilo callejero –
Three Sisters Garden sweet corn soup with powdered chipotles, fresh lime mayo, garlic chives, queso anejo. That's what's in the bowl, then they pour the corn soup on top. It was even more delicious than this photo could even hint at!

Ensalada de Atun en Escabeche –
Sashimi-grade Hawaiian ahi tuna with farmer's market vegetables (Spence Farm Japanese turnips, knob onions, carrots and beets)in tangy, sweet-spiced escabeche.

Jaiba de Concha Suave a la Tumbada
Pan-seared Chesapeake soft shell crab over silky "paella" infused with roasted tomato, jalapeno and cilantro. Pickled jalapeno vegetables, roasted cauliflower, Living Waters cherry tomatoes. This one was a surprise - but you just pop the little legs in your mouth. They have a light crunch then dissolve in your mouth! Yum!

Carne Asada al Guajillo –
Grill-roasted Tallgrass grassfed beef ribeye with red guajillo chile sauce, cheesy chilaquiles, fresh tomatillo salad (roasted knob onion, lime, cilantro, bacon). This was my favorite. The beef was perfect and the sauce was amazing. It was served with the best warm white corn tortillas.

Pastel de Chocolate con Fresas –
Devil's food cake with Mexican chocolate crema, strawberries three ways (fresh from Klug Farm, in crispy meringue, freeze-dried), vanilla "bubbles." My piece of cake was bigger than this picture thank goodness!

Megan had the Torta de Elote: "Three Sisters" Iroquois white corn torta with black bean sauce, roasted summer squash, puffed amaranth, Gary Comer baby lettuce. Unfortunatly, there are no pictures of it online. But she says it was great! We also had some great Margaritas and Mojitos. Bottom line: not somewhere you can afford to go every day, but man, what a meal!