A Mexican dinner in Chicago can begin with a region or a family memory. Topolobampo’s current tasting menu follows Veracruz through a six-course sequence. Mi Tocaya Antojería gives Diana Dávila’s memories and travels room to develop in small, medium and larger dishes in Logan Square. The two restaurants ask different things of the table: follow a route composed by the kitchen, or build a shared order from several preparations. That is a more useful distinction than treating every Mexican occasion as a search for the same taco.
At Rick and Deann Bayless’s Topolobampo in River North, the current Veracruz: Mountains and Sea menu gives ingredients a regional frame. Red snapper appears with a chipotle-peanut salsa, nixtamalized tomato and crisp yuca. A green huatape broth combines crab, tomatillo, chile, hoja santa and epazote, with small masa dumplings called chochoyotes. The progression connects seafood, herbs and corn while changing how each course is prepared and presented.
Huitlacoche enters a tamal with squash-blossom crema, mushrooms and black truffle. Wild boar with mole de Xico moves toward dried chiles, fruit, nuts and seeds; desserts follow Mexican vanilla, coffee, corn and chocolate. Optional wine and agave pairings provide different accompaniments. The sequence is a current example of the house’s regularly changing storytelling menus, rather than a permanent list. It suits guests who want the kitchen to organize a full dinner around one subject.
Mi Tocaya’s direction is more personal and more flexible. Dávila connects her enchiladas potosinas with the family’s ties to San Luis Potosí: chile-spiced masa turnovers, cheese and a crab salad in salsa verde. A blue-corn tlacoyo uses beans, peas and squash salsa macha. The menu makes those preparations substantial reasons to visit, with vegetables and masa carrying their own dishes rather than merely accompanying a meat order.
The same approach brings smoked cauliflower together with aged cheddar, rajas and salsa ranchera, or mushrooms into a pipián verde guiso with beans and tortillas. A fried cobia taco uses salsa Nayarit and a squid-ink tortilla. Steak burrito and garlic-sauced chicken supply other routes for someone seeking a more familiar or larger main. A table can combine a masa preparation, vegetables and seafood to understand several sides of the kitchen without committing everyone to an identical sequence.
Topolobampo fits a celebration in which a tasting format and a regional subject should guide the evening. Mi Tocaya fits friends or a couple interested in sharing Dávila’s personal interpretation of Mexican cooking, with room to choose dish by dish. The distinction is visible in the food and in the way dinner is organized. Both turn Chicago into a place to explore Mexican references with depth; the right choice depends on whether the table wants a composed journey or the freedom to assemble one together.
Explore the profiles: Topolobampo · Mi Tocaya Antojería
Recommended restaurants
The profiles below explain each restaurant’s cooking and give practical details for planning a visit.
Rick and Deann Bayless’s River North restaurant develops regional Mexican themes through a changing tasting menu led by Meagan O’Connor.
Regional Mexican tasting menus, current Veracruz sequence, mole de Xico and optional wine or agave pairings.
Diana Dávila’s Logan Square kitchen connects family memories with shareable Mexican dishes, vegetables, masa and seafood.
Personal Mexican cooking, enchiladas potosinas, blue-corn tlacoyo, mushroom pipián and fried cobia tacos.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
- Topolobampo: restaurant and current menu ↗ Primary source topolochicago.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Topolobampo: owners, team and approach ↗ Primary source topolochicago.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Topolobampo: current Veracruz tasting menu ↗ Primary source topolochicago.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Topolobampo: services in its official reservations ↗ Primary source www.opentable.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Topolobampo: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Mi Tocaya: chef, approach and services ↗ Primary source www.mitocaya.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Mi Tocaya: current food menu ↗ Primary source www.mitocaya.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Mi Tocaya: bookings and group contact ↗ Primary source www.mitocaya.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Mi Tocaya Antojería: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026