Tortas Frontera
Tortilla Chips – Salsa Verde, Salsa Rojo
Avocado Mollete – Smashed Avocado, Smoked Bacon, Garlic, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Cotija Cheese
Milanesa Torta – Fried Chicken, Artisan Jack Cheese, Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, Black Beans, Cilantro Crema, Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
Smoked Pork Mollete – Pork Loin, Artisan Jack Cheese, Chipotle-Fig Spread, Cotija Cheese, Cilantro
Lucila’s Homemade Alfajores – Traditional Dulce de Leche, Coconut
Lucila’s Homemade Alfajores – Dulce de Leche, Guava
Whether one loves Rick Bayless or not it is impossible to question his commitment to quality, and at ORD Tortas Frontera offers not only organic handmade Food, but prices that seem very fair considering both venue and product.
Originally opened at Terminal 1 in 2011, other wings of the Airport subsequently gifted their own as a result of resounding praise, it was in transit from Las Vegas to Frankfurt that the Restaurant at gate B11 was found busy, though much like the Food served expediting is better than most with wait-times typically less than ten minutes.
Focused on portable fare produced on-site, Bread from Bayless’ own recipes and Lucila’s Homemade Alfajores the only things brought in while Meats are roasted on site and Guacamole mashed by hand several times daily, it was after perusing choices that an order tallying around $50 was placed, seats taken at a table flanked by James Beard Foundation awards and a sizable painting.
Watching bartenders hand-craft Margaritas while waiting, a call of “number 68” from the counter quickly filling a two-top, it was with crisp Tortillas that dining began, two types of Salsa each vibrant but not hot whether applied to the Chips or daily-special Avocado “Toast” topped generously with Garlic and Bacon.
Moving next to menu items, though unable to resist a taste of Dulce de Leche and Guava between crumbly Cookies while waiting, one would be hard-pressed to name a better “Fried Chicken Sandwich” than Frontera’s at any airport in America, the thinly pounded Breast juicy but not heavy while Condiments all worked in harmony to produce a bold flavor greater than the sum of its parts.
Further tempted by Molletes – think open-face Sandwich that eats something like French Bread Pizza – it was thanks to smoked Pork Loin and Fig Jam that $7 proved an absolute steal for something so well-crafted while Lucila Giagrande’s $3 classic Alfajore made in the Windy City rivaled any found in Peru despite being baked days prior and sold in a package.
www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/tortas-frontera
