Chicago: Frontier
I met up with my now ex-roommate (let's call her Queen G from now on) my first weekend back in Chicago to help her move into her new apartment. After all the boxes were heaved up the stairs, we met up with CK and her boyfriend for a late dinner.
CK's boyfriend felt like going to a gastropub, so Queen G suggested Frontier:
We really didn't know what to make of Frontier at first. It seemed as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a sports bar or a rustic fine dining restaurant:
Log cabin decor and warm lighting clashed with huge flat screen TVs. The fraty sports fan crowd with their clanking beer glasses and loud jeering was also a bit off-putting. Luckily, as the night wore on and the football game came to an end, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving us to bask in the peace and quiet...and the glare of the TV screens.
Confused decor aside, Frontier had some amazing food. We were seriously caught off guard and totally impressed by everything we ordered. And we ordered a lot.
We started with a warm goat cheese and beet salad:
The goat cheese was panko-breaded and fried, while golden and red beets were tossed with hearts of palm, mixed greens, and sherry vinaigrette. I gave the goat cheese a try, but could barely handle the nibble I took. The salad, however, was quite good.
We also got an oyster each (I forgot what kind):
We were curious about the parmesan gnocchi with cremini mushrooms and basil brown butter:
My one experience with gnocchi in the past wasn't a particularly good one, so I was a little skeptical. But damn, was it yummy.
We couldn't wait to dig into the lamb spare ribs with mint chimichurri and three duck fat fries (yes, only three):
The lamb was so tender....sigh.
The pork chop came with sweet plantain and two sauces, one made of aji panca (a Peruvian red pepper) and one made of aji amarillo (a Peruvian yellow pepper):
This was probably my favorite of the night. The pork was succulent and juicy and was perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the plantain and the spiciness of the sauces. Genius.
For some reason, we thought we needed more food and added an order of hand-cut fries:
Even the fries were amazing.
The service was a little spacey, but the food was spectacular and I loved how most of the dishes came plated on a wooden cutting board.
And apparently you can order an entire house-smoked lamb, goat, pig, or get this...WILD BOAR. For $500 (maybe more if you choose the boar) and five days notice, you can have a feast complete with salad, sides, and an entire animal.
Don't let the weird ambiance scare you away. The food at Frontier is definitely worth it.
Frontier
1072 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(773) 772-4322
http://www.thefrontierchicago.com/
CK's boyfriend felt like going to a gastropub, so Queen G suggested Frontier:
We really didn't know what to make of Frontier at first. It seemed as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a sports bar or a rustic fine dining restaurant:
Log cabin decor and warm lighting clashed with huge flat screen TVs. The fraty sports fan crowd with their clanking beer glasses and loud jeering was also a bit off-putting. Luckily, as the night wore on and the football game came to an end, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving us to bask in the peace and quiet...and the glare of the TV screens.
Confused decor aside, Frontier had some amazing food. We were seriously caught off guard and totally impressed by everything we ordered. And we ordered a lot.
We started with a warm goat cheese and beet salad:
The goat cheese was panko-breaded and fried, while golden and red beets were tossed with hearts of palm, mixed greens, and sherry vinaigrette. I gave the goat cheese a try, but could barely handle the nibble I took. The salad, however, was quite good.
We also got an oyster each (I forgot what kind):
We were curious about the parmesan gnocchi with cremini mushrooms and basil brown butter:
My one experience with gnocchi in the past wasn't a particularly good one, so I was a little skeptical. But damn, was it yummy.
We couldn't wait to dig into the lamb spare ribs with mint chimichurri and three duck fat fries (yes, only three):
The lamb was so tender....sigh.
The pork chop came with sweet plantain and two sauces, one made of aji panca (a Peruvian red pepper) and one made of aji amarillo (a Peruvian yellow pepper):
This was probably my favorite of the night. The pork was succulent and juicy and was perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the plantain and the spiciness of the sauces. Genius.
For some reason, we thought we needed more food and added an order of hand-cut fries:
Even the fries were amazing.
The service was a little spacey, but the food was spectacular and I loved how most of the dishes came plated on a wooden cutting board.
And apparently you can order an entire house-smoked lamb, goat, pig, or get this...WILD BOAR. For $500 (maybe more if you choose the boar) and five days notice, you can have a feast complete with salad, sides, and an entire animal.
Don't let the weird ambiance scare you away. The food at Frontier is definitely worth it.
Frontier
1072 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(773) 772-4322
http://www.thefrontierchicago.com/
Comments
Post a Comment