Tortas Frontera

I am currently sitting at the food court in the Chicago O'Hare International Airport listening to a small Indian girl wail and wail.  I don't know what she is wailing about, but her parents are trying the ignore tactic-which clearly isn't working.  At some point...you have to draw the line.  As she continues to cry incessantly....my patience is wearing thin.  I must venture out...and at O'Hare, there is only one place to go!  Tortas Frontera!  

Rick Bayless has taken his food genius to the skies.  He is the owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago.  Tortas Frontera mostly serves tortas (grilled sandwiches) but there several other options on the menu.  The raspberry prickly pear aqua fresca is so sweet and sour and thirst quenching...it is a sight for sore eyes for flight attendants who are overloading with soda and Minute Maid orange juice day in and day out.  And if I wasn't in uniform, you can bet I would go for one of their delicious margaritas.  

I had guacamole and salsa last night which was a first.  A flight attendant I worked with last week told me I must try it next time I was in Chicago and to get it loaded...and that's its only around $6! So, that's exactly what I did.  What exactly does "loaded" entail?  Starts with a cup of fresh made guacamole, then its topped with bacon, toasted pepitas, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, and queso cotija-fresco mix.  Now-I will be the first to tell you that I am ONLY a fan of MY guacamole and my mother's.  I never order guacamole at restaurants because it won't even top our concoction.  But........ as weird as it sounds...the bacon in the guacamole was pretty delicious with its smoky aftertaste.  The sun-dried tomatoes created an intense tomato flavor and texture and the cotija cheese on top balanced everything out.  

It was a much cheaper option than having tortas or molletes (and I wasn't that hungry) and still a little taste of Frontera.  Love!  So do yourself a favor and next time you have a layover at O'Hare for whatever reason, make it down to Tortas Frontera and try it out!  There are locations in Terminal 1 at gate B11, Terminal 3 at gate K4, and Terminal 5 at gate M12.  Usually they will stay open until the last flight goes out.  

Waiting on a 12:50 departure to Little Rock this evening.  If I was in New York I can assure you that I wouldn't be going anywhere, but, lucky (or unlucky) for me I was doing Chicago flying during the snow storm so now I am sure I will be flying in and out of Chicago for a couple of days until things get back to normal in New York or the snow melts...whichever should come first.