Chicago Dining - Frontera Grill
 

For a birthday dinner would you suggest Frontera Grill or Topolobampo. Looking at the website, both seem to have amazing choices, but the prices are very different. Is the food at Topolobampo really worth the extra $? I tried to go to chowhound.com, but there website is sooo confusing. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Same owner, different atmospheres. I love Frontera Grill and Topolobampo (although I hate to hear Rick Bayless attempt to speak Spanish-- his bad accent is really grating), but enjoy the raucous feel at Frontera a bit more. It's not quite as good as the Mexican places I have here in southern California-- but that's really hometown prejudice more than anything else. Either one is a great choice, but I'll go with the one where you feel free to toss back a few margaritas and have fun!

Both are very good. However, I don't know if Topolobampo is worth the extra money. Both are usually crowded though and Topolobampo does take reservations. Frontera opens at 5:00 and the line starts after 4:30. We actually like Salpicon better than Topolobampo for about the same price.

I agree with rjw. Both are great places. I'm not sure you get a greater "value" for your $ at Topolobampo but you do get a somewhat calmer atmosphere, and more importantly in your case, a firm reservation. Fontera Grill only takes reservations for parties larger than 5, and even then, the wait can be very long during peak dinner hours. I was never clear if we had an actual reservation for a table or if the mgmt was just acknowledging that a largish party was waiting to be seated. My group of 7 waited over 2 hours one night and most were a little too tanked on margaritas by the time we were seated. That might be okay for some, but it wouldn't be my choice for a B-day dinner!

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll try Topolo since I can get reservations and make plans for the rest of the evening.