Frontera Grill - Chicago

Early morning in Chicago (view from our hotel)

We went to Museum Campus and checked out the Adler Planetarium and Field Museum

Skyline view from the Adler Planetarium

(I wasn't a big fan of the Planetarium - it seemed very chaotic and disorganized and there were tons of people because Illinois residents got to get into the museums for free on the weekend)

Field Museum with a clear view of Sue! 

The Field Museum is FANTASTIC! I would highly recommend it when you visit Chicago. 

We made brunch reservations for Frontera a month in advance and good thing too! It was super packed on the first come, first serve side. We were looking forward to this too! Rick Bayless was the winner of Season 1 of Top Chef Masters and Frontera Grill has won numerous awards and accolades. 

 
Brunch and Lunch Menu
We decided to order one from each side and took our waiter's recommendations.

Mixed nuts as a starter

Gorditas: A trio of Xalapa-style masa cakes in chipotle black bean sauce. Each cake was topped with (a) scrambled eggs, (b) grilled chicken, (c) chorizo, beef and plantains and homemade crema & queso fresco.
Usually I associate Mexican food with messiness (and deliciousness), so this was an interesting plate with a contemporary feel to it. The masa cakes were okay: the egg and chorizo cakes were a little forgettable, but the chicken really stood out and it was seasoned perfectly and was oh so tender.

We also got the Enchiladas with Steak & Eggs (but I forgot to take a picture - food blogger fail).
The enchiladas were fresh-baked corn tortillas rolled around spicy steak'n'eggs roasted tomato-serrano chile sauce and a melted blanket of Samuel's hand-made Indiana Jack Cheese and black beans.
Note: "spicy steak'n'eggs" is literally SPICY steak and eggs. OMG - our mouths were on fire from the serrano chile (because they used the chile pretty liberally).


Bread Basket
Wow - I was super impressed by this bread basket! It was so delicious! Freshly baked bread and all these delicious flavours. I loved the Mexican bun and the custard bun with multi-coloured sprinkles on top. The butterfly cookie was also flaky and yummy.

Overall: It was a nice Mexican meal and Frontera is clearly a super popular brunch spot (the line up was pretty crazy!). The bread basket is a must order!

Website: http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/frontera-grill/