Frontera Grill

Frontera Grill has been in River North since 1987, and the case for it is right on the plate: moles that carry real depth and complexity, tortillas made by hand with the chew to prove it, a queso fundido good enough to make you rethink every other version you've had. Guacamole, tacos, enchiladas, carne asada — the menu reads like Mexican-restaurant standards, and the kitchen treats them like anything but, cooking with a precision that decades of repetition haven't dulled.

The room is casual and brightly colored, filled with a mix that tells you something: neighborhood regulars sitting next to tourists who came because they'd heard the name. That's a hard crowd to please at once, and Frontera does it by refusing to coast — the food stays sharp even with a line out the door most nights.

Rick Bayless built his whole restaurant group from this one, and the recognition backs up what the plates already argue. A James Beard Outstanding Restaurant win and five separate Michelin Bib Gourmand nods across recent years aren't given to a place running on reputation alone. Frontera earned its fame and keeps earning it.