Frontier - Brunch

I had been to Frontier a few times and really liked their style.  They have a very rustic look and feature a lot of wild game in their dishes.  They also have a fireplace which was actually a key component in my choosing them for one of my monthly brunch spots.  It was a cold day when we went which would have made a fireplace great.  Unfortunately, we were seated at a table where, while we could see the fireplace, we were not in the same room and could not feel the fireplace.  The room that we were in was warm enough but the fireplace would have made it perfect.  The Executive Chef at Frontier, Brian Jupiter, is originally from New Orleans so many dishes on the menu will have a Cajun spin to them, if not being Cajun outright.  We started out with one of those dishes that could very well have come from New Orleans, the Beignets, which were served with Apple Jam.  As with many beignets that I have had, they were covered in powdered sugar.  The amount of powdered sugar used for these beignets though, was kind of funny.  It was like we were being served a plate of powdered sugar with the beignets and apple jam served as a side.  If you didn't want to get powdered sugar all over the place, you kind of had to be careful.  After getting past the powdered sugar, the beignets were very good.  They were light and fluffy with a lot of air pockets and side and a crust that had a slight crispness to it.  The Apple Jam that was served with it seemed very fresh and sweet with a slightly tart finish and went very well with the beignets.

There were several things on the brunch menu that really interested me including the Bananas Foster French Toast which one of my friends got and looked absolutely amazing but I decided on a biscuit sandwich with potatoes.  Served on a cutting board, this was something special.  The biscuit was very rustic.  It was very crusty and uneven which provided a nice crunch to start things off with a soft interior like a baguette.  It was filled with a Ham Hock, Fried Pork Belly, a Fried Egg, and Jalapeno Jam.  I was a little disappointed that there was no cheese but there was enough to the sandwich to keep my taste buds occupied that the disappointment didn't last for long.  The pork belly and the ham hock provided a lot of porky goodness and the jalapeno jam gave it a spicy and tart finish which played well with the salty pork flavors.  The Cheesy Potatoes were so big that I actually thought that they were someone else's dish.  Their was a combination of mashed and whole potatoes that were served with butter, chives, and a little cheddar cheese.  They were really good and while I didn't think about it at the time, if I really was missing the cheese in the sandwich, I could have added a little of the potatoes though this actually, may have been the intent.

I really liked my brunch here at Frontier and will declare it a success.  The food was really good and there was a lot of it.  The service was friendly and the space has a rustic and homey feel to it.  This will be added to my list of favorite brunch places (as well as being one of my favorite dinner places).