Chicago is blessed with dozens of great Mexican restaurants.
One of them has been cooking regional Mexican food for almost 40 years, according to NBC Chicago's Food Guy Steve Dolinsky.
Rick Bayless took some heat early on as a white chef from Oklahoma, daring to cook regional Mexican food in the mid-80s. But he’s devoted his life to studying Mexican culture, teaching us all about the intricacies and nuance of the country’s food. And believe it or not, opening in River North in 1987 was considered a risky bet.
The margaritas have been flowing for 37 years at Frontera Grill. But the neighborhood around it has sure changed.
“This was a really rough neighborhood,” said chef and owner Rick Bayless.
A 30-something Bayless may have been somewhat naïve back then, daring Chicagoans to accept his interpretation of Mexican food based on years of travel there. He and his wife, Deann, decided to plant their flag on North Clark Street.
“I was super stressed when we opened up because the first table that came to our restaurant sat down, opened the menus, closed the menus, got up, said ‘This is not Mexican food, you’ll be out of business in six months,’” he said.
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It forced him to lean into it.
“My mission from the very beginning was to represent the true breadth of Mexican food and present it in a contemporary way," he said.
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Bright ceviche inspired by the coasts; fried corn masa quesadillas from Mexico City. And of course, mole from Puebla. The complex sauce, made from more than a dozen ingredients, including spices of course, but also peanuts, tortillas, sesame seeds, toasted bread and almonds, the base of which is always toasted and ground chiles.
“We had committed from day one to make all of the sauces the way all of the abuelitas in Mexico would make them for a special occasion,” said Bayless.
Inky dark mole poblano is draped over chicken enchiladas, topped with radish and crunchy seeds. Tortillas are also made in-house.
“The tortilleria that we work with brings in for us this heirloom corn masa from Oaxaca,” he said.
That means some days the corn is yellow, other days blue. They’re perfect for making small tacos with the carne asada.
“We double marinate that ribeye then we cook it over a wood fire. I grew up in barbecue; first piece of equipment I bought for the kitchen 37 years ago was a wood-burning grill because I love that flavor,” he said.
And it continues to spark new ideas, like grilled salmon.
“…and it has a green mole from the city of Querétaro, so you get some of that really smoky flavor with the complexity of the green mole and then the brightness of the pineapple salsa,” said Bayless.
And with Jennifer Jones Enyart handling pastry, you’d be a fool to skip her chocolate pecan pie with kahlúa whipped cream. The texture alone is beguiling. Despite having turned 70 last year, Bayless shows no signs of slowing down.
“I love this business, coming to work every day, tasting the line, has kept us fresh because I love this food,” he said.
Bayless said making it to 37 years is important, because that’s how long his family’s restaurant in Oklahoma lasted. Since Frontera opened, he’s also launched the more upscale Topolobampo and a casual sister Xoco on the corner, as well as a line of salsas, a Farmer Foundation and a host of other projects.
