A year and a half after opening, Frankfort’s Fat Rosie’s Taco & Tequila Bar continues to earn its popularity. The explosive flavors and high-energy environment mean diners must make reservations if they want a seat.
Owned by Scott Harris, proprietor of Francesca’s Restaurant Group, and managed by Cisco Cortez, the fiesta-colored restaurant is often packed with people, and blasting with the high-paced merengue music.
The restaurant is named after a dedicated pet donkey owned by an agave farmer Harris met while on a trip to Mexico.
“Scott admired the love and care that this old man had for his trusted donkey,” according to the restaurant’s menu. “He admired it so much in fact, that one night after many shots of tequila, he promised the old farmer he would one day open a tequila bar and name it after the beloved donkey, Fat Rosie.”
We’re different because: Bartender Art Trevino said that what makes the salsa unique at Fat Rosie’s is roasting the peppers, which gives it a smokey flavor. In addition to offering menu advice, he also serves up a lesson on tequila. It was never meant to be drunk as a shot, he said, dragging his finger tips along his jaw and neck. The burn in the mouth and throat, known as lava, is what connoisseurs look for when they taste tequila.
Trevino explained the 30 or so tequilas behind the bar are placed on the shelves according to how long they are aged, he said. Those that are rested, called reposado in Spanish, have been aged two months. They are on the front shelf. The aged, called anejo, are over 2 years old and are on the top shelf in the back.
However, his favorite is Jose Cuervo Reserve, at $20 for 1.5 ounce pour, offers a vanilla flavor with its lava burn. The most expensive is Gran Patron, at $65 for a 1.5 ounce pour, he said.
On the menu: Tacos and tortas, priced $4 to $5 each, can be ordered a la carte or diners can mix and match three to receive rice and beans. Tacos are served on corn tortillas unless flour is requested. Nine choices are available with chicken, pork, beef or fish. Traditional flavors include al pastor, which is grilled pork with pineapple, and carne asada, which is grilled steak. They also have a popular vegetarian cauliflower taco with tomatillo jam and toasted almonds.
Specialties: In addition to tacos and tequila, a house specialty is camarones al mojo de ajo, which is sauteed shrimp in a sweet garlic sauce with tomato. For $20, the platter of food is served with rice, which Trevino likens to paella he ate in Spain.
Prices: Appetizers range from $6 for a small pozole, chicken soup, to $13 for the shrimp and octopus cocktail. There is also the el patron gordo burrito, which weighs three pounds for $22. The dinner plates range from the $12 roasted pork torta Cubana, to the $24 grilled grouper pescado escabeche.
Decor: Bright yellow and red walls are adorned with brick and wood accents, and bare light bulb chandeliers. A stuffed head of the restaurant’s namesake donkey hangs on the wall. Cortez, who wears a rhinestone-studded black cowboy hat, said the many different-colored sombreros and cowboy hats, which are ready to assist guests in having a fun time, get cleaned and sanitized daily.
Logistics: Located at 28 Kansas St., Frankfort, the restaurant is open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The Sunday brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the restaurant closing at 8 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended, especially on weekends, Cortez said.
Extras: The Sunday brunch has a build-your-own Bloody Maria bar.
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Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.