rev:text
| - I come to Cleveland on business fairly often and I try to always eat someplace local. I like to try new things and support local businesses. I had a craving for Mexican food so I found Barrio and decided to go for it. I had some meetings until late in the day and I arrived around 8:30 pm. I was blown away that on a Monday night after 8:30 there was a wait at this place! I figured it must be insanely good.
The hostess took my name and gave me a pager. Within a few minutes, a seat at the bar opened up and she ushered me over. She said I could eat dinner there or have a drink while I wait for my table. I decided to just eat there. That actually might not have been a wise idea because soon enough, a couple decided to share the one chair next to me. On the other side of me was a group of intoxicated college students. I felt, quite literally, stuck in the middle.
The bartender took my order. As the hipsters usually are, if you aren't one of them, they aren't particularly friendly to you. I got a jalapeno house margarita, guacamole and chips, and three tacos. Three tacos was way too much, probably because I underestimated the size of the guacamole serving. It is HUGE! For $6, damn. Unfortunately it was pretty blah. The chips were too salty as well. So luckily the guacamole wasn't salty because otherwise it would have been a bad situation.
The margarita was my favorite thing. It was very spicy and I liked that. The flavor was good but not much alcohol. As for the tacos, I got the spicy saparano, the el filadelphia, and carne trozo. The el filadelphia was actually my favorite. The taco held up well, the Portobello and steak were grilled perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The spicy saparano was a hot mess. The whole thing fell apart in 2 seconds. Basically all the toppings toppled off. It was really yummy but it was a nightmare eating it. By the last taco, the carne trozo, I was pretty full. I took a bite to get the full flavor and it was underwhelming. The meat was really delicious and I picked all that out and ate it.
I think the way they serve the tacos could be improved upon. Everything was juicy and sloppy and eating at a bar sandwiched between super annoying people just kind of put a damper on things. If they served the tacos on a tray or with one of those taco stands, I think it would be so much better. Wrapping the tacos in tinfoil just causes them to get more soggy. I can't imagine getting carryout. You'd have taco soup by the time you got home.
|