Mall basements are so hot right now.
Celebrity chefs have been wary of San Francisco as a whole, but they certainly have no qualms about opening casual offshoots (see: Colicchio, Tom). Less than a month ago, word came out that after twenty years atop the Chicago dining scene, fine Mexican dining extraordinaire Rick Bayless would be opening a branch of his Frontera Fresco outpost in the Union Square Macy's. As with the Chicago branch of the same name (also in a Macy's), our version of Frontera Fresco will dole out Mexican street food goodness: tamales, huaraches, tortas and the like. But where exactly will it be?
The chocolate store (pictured above) in the basement area is where Eater Staff believes Bayless to be settling down sometime in November. Neuhaus will move across the way to the area that is currently curtained off to the public, leaving Bayless to set up a quick service restaurant in the former candy shop. As opposed to Charles Phan's questionable Out the Door experiment in Westfield, we imagine Frontera Fresco will be more similar in scope to Wolfgang Puck's "Express" endeavor, several doors down in the Macy's basement.
· Frontera Fresco [Official Site]
· Rick Bayless' empire ventures to S.F. [The Stew]
· Eater Investigates: Why Isn't Anyone at Out the Door? [~ESF~]
