Frontera Cocina at Disney Springs has just launched a new limited-time menu, inspired by the diverse Mexico City.
Created by Seven-time winner of the nationally-recognized James Beard Awards for culinary excellence, Chef Rick Bayless, the Taste of Mexico City menu features four new menu items, and three featured drinks. In addition, a new seasonal menu adds three new dishes to the restaurant’s line-up.
This isn’t a review of the restaurant, but you can read our general impressions of Frontera Cocina in a previous article. But in brief, we are always impressed with the food at Frontera. The dishes are extremely well conceived and very consistently prepared. The kitchen has real passion for delivering good food, and it shows. If you haven’t visited yet, it should definitely be on your list for your next visit to Disney Springs.
As part of the new menu launch, Frontera Cocina invited us to come along and try the dishes, so here is a look at what you can find at “Taste of Mexico City.”
To get things started, there is Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas - described as crispy corn tostadas topped with Florida Pink Shrimp, sun-dried tomato, crunchy jicama, olives, serrano chiles, fresh lime, cilantro, onion and avocado.
There is a lot going on, but everything blends together perfectly. The shrimp is light and not at all rubbery, and doesn’t have a strong shellfish flavor - good for anyone who may be new to shellfish. The serving size is 3 for $17.
The seasonal menu also has a new starter, which is the Winter Green Ensalada - Shaved black kale, Arcadian lettuce, grilled pineapple, toasted pepitas, Cotija cheese, red onions, jicama, roasted tomatillo-serrano vinaigrette.
This one packs a lot of flavor into a salad. It has the sweetness of the pineapple, and some heat from the serrano. A clever way to bring the Mexicana flavors to a salad, and the kale gives it some real body.
Onto the entrees, and first is the Pork Belly Tacos. It is Crispy pork belly, smoky bacon, grilled knob onions, black bean refritos with queso fresco, guacamole, red onion, cilantro, three chile-agave salsa, and warm corn tortillas.
When you combine pork belly and bacon, it's a good thing, and this dish just packs so much flavor into a rather unique taco. Its priced at $24, and could easily be shared along with some other items.
The Swordfish Al Pastor is up next, which adds red chile, garlic and achiote as pastor flavors, and includes plantain rice, along with a smoky pineapple-chipotle salsa.
The robust swordfish works really well in this dish, and provides a good amount of meatiness to stand-up to the seasonings.
And rounding out the starters and main courses is the Three Chile Roasted Brussels Sprouts - which is probably our favorite dish on the whole Taste of Mexico City menu.
Perfectly roasted along with crispy bacon and Cotika Cheese, these are definitely not your ordinary Brussels sprouts. If you’ve tried (and liked) the Brussels at the Polite Pig, this one is also definitely for you. Different flavor, but the same elevated Brussels experience.
There are two desserts, first a Mexican Chocolate Flan - which is dark chocolate with Mexican cinnamon, golden sweet plantains, cajeta caramel, toasted almonds, and spicy cinnamon sugar.
It's creamy and smooth, but not too heavy after what may be a large meal.
And finally, a Cafe De Olla Sorbet - Mexican coffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, orange zest. Coffee lovers will definitely enjoy this one - the orange shines through and adds an interesting twist.
Three featured drinks are on offer as part of Taste of Mexico City - and it is really hard to pick a favorite, so you may need to try more than one.
First up is the Dark Aztec Margarita - Montelobos mezcal, charcoaled pineapple lime juice, homemade piloncillo syrup and mole bitters rimmed with powdered peanuts.
This one has a beautiful smoky flavor, offset with some sweetness. Definitely a welcome change from your standard Margarita and well worth a try.
If you like a sweet drink that is like a liquid candy, the La Bandera is your drink. It is made of El Velo blanco tequila, prickly pear puree, orange liqueur, lemon juice, limo foam and garnished with cilantro. It is smooth, sweet, and goes down VERY easily - so be warned.
Rounding out the featured drinks is the La Trajinera Flight - a shot of Montelobos Tobala mezcal, Bozal ensamble mezcal, and a Suave de Agave Sangrita as a palette cleanser between each drink. If you are a straight tequila fan, this is your drink - and its served in a very unique way!
The new Taste of Mexico City menu is available at Frontera Cocina now, and you can also continue to enjoy the regular menu alongside the new additions.
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