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We tried Fonda del Mar today,and both my wife and I were blown away. I had the conchinita pibil (dang, careful with the habanera salsa) and the Dining Companion had mixiote de borrego which I've never even SEEN on a menu in Chicago anywhere. It was really like a restaurant in Mexico, everything impeccably fresh. The hand made tortillas were outstanding. We talked with Jesus, the waiter on a slow Sunday lunch hour, about how the owners (from DF, Pachuca and Guatemala) liked to mix up the styles, some things from Yucatan, some from the centralhighlands, others from the Pacific coast. He pointed out that my wife's mixiote had bits of maguey along with the lamb and potatoes. We loved it and will definitely be going back.
BTW, the rice pyramid thing is a staple in Mexican restaurants.

Thanks again to LTH for another impeccable recommendation.

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trpt2345

I am SO glad Fonda del Mar is back on the map here - it's a personal favorite, and part of a knockout one-two punch with Xni-Pec (depending on the pace of the meal you want on a given night). Just last month, its renewal as a Great Neighborhood Restaurant was in question from lack of interest and reports. Keep the posts coming.

I really wanted to love this place. The simple decor, cool music, and friendly greeting made a nice first impression. I would have preferred chips and salsa to the bar snacks on the table when we were seated, but that is a minor quibble.
Also auspicious was a cold Pacifico for $3. What a deal. My friend's margarita was also quite decent.
Then things went downhill.
The scallops dish was one of the silliest things I have ever seen, especially in light of its being the most expensive thing on the menu. What to do with the large mound of potato strings covering the scallops and the good tomato/chipotle sauce? I tried to eat them by themselves so that I could get at the scallops, but they were tangled up like Christmas lights. Then I tried to tamp them down so that I could push them away from the scallops more easily. But they started to get soggy in the sauce, so I finally just moved them to a side plate. They were not even very tasty. The scallops themselves were of very good quality, but I felt they were seared just a bit too long. The taste of the carbonized crust was strong enough to partially mask the beautiful flavor beneath.
My friend's chile relleno was too heavily breaded. The rice was mushy, and the beans were uninspired.
Much better was the natillas that ended the meal. The top of this creme brulee was a bit grainy, but underneath was delicious custard and fruit.
I'm sure some of the other entrees would have been better, but I will not return because I was not impressed with the kitchen's conceptualization or execution of the entrees we tried.

I've been cursed with ordering wrong lately: narrowing it down to two options on the menu and pathologically picking the wrong one each time. Invariably, someone at my table gets the item I rejected, and I end up suffering through entree envy the rest of the night.

As of last night, my luck may be turning. I definitely got it right at Fonda del Mar with the poblano relleno de salmon. I usually don't order salmon in restaurants, and to tell the truth, the fish was sort of superfluous. The poblano chile (no breading) and creamy chipotle were the stars of the dish, which was also stuffed with mushrooms, cilantro, and a different variety of roasted pepper. Smoky and complex flavors that combined well with the familiar (and always welcome) pyramid of rice.

I was happy to see the place hopping, even at our early 6:30 arrival. The dining room was full but never overcrowded. The nice weather will bring the opening of their cheery back patio, so that's something to look forward to.

By the way, I also noticed they've introduced weeknight drink specials in addition to the usual Monday/Tuesday half-price margaritas. Looks like sangria and Mexican beer are the deals for Wednesdays and Thursdays. Good reasons to get out mid-week. Last night was certainly affordable, but our drinks were over half the tab, so a mid-week deal is a nice enticement.

As I mentioned above, when we went a couple of weeks ago, no one else arrived until around that time. That was also about when I noticed that the sign in the window was flipped around so it said CLOSED on the outside, and when I did, I reversed it so it said OPEN. Whether that had any effect on their business, I don't know.

the GF and I met another couple there on Thursday night, and we dined out on the patio (my 1st time outside here). We got there about 7ish and there were only a few other tables occupied but it was fairly full when we left, although no one sat inside since the weather was nice! And the 1/2 of a fishing boat along the patio fence is a great addition to the decor...

I always love the cochinita pibil, and the four of us decided to order 4 entrees and try everything...but the appetizers we had were great: calamar con esquites was very refreshing, tender calamari rings with lots of lime and olive oil mixed with greens and corn; and the sopes de huitlacoche were awesomely-earthy in flavor.

For entrees we ordered the cochinita, the lamb mixiote, mahi mahi tikin xic, and the chile relleno. All delicious in their own way and it was nice to be able to taste around the table. And everything went well with a Spanish rose (a nice intro to summer alfresco). Of course the salsa habanera haunted me the next day...but always worth it!

We had a tiny bit of room left for dessert so we shared the flan (coconut was the flavor of the day, with diced mango and pineapple) and the Mayan chocolate cake, rich and delicious.

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- Mark

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Just got the word from Luis (one of the owners) that he's featuring Gusanos del Maguey as a special appetizer. He brought them in from Mercado San Juan in Mexico City (something like $120 for 2 pounds, zoinks!), is cooking them in olive oil, garlic, epazote, etc and serving them with chips and guacamole. I hope to get some free dinner time this week (he just told me today) so no pictures, very sorry. And if lucky, he'll still have some chapulines left as well!

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- Mark

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

I talked to Luis at the Logan Square farmers' market yesterday (while having one of their cochinita pibil tortas) and he said he just got some fresh (well dried but freshly here) chapulines in for the restaurant. I stopped in for a try today after work and they are delicious! It was my first time tasting them, and very savory, griddle-fried in oil, lime juice and salt and served in tortillas with guacamole and salsa on the side.


Tacos de Chapulines


Close-up view

He told me that these 2 tacos have the same protein as a steak, but without all the "bad stuff" like the cholesterol and such. Works for me!

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- Mark

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Grasshoppers, worms, and ant eggs!

Luis from FdM posted this on the Logan Square chat board:

Fonda del Mar Restaurant, in special partnership with The Field Museum, present "Taste of The Aztec World," January 11-17, 2009. Come and feast with us and honor the Aztecs - one of the most influential empires of all time. There will be a prix fixe menu $30.00 per person without drinks, featuring some of the most popular dishes in the Aztec empire.

Menu

Further research shows that several local restaurants are participating.

Enjoy,
Ronna

LOL How does The Berghoff make that list?

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I thought that was quite strange, too. I couldn't find any menu details on their website. But, given that I work two blocks from there, I may walk over there next week to see what's up. Not to dine there, mind you - - just to satisfy my curiosity.

Just remember, the Berghoff was making chicken satay schnitzel right after they reopened. Whore to fusion, they no doubt have a goat rouladen in mole, or a tasty huitlacoche sauerbraten.

At the risk of setting off the irrelevancy alarm, don't miss the Aztec exhibit at the Field. I'm only so-so on liking native art but this exhibit is extremely well-chosen (and extremely well-lit, to make the carvings especially dramatic) with some really great examples of expressive carving of animal subjects and the like.

My chicken pomodoro panini from the attached Corner Bakery was not nearly so expressive or well-lit.

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We had the Aztec menu at Fonda del mar last night. There weren't very many people, no doubt because of the cold. A pity; this was a special treat. We split the appetizers. The tamale de moctezuma was a well prepared sweet elote tamale, with a sauce that had a nice bite; but the stars of the appetizers were the assorted corn cups with grasshoppers, maguey worms, and ant eggs. The grasshoppers were nicely crisp, layered over guacamole whose texture was a perfect contrast. The maguey worms were much softer and squishier, but nice tasting; and who can resist ant caviar?
We had the breast of duck, cooked rare (delicious, but probably not the way the Aztecs made it!) in a spicy green pumpkin seed mole. We also had the vegetables, including calabaza, chayote, small onions, and roasted nopales in a hot tomatillo sauce, with a spectacular huitlacoche pudding.
The pumpkin candy in brown sugar was very sweet, but flavorful; but the layers of amaranth candy with passion-fruit chocolate mousse was spectacular, a combination of sweetness with an acid base (from the passion fruit?) that was extremely distinctive, and contrasting textures of hard amaranth and soft mousse.
You have until Saturday to have this menu. Hurry up.

FdM was, in a word, quiet this evening: myself and a friend were the only diners in the room from 5:15 to 7PM; no one came in after us, either. You expect to be outnumbered by staff at, say, Alinea; when it happens at a GNR, it's eerie and depressing.

Food, as always, was consistent: excellent cochinita pibil, calamari salad, ceviche, et al. Let's hope tonight wasn't the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

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yes yes yes

My wife and I had this same experience on Tuesday of last week. FdM does have such an appealing back patio that it probably fares better in the warmer months, but I am concerned about their prospects,

I'm planning a trip out this weekend. They were on Check Please a couple weeks ago, so I'm guessing that will help business.

According to their website they still are serving the ant eggs, worms, and grass hoppers. Anyone know if this menu is up to day? Are they worth trying?

I visited FdM on Tuesday and had a very nice meal. We had tamales, callos de hacha zacualtipan (scallops in a dark chile sauce), and pescado tikin xic (mahi mahi in a slightly spicy tomato based sauce). The tamales and scallops were outstanding, and the mahi mahi was quite good.

There were maybe 10-12 other people in the restaurant. I would have liked to see many many more.

My most recent trip to Fonda was a disappointment. I arrived earlier than my dining companion and looked over the menu with anticipation, many items looked enticing including the salmon, vegetarian poblano relleno with huitlacoche ("corn truffle") and the albondigas de pescado (seafood meatballs). After my companion arrived, she asked our server for some recommendations (she had her eye on the lamb which was served with a mole negro and garlic mashed potatoes). For seafood, he definitely expressed a preference for the albondigas and in the meat category he mentioned the steak and the lamb. I asked if the salmon was farm raised or wild Alaskan; after conferring with the chef, our server informed me that it was a farm raised fish. Attempting to be more aware of my seafood selection, I opted for the albondigas which were stated as being made with whitefish and I figured would be tilapia which is more sustainable.

My house margarita was nice and refreshing, but not very strong. We shared a calamari appetizer. I've had calamari in the past at Fonda and always found it prepared well and very flavorful. This calamari was equally well prepared showing no signs of rubberiness, but the flavor wasn't there. Although the acid was good, I was left wanting something more.

My friend ordered the lamb which was prepared to her specifications of medium rare and surrounded my the slightly fiery, smoky and a hint of sweet mole negro. The potatoes in contrast didn't taste very garlicky and were a little pasty. My dish is where the whole night really fell apart though. The albondigas were so overcooked that I had a hard time cutting them with a fork...a really hard time. Under the chewy, tough exterior, I found the whitefish but the flavor was completely absent covered by the mole (slightly sweeter and darker than my friend's negro?) and overdone exterior. The server was very accomodating in my request to return my meal and get the poblano relleno instead. The second meal (and my second margarita) came out quickly and was easily better than my first choice, but still fell short of my expectations. The corn truffle pudding described on the menu turned out to be more of a plain corn and huitlacoche filling (no presence of egg or milk which I expect in a pudding). The spicy tomato sauce that covered the relleno was very similar to the one in my neighborhood at El Taconazo (nee Azteca Tacos); it works more successfully with the traditional egg battered rellenos.

The lime tart and chocolate flan we had for dessert were only moderately more successful. I have an ongoing problem with lime or lemon bars/pies/tarts that fail to pack the tart/sour punch I expect from the citrus fruit. This one lacked from that punch and the curd to crust ratio didn't help (too much crust). The chocolate flan was better. Rich and dense (in a good way). It was almost overcooked, but just saved. The fruit littering the plate was unnecessary and oddly the same as on the lime tart plate.

Has anyone had recent experiences at Fonda that have disappointed? In my past visits, I've been really impressed by everything and I'm wondering if they are running a little thin with two restaurants or if I just hit an off night.

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Received the following and wonder...

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From the Logan Square Yahoo group:

I will like to announce that Fonda del Mar will merge with our location on
Lincoln Ave starting on December 6th 2009, we will like to thank all of you for
your support in this years on Fullerton Ave, and will like to ask for your
support in the Location at north center, for directions and exact address please
visit our website. http://www.fondaonfullerton.com

P.S. an interesting concept to come on Fullerton Ave. We'll keep you posted.

muchas gracias
Luis, Angel and Byron

Boo!

It's prob'ly an astute business move for them, but I'm sorry to hear they're moving from their Logan Square location.

This is a real bummer. Fonda del Mar was one of my go-to spots in Logan Square. Sadly, it is not too surprising. I was rarely there when they were more than half full.

I only managed to swing by once, had a great meal, especially absolutely fantastic homemade blue corn tortillas. The location wasn't easy to get to for a car-less person on the far northside. Best wishes.

Was the 3908 N. Lincoln location already doing business as Fonda Del Mar before the consolidation? Somehow I never noticed it there. I feel bad for the Logan Square folks who will be losing it, but the Lincoln Ave. location is more on our "rounds," so it's more likely we'll be going there. I look forward to it.

Apparently, FDM is the North Center/Lakeview Fonda location referenced. I'm glad this came up. I live nearby and never realized the connection. FDM occupies a somewhat cursed location, which had its longest run as a sketchy looking Colombian nightclub several years back. The problem with subsequent, perfecly good restaurants seems to be the almost complete lack of windows on the undistinguished storefront. It's an easy place to overlook or ignore from the sidewalk. The photo gallery on the Fonda/FDM site makes it look very open and bright inside despite the outward appearance.

Having been to both locations, I feel like the Logan Square location was much more informal. The Lincoln location is a bit more upscale. It seemed less expensive too, but I may not be 100% correct on that. I enjoyed both meals, but definitely liked the Logan Square vibe considerably more.

As implied above, it was doing business as FDM.

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"we must all understand that we're not all going to agree on everything, so let's just accept it -- hell, let's cherish it -- and move on." - ronnie_suburban

My experience at fdm is chronicled here.

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-Mary

I spoke to Luis on Tuesday and he told me that fdm will become Fonda del Mar this coming week, since he doesn't feel the North Center neighborhood was digging the more formal ambience of fdm (yes that location isn't the best for a restaurant). He will be putting up a new awning, bringing the colorful artwork and furniture over from Fullerton, as well as the menu.

As for Fullerton, he will be changing it into a casual taqueria, featuring about a dozen taco styles from (mostly) Mexico City and will have a Cochinita Pibil version too (awesome!). They will all be $2, and he'll offer some tacos durados, as well as a few apps and entree plates and traditional beverages. He will not be serving alcohol at the Fullerton location, but BYOB will be welcome. He's toying with the hours, keeping it on the early side for closing, but if interest/demand is there, he feels he could offer late-night tacos for the bar crowd (The Burlington, Streetside, Weegee's).

He gave me a peek at the taqueria menu and it looks great, very affordable all around.

Best wishes to him, Angel and Byron, they are super-nice guys with great food!

_________________
- Mark

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.