It was bound to happen sooner or later.  The Dining Divas found a restaurant with food so outstanding, so full of flavor, so delectable that our conversation was reduced to yummy noises and pleading (as in, “does anybody want that last tiny bit of ceviche?”)

We arrived at Chilam Balam, a bring-your-own-bottle Mexican restaurant in Chicago a little harried, after some difficulty locating the tiny basement location.  It’s difficult to see as you drive by; yours truly was walking down Broadway with her street (no-I’m-not-a-suburbanite) face firmly planted when a car window rolled down and a loud voice shouted, “GERI!” Being in the center of a cool urban area, this suburbanite didn’t expect to hear her own name shouted at 180 decibels, so after jumping about 10 feet into the air, I spotted Rose looking unhappy and perplexed. “The restaurant doesn’t exist. I drove by and there is nothing there.” She pouted for a moment, then got out of the car and walked with me for another half block. A small sign under a set of stairs pointed the way to a lower level. A series of complicated doors (hey, it’s Chicago—even the storm doors need storm doors) opened into a crowded, bustling room with tiny tables pushed together beneath exposed brick walls.

We grabbed chairs, pulled corks from wine bottles, and began to examine the hand-crafted menu. Although not very extensive, the treats described within the velum-papered, hand-bound menu were too delicious to make easy choices. So we did what we rarely do. We asked Luis, our affable waiter, to start bringing food, and to keep it coming.

Within minutes, before we’d even had a chance to start catching up on our tales of family, work and travel, the food began to appear.

First came the empanadas, little triangle pies filled with braised mushrooms in a verde sauce, cheeses, and roasted green chilies. We cut them in half with our forks and wolfed them down. Next came the crispy flautas stuffed with chicken and topped with a chipotle-mezcal sauce, pickled cabbage, fresh cheese and crema. These were so good that I pulled Luis aside and begged him to bring more. Creamy guacamole quickly appeared and just as quickly un-appeared.  And still, no recognizable conversation. Plates were pushed across the table, exchanged, and wiped clean. Comments consisted mainly of “hmmm,” “did you taste THAT?” and “pass that plate.”

Two different ceviches arrived; an ahi tuna tossed with lemon juice, tamarind, red onion, and topped with toasted sesame seeds plus a halibut ceviche with cucumber, jicama, cilantro, habanero, avocado and tomato. Hmmmm. After explaining to Rose that ceviche is actually “cooked” in the citric juices, our sushi-shy head Diva poked a tentative fork into the fray. She deemed it edible, but preferred the crispy corn masa huaraches, a Mexican version of bruschetta topped with fresh garbanzo bean puree, grilled mushrooms, queso fresco, roasted green chile rajas, sundried tomatoes, avocado salsa and sunflower greens.

Then Luis brought plates of tiny pork belly tacos that quite simply rendered us all speechless. The pork was crispy, nestled in soft taco shells topped with what the menus described as “Michoacán’s famous frijoles puercos” (whatever that is), caramelized sweet onions, diced white onion, cilantro and the most perfect slices of fresh avocado I have ever encountered. Absolute perfect. Days later, I am still thinking about it.

According to the restaurant’s web site, Chilam Balam loosely translates to “Book of the Jaguar Priest” in the Mayan language. The name embodies the restaurant’s commitment to locally grown foods born of sustainable farming methods. Their creations are made without food additives or ingredients such as corn syrup or msg. The Divas were very impressed by the fact that this unique temple to flavor is owned by three young twenty-somethings. One of these is Soraya Rendon, who manages the front of the house from a tiny corner of the dining room.  In her mid-twenties, Soraya left Mexico City when she was 18. She joined us table side while Luis, our waiter, leaned into other diners to snap the obligatory Diva Group Photo. An amazing young lady, she seemed wise beyond her years as she smiled and talked about her love of good food.

Chocolate Dessert

A brief word about the desserts.  Yum.  The chocolate chile mousse actually had a kick to it. The pineapple upside down cake was served as a compact 2-inch tall disk, topped coconut crème anglaise and accompanied by an imported Mexican black ice cream called zapote—again, I don’t know what that is, but it tasted deliciously unlike anything I’ve ever had before.  Two additional deserts included hibiscus flan with vanilla-lime swirl ice cream and little rolled up empanadas stuffed with crunchy peanut butter. This last one came with two dipping sauces: black fig and Oaxacan chocolate dipping sauces.

Because we had spent so little time perusing menus and because Luis was the most efficient food gatherer and bringer, the Divas found themselves paying the check and climbing the stairs back to street level in a little over an hour. But we were full and happy, and content to leave serious discussion to another dining date.

Chilam Balam

3023 N. Broadway

Chicago, IL 60657

773 296 6901

www.chilambalamchicago.com