Topolobampo, originally named as a port on the Gulf of California in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico, is the flagship restaurant of chef Rick Bayless. After doing his doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics at the University of Michigan, Rick Bayless spent six years in mexico where he did culinary research and wrote the now classic cookbook: "Regional Cooking From The Heart of Mexico (William Morrow, 1987)". In 1987, Rick having moved to Chicago, opened the hugely successful Frontera Grill, which specializes in contemporary regional Mexican cooking and gained instant sucess. In 1989, Rick opened next to Frontera grill the elegant Topolobampo. Since then Topolobampo has been one of the few mexican fine dining restaurant in american, and won countless awards from James Beard , Food & Wines, and etc.
We visited Topolobampo at lunch, and the dining room of Topolobampo was quite small and cozy.
It was about 30 minutes wait before our server present us with chips and salsa, and we were starving., 
For appetizer, we ordered the seafood platter. Around the platter were three different oysters, scallop ceviche, and ahi tuna ceviche. The oysters were served with chipotle barbecue sauce and fresh lime sauce. While the chipotle barbecue sauce was too salty, the lime sauce served as perfect platform to bring out the oyster's milkiness and briness.
For appetizer, we ordered the seafood platter. Around the platter were three different oysters, scallop ceviche, and ahi tuna ceviche. The oysters were served with chipotle barbecue sauce and fresh lime sauce. While the chipotle barbecue sauce was too salty, the lime sauce served as perfect platform to bring out the oyster's milkiness and briness.
The scallop ceviche was much firmer and a bit rubbery comparing to raw scallops, quite interesting.
For main entree, we shared the traditional mexcian platter which included braised then fried pork, shitakes, pickeled onions, shrimp in black mole sauce, tamal, and home made tortillas. The pork and and the shrimp is a bit over fried to bring out the carmalizing aromas of the protein. Combing with the fluffy tortillas, pickled onions, and black sauce, this dish tasted like a mexican version of peking duck, with better balance and more satisfying aftertastes. It is a dish which makes people happy, simply happy.
For dessert, we had Klug Farm blueberry tart with macadamia nut crust. L
ocal sweet corn ice cream. I wasn't able to taste the sweet corn flavor from the ice cream, but the pairing of a warm tangy tart and a cold sweet ice cream was always a winner. The crispy macadamia nut crust, and lighter than air coconut dust played wonderful complementary roles. The dark roasted mexican coffee added depth to the whole dessert. Overall, a satisfying dessert On the whole, my lunch at Topolobampo did not surprise nor impresse me. Instead, it gave me pleasure from start to finish. I can not wait to come back to topolobampo again, or even goto mexican city for more. To me, Topolobampo is an invitation to mexico.
