The Chicago experience continued the next day at Frontera Grill.
Oh Rick Bayless, you complete me.
Known for his authentic Mexican regional cuisine, Beany and I couldn’t wait to get our faces into the deliciousness for brunch on Saturday. I recommend you get your game-face on early; Mr. Bayless doesn’t take reservations; so we stood in line with the rest of the Bayless fanatics; but oh my, worth the wait!
First (of course) a cocktail. It was brunch and all, so it only seemed fair that I have a Champagne…..Margarita. Let me repeat that:
CHAMPAGNE MARGARITA.
It was the mother ship calling me home.
My new boyfriend, the Champagne Margarita: Sauza Conmemorativo tequila, Torres, fresh squeezed limonada, sparked with Piper-Heidsieck Brut champagne.
After I finished crying happy tears over the Champagne Margarita, we ordered some appetizers to share.
Their amuse bouche of spicy roasted corn arrived when we were seated. We ordered the Guacamole: “Fresh and chunky, with just-made tortilla chips and two salsas” and finally the Topolobampo Tortilla Soup. Top-o-the what?
“Topolobampo Tortilla Soup: Dark broth flavored with pasilla, with grilled chicken, avocado, hand-made Jack cheese, thick cream & crisp tortilla strips.”
This was basically my dream in brunch form. Fresh, warm, salty, crisp tortilla chips with creamy, spicy guacamole. Tortilla chips are my kryptonite (along with good-smelling men and champagne). The soup was the perfect salty brothiness with huge chunks of avocado covered with the crisp tortilla chips. So.darn.good.
After sharing the soup and devouring the chips/guacamole; I was running out of room for an entrée. I wanted something on the smallish side, so I opted for this crazy deliciousness.
“Hongos Enchipotlados: Brown beech, hedgehog, oyster, shiitake & black trumpet mushrooms, white sweet potato, Oaxacan pasilla crema, epazote.”
This was a decadent blend of mushrooms in a rich, smooth sauce. I loved dipping the tortilla chips into this…are you seeing a trend? It was positively fantastic. Anyone who says you need meat at every meal needs to try this awesomeness.
While I was envisioning ways of smuggling the rest of my meal home; Beany enjoyed this deliciousness;
“Enchiladas de Mole Poblano: Homemade tortillas rolled around Gunthorp free-range chicken, doused with Mexicos most famous mole. Black beans.”
Ridiculous.
We rolled ourselves out into Chicago for massages and shopping.
If you think we were too stuffed to have a fantastic dinner later, you would be wrong.
Stay tuned.
The hANNEmaiden 
That moley was SO GOOD! And that soup (although hard to navigate through the jungle-brush that was those tortilla strips), was also my cozy warm boyfriend. Just like Rick Bayless will soon be my boyfriend…I love his nerd-obsession with Mexico…wonder if this extends to all parts of his life. Like, does he bring his wife bouquets of catuses (cactai?) instead of flowers? Does he shun all fast food, EXCEPT Taco Bell? Does he wear a sombraro to the beach instead of a base-ball hat? Does he insist on having a pinata and a mariachi band at all of his parties instead of balloons and a DJ? And, most importantly, does he eat PINTO BEANS instead of jelly beans? Rick Bayless – I need to know if we’re going to be dating!!!