| Gold Certified Green |
You may have seen him on TV. Or bought his prepared foods at your local grocery. Or own his cookbooks. You may even have scored his James Beard Award-winning cooking—regional Mexican cuisine so authentic and so good you won’t easily find its equal even in Mexico, let alone by a gringo who grew up in Oklahoma. Ask Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who found out firsthand when Rick Bayless guest-chefed at a White House state dinner earlier this year. We just missed Rick recently in Oaxaca, where he regularly brings his culinary team to fine tune their taste buds, but whenever we’re in Chicago we never miss a visit to his ethereal Topolobampo or the more earthy Frontera Grill.
Or, now, his latest. XOCO, which specializes in Mexico’s most beloved street food and botanas (snacks): sugar-dusted churros and flaky empanadas, frothy Mexican hot chocolate (ground from Mexican cacao beans in the front window); warm, crusty tortas (Mexican submarine sandwiches); and made-to-order caldos (meal-in-a-bowl soups) brimming over with roasted vegetables or seafood or pork belly.
As Bayless’s own website proclaims, if Topolo pampers and Frontera dances, then XOCO rocks.
Solid gold rock
Green chef: Bayless
XOCO, in fact, rocks solid gold. And we don’t mean just the food. Recently it won LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Building Council, for the multitude of eco-friendly ways in which it’s built and run. This encompasses everything from its rooftop organic garden to earth-friendly cleaning to green fixtures and finishes to purified sparkling or still water poured free to its customers. More details here.
What Bayless doesn’t grow, he sources like a locavore whenever possible, including veggies from Chicago’s City Farm, started by social activist Ken Dunn in the tough Cabrini-Green neighborhood. He was one of the founding members of Chefs Collaborative, which fosters support of environmentally sound agricultural practices and is active in Share Our Strength, the nation’s largest hunger advocacy organization.
All 3 of the Bayless restaurants, which share the same block on North Clark a mile north of the Loop, are also certified green by the Green Restaurant Association. For a complete list of Chicago’s certified green restaurants, click here.
