LTH Dinner: Sol de Mexico -- Soiree' de Mole'

It's been awhile since our last LTH dinner, folks! There's been--In My Humble Opinion--enough good buzz about Carlos Tello and his rainbow of mole' dishes at Sol de Mexico that I want to propose a modest-sized dinner there for some interested LTH-ers. (See Sol de Mexico--a Bahena connection for SdM posts.) By "modest," I mean limiting the group's size to keep from overtaxing their kitchen into a repeat of that less-than-best-foot-forward Mardi Gras dinner we had earlier this year.

I'm initially targetting Saturday, August 12th, around 5pm-ish. For a price-point around $25 - $30 per person all-inclusive, let's see what Carlos can do for a group of 10 minimum to, say, 25 or so. PM me or post a reply if you're interested.

I would be looking for assorted tapas, a flan for dessert, and a drink (cinnamon coffee, soda, or agua fresca--e.g., tamarindo, jamaica, etc.) Since SdM doesn't yet have its liquor license, folks are encouraged to BYOB, as well.

Let me add that I was just there for a nicely air-conditioned lunch in Monday's oppressive heat...really enjoyed the tamales de elote--their delicate sweetness floated in counterpoint to the depth of the borrego (lamb in mole' negro.)

So let's convene in SdM's friendly confines for a spot of that exotic new sport, mole'-wrestling..... (Note: No small, nearsighted digging animals were harmed in the making of this post.)

Regards,

--Matt "I'm not Hammond, so don't expect anything cute here" LaSaine


Sol de Mexico
3018 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago
773.282.4119

Matt,

Excellent idea. petit pois and I would love to be included.

Best,
Michael

I would like to attend, count me in for 2!! Thanks.

eatchicago wrote:petit pois and I would love to be included. .

Schuyler wrote:I would like to attend, count me in for 2!! Thanks.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling, mole' compadres.

--Matt

Do you have room for one more? This sounds very interesting.

Cynthia wrote:Do you have room for one more? This sounds very interesting.

Welcome aboard, Cynthia!

--Matt

Mrs. JiLS and I make two more!

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Mrs. JiLS and I make two more!

Done & done.

--Matt

Just wanted to give an update on where we stand for Saturday's Sol de Mexico dinner at 5pm.

We've currently got 10 folks attending, with a few fence-sitters. There's some (understandable) hesitation to commit to a Saturday night visit to--as one person put it--a discovered spot, in light of others' experience of difficulty in getting seated and/or experiencing understaffed service. I think we'll be okay, though, since (1) we're meeting relatively early, (2) we will limit our party size to something less than 15, which hopefully won't overtax the staff, and (3) we'll BYOB which should help keep our attitudes "adjusted."

Carlos agrees that the early time is a good idea, and he says he's in the process of getting & training extra staff. In-place in time for Saturday? --Dunno, but Jeez-Louise, it's just a dinner, so let's not micro-manage the spontaneity completely out of it!

I had lunch there today, and the food continues to be great. The flan was better today than before: still dense and flavorful as ever, but markedly smoother this time.

Post or PM me if you want to get in on the dinner. If push comes to shove and we go over 15, I'll wait-list you.

--Matt

P. S. A Word to the Wise: Buzz is building apace, so consider going soon. While at lunch today, I was seated near the phone answering machine and overheard someone from a (Great Metropolitan Daily) newpaper leaving a message about wanting to set up a photo shoot for a feature on the place. Wasn't The Reader, either. --mhl

What's the parking situation? Is there street parking? A parking lot? Restricted residential parking with signs you won't see until after you get the ticket? Any and all info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Cynthia

Cynthia wrote:What's the parking situation? Is there street parking? A parking lot? Restricted residential parking with signs you won't see until after you get the ticket? Any and all info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Cynthia

Loads of street parking, with meters. Last two times I went, I parked on side streets, no charge.

Hammond

If there's still room for one more, please add my name to the list (1 person).

The Wife and I are in (possibly with two non-LTH friends -- psychologists who may be able to explain to me why I go to SdM so often -- I'll pm before Saturday if they end up being available).

Carlos had mentioned that he was experiementing with some guava-based mole -- wonder if he'll have that for us.

David "Insert your own cute comment here" Hammond

Hi folks,

At this point we're at our groupsize limit, so we'll have to work with a wait-list.

Feel free to post or PM me, and if some openings appear, I'll offer them to those on the wait-list.

Thanks,

--Matt

mhl wrote:Just wanted to give an update on where we stand for Saturday's Sol de Mexico dinner at 5pm.
(snip)
(3) we'll BYOB which should help keep our attitudes "adjusted."

Just wanted to highlight the BYOB aspect.

Ellen and I are looking forward to this evening.

Enjoy,
Gary

For those interested, here's the list of attendees for this evening's Soiree':

Tasty
eatchicago + petit pois
Schuyler + 1
Cynthia
JiLS + Mrs. JiLS
Bill
G Wiv + Ellen
David Hammond + Carolyn
stevez
mhl + Marjorie

Carlos requested some flexibility in the menu to allow him to do his best for us, but as a general idea, here's the sort of train we can be expecting to pull into the station:

Sopesito - Corn masa boat with topping
Borrego - Lamb with mole' negro
Tamal de Elote - "Blind" corn tamal
Manchamanteles - (Pork?) w/ mole' manchamanteles
Mole's Negro, Verde - Moles' with tortillas
Corundas Michoacanas - Corn masa flat tamales
Camarones Mojo de Ajo and/or Mole' verde - shrimp (2 styles)
Costillitas de Puerco en Chile Pasilla - Short ribs in pasilla sauce
Dessert (Arroz con leche, probably)
Coffee

$30 per person (including tax & tip).

Looking forward to sharing a great time with old & new friends!

--Matt

It was a GREAT party. Fabulous food, splendid people, scintillating conversation, and some very interesting offerings among the beverages people brought. Perfect evening. Thanks mhl!

I don't think the pork dish was manchamanteles (table cloth stainer mole, or something like that). the pork had an habanero sauce. That was my favorite of the evening.

I believe that was cochinita pibil. It was great. Good thing Johnny Depp wasn't around.

Schuyler wrote:I don't think the pork dish was manchamanteles (table cloth stainer mole, or something like that). the pork had an habanero sauce. That was my favorite of the evening.

Cynthia's quite correct, Jim; that was indeed the Cochinita Pibil.

I had posted the anticipated list of dinner items prior to the dinner to give us all an idea of what to expect. However, it came with the proviso from Carlos that, while he would do his best to deliver this list, he would not give us an item if it wasn't going to work well, e.g., if the ingredients weren't available in sufficient quantity & quality for a party of sixteen. Similarly, we did end up having the Tamales de Elote, but there was the possibility that Oaxacan-style tamales might have been substituted (I'm kind of wondering what we missed!)

So that's why the Manchamanteles and the short ribs were taken out of the, um, "cast of players in the final production."

--Matt

P.S. For those of you who haven't seen Johhny Depp in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, he plays a CIA agent who always orders puerco pibil in restaurants in Mexico. (It's made with a pork butt that's marinated in citrus, achiote, and habanero, wrapped in banana leaves, then slow-roasted.) If the dish is too good, Depp's character pays his bill, then shoots the cook, explaining that it's just his little way of "restoring balance." --mhl