GREAT EATS HAWAII

Saturday, January 31, 2015

FRONTERA GRILL

FRONTERA GRILL

CHICAGO, IL

FRONTERA GRILL

445 NORTH CLARK STREET

CHICAGO, IL 60654

312-661-1434

HOURS: Closed Monday and Sunday

Tuesday 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM / 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM / 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Friday 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM / 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Saturday 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM / 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM

www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/frontera-grill/

I have been following Chef Rick Bayless for years and always enjoy his cooking when I see him on television. With only a few nights on this trip to Chicago I knew that I really wanted to try his flagship restaurant the Frontera Grill. I called the restaurant and was able to get an early reservation the same day. I was so excited; 1) to eat Mexican food and 2) to eat at a Rick Bayless restaurant. Arrived starving and craving some Chips and Salsa. Our waiter never offered up the Chips and Salsa and after ordering appetizers figured there would not be room for them anyway. Started with Street Food Trio ($19.75). Enchilada Potosinas, Pork Gorditas and Sopas Rancheros. Surprised that none of these items hit home with me on flavor. The Old School Frontera Trio ($18.50) was another story.

Now these were the flavors that I had hoped for. The Ceviche Tostada was amazing and probably the best thing we ate all night here. The Smoked Chicken Taquitos were also quite good and something that I would order a larger version of. The Quesadilla was pretty basic and lacked flavor. The Pork in Tomatillo and Chicharron ($23.50) was an interesting concoction of flavors. When I put them all into a warm flour tortilla they tasted ok but when I tasted each individual component separately, the flavors were fantastic. The Pork on its own was great. The Oaxacan Style Carne Asada ($34.50)

was a bit of a disappointment. Did not like the marinade on the steak. It was however cooked perfectly and I loved the beans. My fried ordered Margaritas here and said they were the best he had ever tasted. He was powering them down like ice water so I think he really liked them. I always judge a restaurant by asking myself if I would go back. Sadly to say after this visit I would not return to the Frontera Grill. Just not as good as I expected. Perhaps I do need to return here to try some more of the menu items. Don't ever want to write off Rick Bayless so I will give this place another chance when visiting the Windy City.

FRONTERA GRILL

FRONTERA GRILL IN CHICAGO

PEOPLE LINING UP BEFORE THE 5:30 PM OPENING ON A TUESDAY

FESTIVE AND LARGE BAR AREA

SEATING IN THE BAR AREA

THAT IS CHEF RICK BAYLESS IN THE WHITE COAT IN KITCHEN

MAIN DINING ROOM IS RATHER SMALL AND INTIMATE

NOT OFFERED CHIPS AND SALSA BUT DID GET THIS

FRONTERA GRILL MENU

FRONTERA GRILL MENU (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

STREET FOOD TRIO
ENCHILADA POTOSINAS, PORK GORDITAS, SOPAS RANCHEROS

OLD SCHOOL FRONTERA TRIO
CEVICHE TOSTADA, SMOKED CHICKEN TAQUITO AND CHEESE QUESADILLA

PORK IN TOMATILLO AND CHICHARRON

MADE A BURRITO WITH THE PORK BUT REALLY THE PORK WAS DELICIOUS ON ITS OWN

OAXACAN STYLE CARNE ASADA

MADE A BURRITO OUT OF THE CARNE ASADA

VENOMOUS PINTOS

CHEF RICK BAYLESS HAS AUTHORED NUMEROUS COOK BOOKS AND IS FEATURED
ON SEVERAL COOKING SHOWS

IMAGES IN THE RESTAURANT

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE

CHICAGO, IL

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE

300 NORTH LASALLE STREET

CHICAGO, IL 60654

312-329-1800

HOURS: Monday thru Friday 7:00 AM - 2:00 AM

Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM - 2:00 AM

www.chicagocutsteakhouse.com

Chicago is known for having some of the best Steak Houses in America and according to the online reviews, Chicago Cut is supposed to be one of the best. We arrived a few minutes before our group and were greeted by a very friendly host staff. They asked if we would like to sit in the bar and we said yes. As soon as we entered the dimly lit bar area we were approached by several different people who welcomed us and offered to take our drink menu. I asked for a glass of wine and the waitress brought over an iPad and guided me through the pages that list the wine. Service in bar was exceptional, professional and as good as any place I have ever visited. When time came to move into the dining room the first thing I noticed was how close the tables are to each other. Barely enough room to walk to your seat. The tables are packed in here so tightly that there is a confining feeling and no sense privacy. Our waiter was a true pro with tons of knowledge about everything on the menu. He took time to go over all of the fresh selections, specials and various cuts of meat. He highly recommended the Bone In Rib Eye and explained in detail the aging process of their meats. I wanted the Rib Eye so bad but it was like 16 oz of beef. I knew that I could not possibly finish this much meat especially after Soup and Salad so I opted for the 8 oz Center Barrel Cut Filet Mignon ($46). Prior to my steak I enjoyed the Soup of the Day which was a Crab Bisque. The Soup was delicious and full of nice pieces of crab. I followed the Soup up with a Wedge Salad ($15). The Wedge was big enough for two people and the bacon on the salad was unbelievable. I picked off every piece of bacon on the plate but could not possibly finish the entire salad. This was not by favorite Wedge Salad in the world but it was not bad. At $15 I would have expected a little better. My steak was a huge disappointment. It arrived looking very lonely on the large plate. I looked at the morel of beef and questioned whether it was an 8 oz cut. Looked like 6 oz to me. The steak was very dry on the outside. I had ordered it medium rare and when I cut in it looked more like medium well. I took a bite and then another. There was no taste and no seasoning. I grabbed the salt shaker which I never ever do at most Steak Houses and sprinkled salt onto the steak. The salt came out very fast so I thought that I had over salted my steak. I took a bite with all the salt and still no taste. The salt helped but putting this steak down was like eating an expensive piece of leather. I did not finish it. Bright side was the company I was with, Truffled Scalloped Potatoes and the desserts. We tried an array of the desserts and they were all wonderful.

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE MENU

FRESH FISH SELECTIONS

STEAK, CHOPS, CHICKEN, RIBS AND BURGERS

PLENTY OF BEEF OPTIONS, SAUCES AND SIDES

CRAB SOUP

WEDGE SALAD

8oz CENTER BARREL FILET $46

WAITER PORTIONED THE SIDE DISHES ON PLATES FOR EACH PERSON.
LOBSTER MAC N' CHEESE, SAUTED SPINACH AND BROCCOLI, TRUFFLED SCALLOPED POTATOES AND MUSHROOMS

Friday, January 30, 2015

THE MEATLOAF BAKERY

THE MEATLOAF BAKERY

CHICAGO, IL

THE MEATLOAF BAKERY

2464 NORTH CLARK STREET

CHICAGO, IL 60614

773-698-6667

HOURS: Closed Monday

Tuesday thru Thursday 2:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Friday and Saturday 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Sunday 12:00 PM - 5:30 PM

www.themeatloafbakery.com

I love Meatloaf so when I saw The Meatloaf Bakery on a television show called Food Paradise I put in my list of things to do while visiting Chicago. Arrived to find two smiling young ladies eager to serve us on a very cold January afternoon. I looked over the display case filled with what looked like cupcakes and literally wanted one of each. Lucky for me they offer little mini Loafies for $2.00 each. These are small one bite samples of all of The Meatloaf Bakery best sellers. I ordered a flight of eight Loafies. It takes about 7 minutes to have the little meatloaves heated up. The presentation of each Meatloaf was beautiful. My only complaint is that all of the Loafies we ordered came with no sauce. After a few bites things got a bit dry. My favorites were the Motherloaf, Herby Turkey Loaf and No Buns About It Burger Loaf.