If you're up in Evanston, stop by the new Frontera Fresco, in the Norris Student Center on the Northwestern University campus. With a menu that includes tacos, tortas, quesadillas, huaraches, soft serve ice cream, cookies, muffins and hot chocolate—there's something for everyone.

Rick will be honored with a CIA Leadership Award for "contributing to a better understanding of world cuisines and world cultures." The gala is April 25 in New York City. Tickets are available here.

Nothing says the holidays like Oaxaca and warm chocolate—warm chocolate mesquite cakes served with Mexican vanilla bean ice cream (infused with aromatic rosita de cacao), sweet masa pudding (nicuatole), toasted almond, cocoa nibs, masa crisps. From Topolobampo pastry chef Jennifer Jones, it's perfection in my book.

December is festive in Mexico for not one, but two of my favorite holidays—Christmas and Dia de Guadalupe, or the annual day of celebration of the Virgin de Guadalupe.

In mid December, all across Mexico, you see altars dedicated to the Virgin de Guadalupe that are heavily adorned in red roses. Considered the "Queen of Mexico," the story goes that on December 12,1531, a peasant encountered a vision of a teenage girl on a hillside near what is now Mexico City. When the peasant relayed his story to the local archbishop, he was asked to return to the site and find proof of this vision. Although December was typically a barren month for plants, the hillside that the peasant returned to was covered in Castilian roses, a plant not native to the area. He gathered roses inside his cloak, returned to the archbishop, and when he opened his cloak, the roses fell to the ground and left an image of the Virgin on the cloak.

Considered to be the most sacred and revered religious icon in Latin America, the importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe's saint day is a testament to her overwhelming popularity among all Mexicans. Famous Chicano artist Cesar A. Martinez painted Mona Lupe: The Epitome of Chicano Art (see my photo of the piece at the top of this newsletter) as a commentary on Mestizo culture in Mexico and Latin America. The Mona Lupe is part of the permanent collection at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. If you haven't been, you should make a point of venturing down to Pilsen and checking it out. Not to be missed.

Our festive annual Christmas tree at Frontera Grill.

Our newest book, Frontera: Guacamoles, Margaritas and Snacks, is already the perfect end-of-year gift. Bubbles equal New Year's Eve, and the Sparkling Ginger Margarita is warmed with fresh ginger and finished with refreshing sparkling wine. Click here for the recipe—and have a great new year!

For a little end of year fun:

• 49,827 customers served at lunch in Frontera Grill
• 62,780 Topolo margaritas sold in the bar
• 51,146 customers served at dinner in Frontera Grill
• 289 private parties
• 1,568 books sold to customers
• And lots and lots of delicious, authentic Mexican food sold....