Chicago: Day 1 - Frontera Grill

One of the main places I wanted to check out in Chicago was definitely Chef Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill. I'm a HUGE fan of Top Chef and Rick Bayless won season 1 of Top Chef Masters.

Frontera Grill
445 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 661-1434
http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/grill.html
Price: $$$

Frontera Grill uses fresh ingredients, sometimes organic and custom-grown! Their goal is sustainability and works with the community and local farms. It's pretty awesome!

I wasn't able to make a reservation since it was fully booked but the host told me that they take walk-ins. And they don't open on Sunday or Monday so Saturday night was the only opportunity for me to go.

We arrive around 6:30PM. It was sooo packed! We were told there was a 2-2.5 hour wait. OMG! I read online that this would happen... But sometimes people luck out and get a table earlier. So we put our name down and a contact number. They said they would call if something opens up.

Since we've been snacking all day, none of us were really that hungry yet so it was ok that we eat later. Normally I would never wait around for 2+ hours... We decided to walk around some more until it was time for dinner. We got back around 8:45PM or so and the amount of people inside the restaurant and bar increased! Geez. It was super loud in there from all the chatter too... They said it was another hour.. Sigh~ Good thing I got a snack during our 2 hour walk! Luckily we were seated about 40 minutes later... I typically don't like to eat this late and all the waiting has kinda dampened my excitement... But we were finally seated!! I already knew what I wanted. haha.

We were given some Spiced Mix Nuts to munch on while we looked over the menu.

Although I already knew what I wanted since Chef Rick talked about it a lot on the show.

We started off with Queso Fundido Clasico (Samuels artisanal Jack cheese with garlicky roasted peppers, homemade chorizo, Mexican oregano) $8~ for the table.

You take the cheese and chorizo and wrap it in the corn tortilla. Now, if you've read some of my past reviews on Mexican places, you know I hate corn tortillas (which is why I don't like enchiladas). But this isn't Tex-Mex cuisine, it's real Mexican food. The corn tortilla didn't have that weird corn flavor I hated. It was very mild and soft so I liked it! The cheese and chorizo had bold flavors and the duo of salsas complimented everything well. I just wanted the cheese to be hotter and more melty? It cooled down pretty quickly and started to harden a bit.

Since it was pretty late my bf and I decided to share. We got the Ensalada Otonal (Roasted Nichols Farm beets & grilled Seedling apples, Bayless Garden greens, caramelized onion vinaigrette. Toasted guajillo crumbles, crispy ham hock, pecans) $8.75~

I was in serious need of some veggies. haha. The Chicago diet so far has been very carb and sugar heavy. :P I liked the salad a lot. There were some interesting elements that you normally don't see in most places. For one the little pieces of crispy ham hock added that slight bacon-ish feel. I liked the way they roasted the beets, which were thinly sliced. All the different components added a complexity of flavors. And it was really fresh!

Enchiladas de Mole Poblano (Homemade tortillas rolled around Gunthorp free-range chicken, doused with Mexicos most famous mole. Black beans) $18~

This is the dish I came for. All through Top Chef Masters, Chef Rick Bayless kept mentioning his mole. I believe he made it for one of the final challenges. I love mole. I had really great mole when I went to Mexico 2 years ago so I really wanted to try his. I was a little hesitant because the mole was on top of enchiladas (since I don't like enchiladas). But after trying the corn tortilla with the Queso Fundido, I think I'd be ok with the flavors. It was a good portion size. The dish had a nice pop of color with the garnish on top against the black sauce and beans. The mole was great. There were so many different spices and flavors going on, and had a nice spicy kick that hits you at the end of a bite. The black beans paired with the mole really well. The enchiladas were good too but didn't live up to the mole as well as it should have. The only complaint is that the dish needed more texture. The corn tortilla was soft, the chicken was soft and tender, and the beans were soft as well. It really needed more of a crunch somewhere. Overall I liked it though.

One friend ordered the Pollo en Mole Verde Queretano (Garlic-marinated, wood-grilled Gunthorp chicken breast, Queretaro-style green mole (sesame seeds, almonds, peanuts, poblano, plantain, sweet spices). Poblano-flavored mashed potatoes, braised greens) $23.50~

Also a good sized plate but needed some pop of color or something. The presentation was very neutral looking. The sauce was very interesting...with all the nuts and seeds inside, it reminded me of Thai curry. I liked the sauce with the mashed potatoes and greens a lot. The chicken was tender but not very exciting. It was definitely outshined by the sides and sauce.

Another friend got the Pescado en Crema de Calabaza (Wood-grilled day-boat catch (salsa negra glaze), spicy/smoky butternut crema. Roasted garlic spaghetti squash, lime-dressed arugula) $24.50~

The catch of the day was Cobia, which is similar to Mahi-Mahi...a firmer fish. This was really good! I particularly loved the sauce. So it seems like they are masters of sauces at Frontera Grill. haha. The fish was cooked well and had a nice glaze on top. I also enjoyed the spaghetti squash with the sauce. It was delicious.

Overall it was a pretty great meal. I enjoyed everything we ordered. But I have to say with all the expectations I had, I wasn't blown away... Maybe I just hyped it up too much? I would definitely recommend it for some great Mexican food, but I don't think it's worth waiting 2+ hours for...

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:



~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Chicago: Day 1 - Wow Bao

While sightseeing and walking all day, we stopped by Wow Bao. My friend was telling me about it and it's such a cute concept. Being Chinese, I totally love Bao. It's basically a steamed bun with stuff inside.

Wow Bao
1 West Wacker Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 658-0305
http://www.wowbao.com/
Price: $

We just stopped in so I could get a quick snack. You order at the counter and you can see all the pots and equipment behind the glass counter where they steamed all the buns.

They had a bunch of different flavors both savory and sweet. We were having dinner later so I just got one to try... Although I wanted to get like 4 or 5 of them. haha.

Thai Curry Chicken Bao $1.49~

The bao isn't as big as some of the ones I've had in Taiwan. But it's a pretty standard size. It came out nice and hot. The bun was cooked well, nice and fluffy on the outside. The curry filling inside bursted with flavor. There wasn't as much sauce as I imagined, since curry is usually saucy, but I can understand that they didn't want the sauce to gush out when you bite into it. I thought there was a tad much of one spice...I wanna say it's lemongrass. But other than that, it was a nice light snack. They had a seasonal pumpkin one that I totally wanted to try... Oh well. Next time in Chicago I guess.

They also have potstickers and rice bowls and stuff. Really cute place. Hopefully I'll get to try more in the future.

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:



~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Chicago: Day 1 - Yolk

I went to Chicago for the first time in my life this past weekend. There are sooo many places to eat and I have so little time! :(

We got in around lunch time on Saturday. First stop was a late lunch!

Yolk
747 N Wells
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 787-2277
http://www.yolk-online.com/
Price: $$

I love that Chicago has so many brunchy type places and they all have cute names like Yolk, Toast, or Orange. haha. Yolk was cute. Bright yellow and blue everywhere. Bright and cheerful just like how brunch should be. :)

Their menu is pretty extensive. It was so hard deciding on a dish...

There were four of us. One friend got the Bowl of Gourmet Soup: Pumpkin Spice Soup (with bacon and apples) $3.99~ to start.

It sounded soo interesting when the waitress explained the soup. It was creamy and sweet, as expected, but the bacon brought the savory element into it. It wasn't too sweet so it didn't cross the line into a dessert soup or anything. It was pretty awesome.

Meat and Two Eggs (served with red diced potatoes and another side; choice of meat: sausage links) $7.79~

This was a nice portion. The side of toast isn't shown in the picture. I didn't get to try but the sausages looked pretty good!

One friend got the Nutella-Strawberry Crepe $3.49~ which is under the dessert section.

Not a bad price for the crepe. It was full of nutella, which I love! The crepe was nice and thin and had good texture. Just needed more strawberries though.

My bf and I ordered from their Seasonal Menu:
I got the Pumpkin Swirl French Toast (pumpkin and cream cheese swirled bread, sliced, dipped in special batter and grilled; Topped with sauteed cinnamon apples and whipped cream) $9.49~

I loveeee pumpkin AND french toast and the waitress said this was really good. OMG! It was awesome!! Thick slices of super moist pumpkin bread swirled with cream cheese, battered and made into french toast. DE-LISH!! And surprisingly not overly sweet or heavy. I had to try very hard to not stuff it all in my face. haha. It's only the first meal! I've got wayy more things to eat!

My bf got the Benedict Caprese (English muffin, fresh mozzarella, grilled tomatoes, and pesto topped with two poached eggs and homemade hollandaise sauce. Served with red diced potatoes and fruit) $9.99~

Holy crap, it's a big plate. The eggs benedict was cooked well and the flavors were nice with the pesto and hollandaise. The potatoes were fantastic!

Definitely a great start to our foody trip. I so love breakfast foods and they've got some pretty unique combinations. I'd definitely go back if they had one in Dallas!! I'm totally missing the french toast right now!

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:



~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~