Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless at Chicago O’Hare Airport
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Fast Food Heaven at Chicago O'Hare
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoy Tortas Frontera at Chicago O’Hare Airport. This Mexican spot serves the best takeout food of any kind, not just Mexican food, that I have ever tasted at an airport.
You won’t find the usual “Mexican-style” fast food here. Tortas Frontera imparts the authentic flavors of Mexico.
At Tortas Frontera, meals are prepared from scratch. The influences of southern Mexician cooking and seasoning come through.
Rick Bayless, James Beard National Chef of the Year, 1995
The huge emphasis on authenticity, freshness, and quality at Tortas Frontera comes naturally from its creator Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill in Chicago, one of my favorite table-service Mexican restaurants.
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In 1988, Food and Wine magazine selected Rick as its “Best New Chef.”
- In 1995, the prestigious James Beard Foundation named Rick their “National Chef of the Year” and the International Association of Culinary Professionals honored him as "Chef of the Year."
Now, Rick Bayless runs three fast food stands at O’Hare, while keeping up his reputation.
You will notice Rick's attention to detail everywhere. For example, his chefs preserve freshness by not having more than two already sliced avocatos on hand at any time.
The Menu
For Tortas Frontera, Rick Bayless designed a menu that can be prepared reasonably quickly, without sacrificing quality. You may wait for your food a little longer than at McDonald’s, but not much.
I love the baked-on-a-griddle tortas, which are generous Mexican sandwiches with your choice of fillings such as smoky garlic shrimp with goat cheese.
Or, you may prefer the smaller molletes, which are warm, open-faced sandwiches.
Prices are reasonable. Currently, molletes go for around $5 – 6.00. The large tortas run $9 -12.00, with people happily sharing these.
Several visits passed before I remembered to snap the delicious chipotle chicken torta in the first photo before biting into it. Can you blame me?
In any case, a photo would not have done the sandwich justice. You would not have been able to ~
- Taste the excellent bread or enjoy its texture,
- See the extraordinary generous layer of avocado slices under the arugula, and
- Experience the sublimely seasoned chicken accompanied by Mexican Chihuahua cheese, cilantro cream, and roasted poblano pepper strips.
Here is the Guacamole Bar, with your choice of fresh toppings. You won’t find canned or frozen food used at Tortas Frontera.
The menu includes salads, soups (I am addicted to its tortilla soup), and even a variety of breakfast molletes and tortas, which I have not tried. Watch for seasonal items that are not on the menu.
Lacto-vegetarians dine happily here, but vegans not so much.
The bar and dining areas offer seating, but not nearly enough for the crowds who flock here. But don’t worry. You can easily carry any item, including soups, to a gate area.
Above: Watching the Grammy Awards at Tortas Frontera. I dined here before heading downtown.
Where to find Tortas Frontera
The three Tortas Frontera O'Hare locations are located at:
Terminal 1 - gate B11
Terminal 3 - gate K4 (near an American Airlines Admirals Club).
Terminal 5 - gate M12
To access Tortas Frontera you must either arrive at one of these terminals or hold a same day boarding pass to go through security in order to depart from one of these terminals.
If you arrive at one of these what a fine welcome Torta Frontera provides to Chicago!
I love that Tortas Frontera proudly tells us some of the companies that source their ingredients, including some organic, natural, and seasonal foods.
- American Spoon Foods, Petoskey, MI: Jams & fruit preserves
- ATK Foods, Chicago, IL: All natural pork chorizo & chipotle chicken breast
- Berkridge, Sioux Center, IA: Berkshire, all natural, antibiotic-free pork
- Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL: Marisol & Matilda beers
- Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL: Frontera blend coffee
- Kalona Organics, Kalona, IA: Sour cream, eggs
- Klug Farms, St. Joseph, MI: Fresh fruit
- Labriola Baking, Alsip, IL: Fresh-baked bolillo & telera breads
- El Milagro, Chicago, IL: Stone-ground corn tortillas
- Milk & Honey, Chicago, IL: Frontera granola
- Miller, Orland, IN: All natural, antibiotic-free chicken
- Nueske's: Wittenberg, WI: Applewood smoked bacon
- Rishi Tea, Milwaukee, WI: Organic iced tea
- Ruprecht Co., Mundelein, IL: Meyer naturally raised Black Angus beef
- Seedling Orchard, South Haven, MI: Seasonal fruits
- V&V Supremo, Chicago, IL: Chihuahua cheese, queso fresco & aged queso Cotija
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Just returned from eating at Rick’s Frontera Torta Grill in Chicago Airport, and was more than disappointed. Ending up throwing half of the stuff in the bin. The chicken torta was greasy, tasted really weird, and I felt sick after eating 1/2 of it. Ordered the guacamole, smothered, and it was also a GREAT disappointment. The flavor was NOT at all good, and the chips were so salty, they were inedible. I really like Rick’s TV show but he needs to go walk up, order, and truly eat some of this stuff. Quite possibly some of the WORST airport food I have ever purchased. And to top things off, was charged $4.54 for a bottle of tepid water! Really sad restaurant-
Thanks, Bob, for your comment. I am very sorry that you did not enjoy your visit.
Am also really shocked by your experience.
I dined at Tortas many times before writing this review—it’s an absolute must stop for me—and found nothing but extraordinarily excellent food. Nor I had any negative experiences since writing this or other people I know, including a flight attendant who passes through O’Hare frequently.
Now, restaurants are complicated enterprises. Rick Bayless has expanded from one restaurant to 12 locations in a relatively short time. Moreover, Tortas alone now has six locations.
This type of expansion can mean trouble, not only in decreased oversight, as you say, but also in too many highly experienced employees being dropped into new locations, which can leave a void at existing ones.
I will check out this situation the next time that I fly through O’Hare on one of the airlines whose gates give access to Tortas Fontera.
One word about the water price. Tortas does not sell regular bottled water. It offers upmarket brands that are always more expensive regardless of where you buy them. Moreover, as one O’Hare vendor told a man in my presence who was complaining about the cost of a chocolate bar, you don’t have to pay the rent I do in order to be here.
Thank you again for your comment. I hope that your next airport dining experience goes more smoothly.
A note regarding Bob’s comment on flavor.
Rick Bayless features the cuisine of southern Mexico. The seasonings used and their proportions markably differ from those Americans and Canadians are used to.
The areas of Mexico near the U.S. border contributed most of the flavors we call Mexican. Generally, the countryside in this part of Mexico receives little rainfall and is characterized by marginal agriculture and far less variety of crops planted than in the southern parts of the country. Even the primary flour differs—mainly wheat in the north and corn in the south, although not exclusively.
I love Rick’s southern cuisine, but of course preferences in food are very subjective, especially when it comes to new dining experiences.
Update!
Had the chance to dine at Tortas again at O’Hare and the food was as delicious as ever. The person who shared the table remarked that her meal was the best fast food she’s ever had.
Again, these are not the flavors found in most Mexican-style restaurants in Canada and the United States. Those usually draw on the culinary traditions of northern Mexico and those of the people who settled in what is now the southwestern U.S. prior to American rule.
Please teach your cashier to provide the right stuff is she is going to fill an order I did not get my salsa and there is little else to look toward to when at Ohare except fontera food. I hate Ohare love fontera.
Hi Lakna,
I hope that that does not happen too often. Many of us run off with our food to dine while waiting at the gates, with no time to go back.
Thank you so much for the input. May we have proper service next times.
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Sounds like a great place to start your journey. I love the guacamole bar and will definitely look out for Tortas Frontera next time I’m in Chicago.