Frontier Restaurant
35°04′48″N 106°37′08″W / 35.080°N 106.619°W
Frontier Restaurant | |
---|---|
![]() Central Avenue at the Frontier Restaurant, Albuquerque New Mexico, May 2010 - looking east, University of New Mexico on the left | |
![]() | |
Restaurant information | |
Established | 1971 |
Dress code | Casual |
Street address | 2400 Central Ave SE |
City | Albuquerque |
State | New Mexico |
Postal/ZIP Code | 87106 |
Country | United States |
Seating capacity | 326[1] |
Website | frontierrestaurant |
Frontier Restaurant is a landmark New Mexican cuisine restaurant, located near the main campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[2][3][4] It is one of the city's most popular restaurants, serving about 4,000 customers per day in 2000,[5] and is open daily from 5 am to 1 am. The restaurant has five dining rooms covering a total of 8,000 square feet (740 m2)[1] and is decorated with over 100 Western-themed artworks including several portraits of John Wayne, referencing the nickname that both he and the city of Albuquerque share, “The Duke” and “The Duke City”.[6][7]
History
Frontier Restaurant was established in 1971 by Dorothy and Larry Rainosek, who had recently moved to Albuquerque from Austin, Texas. Hoping to attract college students, they leased a barn-shaped building on Central Avenue across from the University of New Mexico which had previously housed a short-lived restaurant called the Country Barn. Earlier, the corner had also been the site of a popular soda fountain called Chisholm's.[4][8] The Frontier opened on February 10 with just 15 menu items and five employees.[1][9]
Initially, the restaurant served breakfast, hamburgers, sandwiches, and some Tex-Mex foods like enchiladas. After requests from customers, they began to incorporate New Mexican cuisine into the menu by the end of 1971.[10][11] By 1989, the Frontier had expanded into the adjoining buildings on the block for a total of five dining rooms and 8,000 square feet (740 m2) of space.[1] The restaurant was open 24 hours a day beginning in the early 1990s, but was forced to cut back its hours in 2006 after repeated problems with unruly patrons.[12]
Menu
The Frontier serves primarily New Mexican cuisine along with American diner fare like sandwiches, hamburgers, and breakfast plates. Some of the best-known menu items include the sweet rolls, green chile cheeseburgers, green chile stew, carne adovada, and breakfast burritos.[13][14][15][16][17] The restaurant also sells some bulk items including tortillas, chile, carne adovada, posole, green chile stew, and sweet rolls.[18]
References
- ^ a b c d Logan, Paul (January 16, 1989). "Frontier Restaurant: A Special Place". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Blond, Becca; Krist, Josh; Denniston, Jennifer; Yanagihara, Wendy (2010). Lonely Planet Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips. Lonely Planet. pp. 247ff. ISBN 978-1-74220-393-5.
- ^ Fodor's (2014). Fodor's In Focus Santa Fe: with Taos and Albuquerque. Fodor's Travel Publications. pp. 302ff. ISBN 978-0-8041-4237-3.
- ^ a b Lazell, Carleen; Payne, Melissa (2007). Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History. HPN Books. pp. 62ff. ISBN 978-1-893619-75-3.
- ^ Pentz, Michelle (October 9, 2000). "Villegas tames the Frontier". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Steinberg, David (December 23, 2007). "Enjoy Frontier's artworks with that late-night burrito". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "By the numbers: Frontier Restaurant". Albuquerque Journal. June 9, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chisholm's". Albuquerque Journal. Advertisement. December 24, 1949. Retrieved May 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Westman, Steven J. (February–March 2013). "A Frontier All Its Own". Local iQ. 8 (5): 12–15. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ Gray, Autumn (October 26, 2009). "One-on-One with Dorothy Rainosek". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Feucht, Andrea (2012). Food Lovers' Guide to Santa Fe, Albuquerque & Taos: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings. Globe Pequot. pp. 138ff. ISBN 978-0-7627-9053-1.
- ^ Stiger, Susan (October 26, 2006). "Frontier's Days Are Getting Shorter". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
- ^ Nye, Valerie; Barco, Kathy (2009). Breakfast New Mexico Style. Sunstone Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-86534-716-8.
- ^ "Neil Patrick Harris Talks about Hosting the Oscars, Where His Zia Tattoo is, and Frontier Burritos". NewsCastic. October 16, 2014. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ^ Host: Adam Richman (2011). Travis on a Silver Platter. Man v. Food Nation (Television).
- ^ Garduño, Gil (June 22, 2012). "The Frontier Restaurant — Albuquerque, New Mexico". Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ^ O’Neill, Zora (October 20, 2011). "36 Hours in Albuquerque". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ^ "Frontier Restaurant Menu" (PDF). FrontierRestaurant.com. Frontier Restaurant. Retrieved 2015-04-24.