Frida’s Cafe, a bright and colorful spot within the Kroger shopping center near the Northfield and Broad intersection, takes its name from popular Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Serving a wide mixture of crepes, conchas, sweet items and coffee along with delicious enchiladas, tacos, flautas, chilaquiles, tortas and more from its beautiful cafe space, the family-owned spot has impressed many Murfreesboro diners throughout its first couple of years of operation.
Just as Kahlo used a bold and vivid palette of colors to create her expressive works of art, Frida’s Cafe uses an appealing variety of colors and flavors in creating its food and beverages.
The broad drink menu, among the coffee beverages, lattes and horchata, also includes a beautifully orange carrot juice—as well as freshly squeezed beet juice and orange juice—a variety of aguas frescos (such as hibiscus, mango, lime and cucumber, and guava), and taro, a sweet, strikingly purple concoction made from taro, the purple root vegetable similar to a sweet potato, blended with milk.
Likewise, Frida’s serves an array of some deliciously flavored, colorful food dishes at its fun and festive cafe.
“The coffee—so good! That’s when I knew this place was already amazing,” said Frida’s customer Jessica Barrera. “The chilaquiles rellenos were absolutely delicious, full of flavor, comforting and clearly made with love. You can tell this isn’t rushed food. It’s the kind that feels homemade and intentional.”
These chilaquiles rellenos, a plate comprised of small wedges of cheese quesadilla covered in green or red sauce—or, a blend of both—comes topped with a fried egg, beans, sour cream, cheese, onion and steak or chicken (or no meat).
Local restaurant frequenter Joe LaFerriere ordered Frida’s chilaquiles rellenos, his first time trying the dish, he said, and went with a half-and-half blend of the sauces, calling them “some of the best tomatillos and salsa roja sauces. The sauces are not ‘hot,’ but are bursting with great flavors.”
He said the green was his favorite, but “you won’t go wrong with the salsa roja.”
“The aroma from the various parts of the dish were wonderful,” LaFerriere said. “In the end I was stuffed, but really impressed with the quality (and quantity) of food from this small shop,” adding that he “loved the decor.”
The flautas—chicken rolled in tortillas and fried, like mini-chimichangas—arrive topped with a swirl of sour cream, as well as guacamole, pico de gallo and lettuce.
“This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had!” Michelle Cash said after a meal at Frida’s Cafe. “My new favorite breakfast place.”
Other menu items range from omelets to tamales to paninis, among other delicious breakfast and lunch choices.
“I can get a delightful breakfast that involves chorizo and eggs with a waffle and a fantastic hot chocolate,” according to a review posted by Daniel Rachael Babcock. “The tamales I grabbed to go were also great.”
The tortillas used in the enchiladas have a tasty, corny flavor.
On the sweet side, find waffles, crepes and pancakes, which can be topped with caramel, fruit or chocolate syrup, as well as tres leches cake, a pastry known as Gorditas de Harina Sabor Lechera, Mexican sweet bread, and conchas, a house-made specialty, fluffy rolls encrusted with a sweet icing-like topping in seashell designs.
The Frida’s concha rellena [pictured, top] makes a fantastic fruity dessert creation, featuring a large concha, split and loaded with Nutella, whipped cream, bananas and strawberries.
“I highly recommend the horchata latte and a crepe,” Allyson Tolson said.
Blanca, Jesus and Maria are the trio of siblings from Jalisco, Mexico, behind the cafe.
“It’s all a group effort,” said Blanca, regarding the conceptualization of the menu. “We all had ideas.”
Another of the delicious Frida’s food items, one not commonly found in Tennessee, is the tacos ahogados.
“Ahogados” translates from Spanish as “drowned,” and refers to a style of Mexican cuisine where food—commonly eggs or tacos—are submerged in a flavorful sauce.
Frida’s fills its tacos ahogados with mashed potato, smothers them in a red enchilada-type sauce, tops them with cabbage and deliciously moist and tender bits of pork carnitas, and serves these alongside a small cup of a fairly spicy hot sauce. These are not exactly a “pick up with your hands” style of taco; more of a fork dish.
“I love the pink pickled onions,” another diner, Sarah Mayo, said.
As far as the vibrant artwork on the cafe walls, “My brother-in-law did all the murals,” Blanca said. “My brother [Jesus] is a big fan of Frida Kahlo. She was a very independent woman; a lot of Mexican women look up to her.”
Experience the creative cooks’ vivid tribute to the artist and their personal takes on some of their favorite Mexican dishes at the Northfield Boulevard eatery, open every day from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
“There is no place in town that has chilaquiles like this. This is as close to authentic as you can get to a Mexican breakfast,” yet another pleased customer, Ingrid, reported. “The cafe de olla is my absolute favorite. The pan dulce is so fresh.”
Frida’s Cafe
1798 W. Northfield Blvd.
8 a.m.–3 p.m. every day
615-624-7664
Torta: $9.99; Tacos ahogados: $12.99; Concha rellenas (filled with strawberries, banana, Nutella and sweet cream): $6.99; Burrito (ham, egg and cheese; potatoes, chorizo and cheese; or vegetarian): $10.99; 16 oz. Horchata latte, Mexican mocha, or taro (cold or hot): $4.49; Tamale (pork or chicken): $2.99; Chilaquiles Rellenos with steak: $18.48
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