Grills Gone Wild - Border vs. Frontera

by Sarah J. Gim (Subscribe to Sarah J. Gim's posts)
Posted Nov 18th 2005 1:01PM
Filed under: Lunch, Dinner, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, West Coast, Restaurants, Vegetables, Midwest Cities, Raves & Reviews

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guacamole, frontera grill, chicago, il A few weeks ago, I made a trip out to Chicago, and in reviewing all my notes about my 2-day gastronomic mini-tour of the Windy City, I realized that I was doing a lot of comparing between Chicago's version of something and LA version.

The first place I ate was at reknown chef Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill, an upscale Mexican cantina in Chicago that is usually never uttered without its sister restaurant, Topolobampo. Sitting there in Frontera Grill's bar, I realized how similar the wildly colorful decor is to the Too Hot Tamales' Border Grill in Santa Monica. The cuisine and menus are very similar, too - upscale, "fanci-fied" Mexican specialties as well as traditional Mexican dishes.

A head-to-head comparison between the two restaurants would be unfair, since I haven't tried the full extent of the menu in either place, but I can still (avocado) pit guacamole against guacamole (sorry for the pun, I couldn't resist). We've tried Border Grill's guacamole many times, and even blogged about it here recently. I have now tried Frontera Grill's guacamole, and based on my wholly unscientific, totally biased, completely personal and emotional methods of analysis, I would say...

Frontera Grill's guacamole beats out Border Grill by a margin of...oh, I dont know. I never understood statistics anyway, but let's just say that Frontera wins.

Pass the chips?

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11-18-2005 @ 1:07PM

Tony said...

I'm not sure why but I've never been to one of Bayless's places. I have nothing against him & have always wanted to but everytime I think about it, Idon't feel like dealing with the wait at Frontera. I'm bad Chicago foodie.

Where else did you eat? Was this your first time in Chicago?

11-18-2005 @ 1:13PM

sarah said...

Hi Tony! No, not my first time in Chicago, but first time back in a very long time. I've visited several times, and even lived there for three moenths for work. But this was all a long time ago.

The trip was short (2 days), so I didn't get much in this time around, but I will be posting a few more of these "VS." entries over the next few days.

It's funny, I actually didn't realize that it was so difficult to get into Frontera Grill. Coming in from out of town, I guess it seemsnatural that I'd plan it out pretty far in advance and try to make a reservation, though for Frontera, you can't reserve until the morning of. But I called from the airport here in LA, and with the time zones, I think I was the first one to call! LOL!

11-18-2005 @ 3:50PM

extramsg said...

I did a write-up with photos of Chicago's Mexican food about a year ago. It was a fun trip. I like Topolo even better than Frontera (though it's more expensive) and thought Bahena's restaurants were just as good. There's an amazing amount of great Mexican in that town and even though the high end stuff gets all the press, I think the low end is really where it shines. See link:

http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36

11-18-2005 @ 4:04PM

Dmnkly said...

I'm from Chicago and am currently living in Chicago, but spent six years in LA, so I've spent a good deal of time at both Frontera and Border Grill. Sadly, I haven't been to either recently enough to reference specifics, but I can attest to my old feelings, even if I can no longer remember why I had them.

I remember thinking that Frontera engaged my ego while Border Grill engaged my id. Frontera struck me as more refined and careful and Border Grill struck me as more splashy and bold... inasmuch as you can distinguish between levels of boldness in a cuisine that's pretty bold by default. I always came away thinking that I couldn't say I liked one better.

That said, I've never eaten at Topolobampo, which I've been told rocks Frontera's world.

11-19-2005 @ 1:09AM

Bob S. said...

Next time you're headed this way, check out www.lthforum.com -- Chicago-food-centric message board. No shortage of great tips for any ethnic and/or neighborhood preference. (I apologize if this comes across as spammy; I'm not even a board moderator, just an occasional participant that appreciates the resource.)

As for Mexican, the best spot in the city AFAIC these days is Maiz, on California just south of Division. Chef Carlos Reyna is passionate about recreating, as best he can, pre-Hispanic Mexican food, and everything is handmade fresh. And the priciest things on the menu are about $8. I tip generously.

(And hi, Nick (#3) -- I joined you and Erik at TAC Quick for dinner one night.)

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