Students–especially those cramming for final exams–deserve a separate category of comfort food. More than just soothing, their fare has to provide energy and require minimal effort. Here, late-night pizza often fills the bill. In England, it may be baked beans spread on bread.
And in Mexico? Students turn to molletes.
The snack begins with a split bolillo, an elongated French-type roll, which is lightly toasted and then covered in refried beans, topped with a few slices of crisp bacon and finished with slices of Chihuahua or a similar meltable cheese. Lots of the fresh tomato-chile-onion-cilantro salsa called pico de gallo is served alongside.
You don’t have to be a student to get hooked on molletes. During a stint working for a newspaper in Mexico City, my coworkers and I, often covering the late-night shift, would head to a local eatery after work. Sometimes it was Denny’s, or the Talavera-tiled Cafe Tacuba where we would consume several orders of molletes. The beverage of choice? Cafe con leche, especially the way it was served at Tacuba–a glass of hot milk served with a tiny pitcher of coffee essence.
While the word molletes may occasionally pop up in culinary searches as a slightly sweet bread, the most popular version is the bolillo-and-beans. And that’s the kind we found on the menus at two Chicago restaurants.
The most like traditional version is served at Cafe con Leche (2714 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-289-4274). A 6-inch slice of French bread is split, slightly toasted then spread with refried beans. A coarsely chopped tomato-onion-cilantro mix is sprinkled atop, slices of cheese layered on and then the whole thing is heated to melt the cheese and comes with a side of pico de gallo. It’s a simple snack, but nicely executed with the crisp bread and fresh chopped vegetables balancing the beans and cheese well–and only $1.95. And, true to the restaurant’s name, you can get a good cafe con leche here too ($1-$2.25).
Another version is served, appropriately enough, near the DePaul University campus. At the Twisted Lizard (1964 N. Sheffield Ave., 773-929-1414), the molletes arrive looking a bit more like Italian bruschetta–those rounds of crusty French-type bread usually topped with a chopped tomato mix. Here a dinner-plate full of bread rounds is topped with a tasty spread of refried black beans and melted cheese. A hefty sprinkling of pico de gallo, some shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream finish the plate which is served as an appetizer for $6.25.
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Molletes
What it is: Mexican snack
How to say it: moe-YEH-taze
What it costs: $1.95 – $6.25
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“I would like another order, please”: Me gustaria otra orden, por favor?