Rick Bayless Paella

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Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater and a native an armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

Rick Bayless on Thursday opens his first bar, a mezcal-centered speakeasy with a full menu of Mexican small plates underneath Frontera Grill. The vibe will be more easy-going than the upstairs dining room. But despite going more casual, Bayless wants diners to know his bar’s food isn’t an afterthought. Together, along with daughter Lanie Bayless, they’ll open Bar Sótano underneath her father’s 31-year-old River North restaurant at 443 N. Clark Street.

Bayless Throws A Fiesta

Customers will find the entry around the corner through an alley. Lanie Bayless, who helped build the mezcal selection at Leña Brava in the West Loop, again picked the spirits for Bar Sótano. She’s been around agave since she was an infant. Her parents took her to her first mezcal distillery in Oaxaca when Lanie was just six weeks old.

Lanie Bayless wants to bring more youthful energy to the building. They’re collaborating with chef Rishi Manoj Kumar (Frontera’s former private events chef) and bar manager Roger Landes (Smyth and the Loyalist) on the soundtrack, the decor, and the menus. Rick Bayless referred to himself as the bar’s “guiding spirit, ” but stressed that Kumar came up with ideas like oysters with a shaved ice that’s inspired by micheladas: “That was entirely Rishi’s idea, and it’s brilliant, ” Rick Bayless said.

These small plates are meant to be shared. They include a Mexican-style paella that’s made to order — it will take about 25 minutes. Kumar uses a meat-free “chorizo sofrito” as a base, which packs all the spicy flavor chorizo is known for without the pork. It’s mixed with chicken stock and reduced before the rice is spread along the pan. They’ll serve the dish with gulf shrimp. Why hasn’t seen more paella?

Mexican Paella Recipe

“I think they all think they have to cook it ahead and reheat it, ” Rick Bayless said. “And it’s never really good and people don’t get excited about it.”

Kumar grew up in Singapore and his family is Indian. His heritage, Gujarati, gives him a more thoughtful approach to vegetarianism. Armed with that understanding, he’s added more meat-free options to the item. The paella can even be made vegetarian by switching in vegetable stock. Another highlight for the Baylesses is the ceviche. There’s also a dry-aged burger among the 22 or so dishes.

A section of the cocktail list blurs the line between food and drink. The “Fonda” section features selections like a guacamole cocktail. No one from Bayless’ camp would talk too much about the Fonda section. It all of a sudden felt like a movie and no one wanted to give out spoilers.

Watch Mexico One Plate At A Time With Rick Bayless S

Bayless reflected back to when Frontera Grill opened in 1987. They didn’t even have a bar inside the restaurant. Customers would wait for the tables at the bar next door, Frankie Z’s. Now he’s opening a bar with his daughter.

“We have been talking about this for a while, ” Lanie Bayless said. “We love the world of mezcal and we really feel passionate to bring it to the rest of the world and rest of the community in .”

There’s an emphasis at the bar on “health-giving herbs” — the kind customers at a Mexican market would find. That’s Bayless’ term — he refused to call them “medicinal, ” which doesn’t exactly sound delicious. Bar Sótano opens on Thursday. Come back later in the week for more on the bar’s cocktails and the herbs they’ll use.Love is in the air. Or is that the aroma of toasted chiles and roasted cacao beans? Either way, our restaurants are celebrating the season of love with brand new specials for carryout *and* indoor dining on Valentine’s Weekend, Saturday Feb. 13 and Sunday Feb. 14.

Mexico One Plate At A Time With Rick Bayless

Our celebrations of San Valentín don’t stop with dinner. Our wildly talented bar team has crafted some incredibly tasty cocktails to get the night started —hello, Hibiscus-Habanero Mezcal Margarita!—and our perfect pastry chefs have made you and your sweetie a little something special for the morning after.

Start off with an invigorating, limey Yucatecan seafood “Cocktail” (shrimp, scallops, king crab) to scoop up with just-made chips. Then tuck into luscious wood-grilled Creekstone Beef Tenderloin in brown butter-pasilla chile sauce, rustic “queso añejo” mashed potatoes and charred broccolini. And bring your evening to a sweet ending … with Devil’s Food Cake with passion fruit buttercream and pink poached guavas, and a morning-after package of buttery, streusel-topped conchas and our bean-to-cup hot chocolate mix.

We’ve created a sure-to-impress Valentine’s Dinner. Start with beets & panela salad (tender red & golden beets, house made panela cheese, watercress, salsa macha verde, xoconostle chutney). Our Mexican Paella is the star of the meal (red chile-infused rice, Gulf shrimp, Gunthorp chicken thighs and crispy skins, roasted poblanos, peas, avocado). A sweet ending of luscious chocolate-avocado mousse (58% chocolate, coconut cream, mezcal) with raspberry-guajillo veil, toasted meringue and fresh passion fruit.

Check Out San Antonio's Annual Paella Challenge

Begin your your seafood extravaganza with Ora King salmon tartare flavored with salsa macha verde (serrano, cilantro, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, capers), plus avocado mash to pile on rustic tostadas. Continue with whole Maine lobster paella negra (squid ink-infused red chile rice, avocado, pickled red onions, poblanos, peas and spicy uni crema). End with luscious chocolate-avocado mousse (58% chocolate, coconut cream, mezcal) with raspberry-guajillo veil, toasted meringue and fresh passion fruit.

Bayless reflected back to when Frontera Grill opened in 1987. They didn’t even have a bar inside the restaurant. Customers would wait for the tables at the bar next door, Frankie Z’s. Now he’s opening a bar with his daughter.

“We have been talking about this for a while, ” Lanie Bayless said. “We love the world of mezcal and we really feel passionate to bring it to the rest of the world and rest of the community in .”

There’s an emphasis at the bar on “health-giving herbs” — the kind customers at a Mexican market would find. That’s Bayless’ term — he refused to call them “medicinal, ” which doesn’t exactly sound delicious. Bar Sótano opens on Thursday. Come back later in the week for more on the bar’s cocktails and the herbs they’ll use.Love is in the air. Or is that the aroma of toasted chiles and roasted cacao beans? Either way, our restaurants are celebrating the season of love with brand new specials for carryout *and* indoor dining on Valentine’s Weekend, Saturday Feb. 13 and Sunday Feb. 14.

Mexico One Plate At A Time With Rick Bayless

Our celebrations of San Valentín don’t stop with dinner. Our wildly talented bar team has crafted some incredibly tasty cocktails to get the night started —hello, Hibiscus-Habanero Mezcal Margarita!—and our perfect pastry chefs have made you and your sweetie a little something special for the morning after.

Start off with an invigorating, limey Yucatecan seafood “Cocktail” (shrimp, scallops, king crab) to scoop up with just-made chips. Then tuck into luscious wood-grilled Creekstone Beef Tenderloin in brown butter-pasilla chile sauce, rustic “queso añejo” mashed potatoes and charred broccolini. And bring your evening to a sweet ending … with Devil’s Food Cake with passion fruit buttercream and pink poached guavas, and a morning-after package of buttery, streusel-topped conchas and our bean-to-cup hot chocolate mix.

We’ve created a sure-to-impress Valentine’s Dinner. Start with beets & panela salad (tender red & golden beets, house made panela cheese, watercress, salsa macha verde, xoconostle chutney). Our Mexican Paella is the star of the meal (red chile-infused rice, Gulf shrimp, Gunthorp chicken thighs and crispy skins, roasted poblanos, peas, avocado). A sweet ending of luscious chocolate-avocado mousse (58% chocolate, coconut cream, mezcal) with raspberry-guajillo veil, toasted meringue and fresh passion fruit.

Check Out San Antonio's Annual Paella Challenge

Begin your your seafood extravaganza with Ora King salmon tartare flavored with salsa macha verde (serrano, cilantro, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, capers), plus avocado mash to pile on rustic tostadas. Continue with whole Maine lobster paella negra (squid ink-infused red chile rice, avocado, pickled red onions, poblanos, peas and spicy uni crema). End with luscious chocolate-avocado mousse (58% chocolate, coconut cream, mezcal) with raspberry-guajillo veil, toasted meringue and fresh passion fruit.