Last night I had the pleasure of attending the “Evening with Rick Bayless” event at the Frontera Cocina restaurant located at Disney Springs. Chef Rick Bayless is an amazing American chef whose specialty is traditional Mexican cuisine. Tonight he revealed the new fall menu items, inspired by the flavor and culture of the Oaxaca region of Mexico.
There was entertainment on hand at the event last night which included live guitar music and singing as well as a very “lively” guest. This was only for the event and will not be ongoing at the restaurant at this time.
This lovely lady was available for some fun photo opportunities.
The restaurant is decorated for Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in celebration of the upcoming holiday and there will be some menu specials coming at the end of the month to add to the festivities.
But let’s talk about the most important thing that happened last night – new menu items! In addition to the ongoing menu at Frontera Cocina, there have been some new seasonal additions.
We began with new appetizer – Guacamole with Chile-Lime Chapulines, priced at $11. The new starter was definitely interesting. The guacamole was creamy and absolutely delicious and the chapulines definitely added a little extra crunch!
This dish was served with two salsas. The red was considered the “mild” and the green was the “hot”. Neither was overly spicy or had much heat. Overall, while both sauces were very tasty, I preferred the green one.
Let’s take a closer look at guacamole, shall we? I will give you a close up of those crispy, crunchy chapulines.
And in case you haven’t figured it out yet. Chapulines are grasshoppers! They were crunchy and a little salty but actually tasted really great in the dish. We were told that these were organic, non GMO grasshoppers, in case you were wondering about that.
Let’s move on to the main plates. There were two new additions.
First up is the Oaxacan Mole Chicken priced at $27. This was a half chicken with a crispy skin and the BEST mole sauce I have ever had in restaurant. This is the traditional red mole sauce of the region. I will have dreams about the sauce – that’s how good it is!
The second new entree is the Roasted Bone-In Beef Shortrib (Mole de Cacahuate) priced at $42. You can tell that these were slow roasted for 12 hours. They were super tender and the portion is huge. They were served with crispy onions, mashed potatoes, Swiss chard and toasted peanuts with a peanut mole sauce.
Frontera Cocina is also offering three new adult beverages with this new menu. Of course, we tried all of them!
The first one was the Mexican Chocolate Martini prices at $16. This was a seriously dark chocolaty beverage that hits you with the sweet and then that burn kicks in. It definitely packed a punch.
The second one was the Oaxaca Daiquiri priced at $15. This was banana flavored and the sweetest of the three. By the way, that is ant salt on the rim. Yes, more insects this evening! These little guys were a little bit salty and paired well with the sweet drink.
The final drink we tried was the Mezcalita priced at $15. This was definitely strong with a hint of sweet. This drink I liked the best of all.
The new menu contained one new dessert item, Bunuelitos priced at $9. This dessert is definitely large enough to share. It is made with crispy fried flour tortillas, topped with a caramel mousse, red wine drizzle, cinnamon, Mezcal infused cranberries, almonds and dark chocolate shavings. In a word – perfection! Not overly sweet and all of the flavors worked so well together.
Chef Rick Bayless was on hand to discuss the new menu and answer questions. There will be a new seasonal menu coming out for winter so stay tuned for more details!
Overall, these new seasonal additions to the menu are amazing and delicious! Hurry over to Frontera Cocina if you want to try these dishes as they are only a temporary offering.
Dining reservations at Frontera Cocina can be made via the My Disney Experience App and Open Table. They accept the Disney Dining Plan and Tables in Wonderland Discounts.
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