Salpicon

1525 N Wells St.Chicago, Il
312-988-7811 

Type of cuisine: Mexican
Date of Review: June, 2010

Overall Quality Ranking: Excellent

Cost: Moderate
Gluten-Free Menu Options: Good
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: Comfortable

Description:  This was our second visit to Salpicon, and we would certainly return.  A more upscale Mexican restaurant, Salpicon offers a good variety for the GF eater.  Typical to many Mexican establishments, corn often serves as a safe alternative flour for wheat.

To get into the Mexican groove, I went for a straight-up tequila.  A Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Anejo, it had a nose of ripe strawberry and caramel.  In the mouth,  it was rich and reminiscent of a good scotch, rounded out with an oaky smoothness.

We tried three appetizers.  The first was a trio of tamales, a soothing and homey corn grain set out in three  sauces.    The second was a soft shell crab.  Pan fried, it was very garlicky but fairly oily with a texture short of satisfyingly crisp.  The third was a another trio, thick tortillas with shredded chicken and three different spicy mole sauces. 

As a principal plate, the pork in a traditional sauce was both earthy and spicy hot and was nicely offset by simple rice, pineapple, plantain, and sweet potato.  We also tried the two vegetarian stuffed peppers, one with cheese in a tomatillo sauce and one with a tomato red pepper sauce.  Both were very good.  Finally, we shared the flan for dessert. It was light and not overly sweet and was served under a lacy sugar dome.

Service was friendly and well paced, with plenty of water refills and check-ups on our well-being. Salpicon is renovating its first floor at present, but the second story was still a pleasant space, if rather loud.

Mexican food is often a good option for the GF eater, and if you have a hankering for something different from tacos and burritos, Salpicon offers a great experience.