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| - Gallo Blanco has a lot going for it--great location at the Clarendon, interesting space, decent prices for the food and friendly servers. And yet.
I ate there twice this past weekend, dinner Saturday night and brunch on Sunday. Saturday night, we opted to sit outside because the music inside was too loud to hold a conversation comfortably. The patio was okay. The food was mixed. On the recommendation of the server, we stared with queso fundido with chorizo. The chips were fantastic--perfectly crispy but strong enough to hold up to dipping--but the fundido was just okay. I ate about four chips before I came across any chorizo, so that was disappointing. Moving on to dinner, my partner ordered three shrimp tacos. I had three also, but I went with the halibut, cochinita, and carne asada. Sadly, the shrimp was a huge letdown. They would have been great, but the main ingredient was way past its prime; the shrimp tasted old and was seriously overcooked (maybe a good thing in this case??). I felt bad for my partner because my tacos were, on the whole, pretty good. The halibut was fine but definitely benefited from the green salsa on the table. The cochinita, on the other hand, was delicious as is. However, while the beef in the carne asada was tender and tasty, the flavor was more like teriyaki than asada. Still, my partner LOVED it. We passed up dessert but we did order drinks. The classic margarita was okay, but for $11, the Sueno Mojado *really* should have tasted like it actually had tequila in it. Alas, all I could taste was orange. So dinner had its highs and lows.
On to brunch the next day.
We started with drinks and guacamole ($7). We had no problem with the guac, other than that the scoop that arrived in a plastic (!?) molcajete was pretty skimpy for the money. The specialty cocktails were really overpriced for what you get: the El Julio ($8) tasted like a barely-spiked limeade; likewise, the El Ruso ($10) should have had more of a kick, given that it's basically a pricey Moscow Mule. The bright spot was the 16-ounce Bloody Mary ($5 during brunch, normally $8). It was tasty, fresh, had a nice spicy heat to it, with great olives and jicama garnish. Definitely worth five bucks!
For the mains: I had the shrimp ceviche (I know what you're thinking. Why would I order the shrimp given the meal the night before? In short, I wanted to give the restaurant a second chance.); my partner ordered three carne asada tacos (guess he really loved mine the night before!); and our friend had a shrimp taco and a carne asada taco. Alas, the shrimp was as bad at brunch as it had been the night before. That was a real bummer, because otherwise, the ceviche would become my go-to order at GB. But, folks, just skip the shrimp. It's probably imported from some sketchy shrimp farm in Thailand or Vietnam, anyway, so just as well.
My partner was interested in trying the orange cake, but we were told they were all out. So we got the Tres Leches cake, instead, and an order of the lime tart. Both were delicious, but the cake was the better of the two, hands down. I could eat that again every day.
So, it seems that Gallo Blanco is like most places I've eaten--figure out what they do well, and stick to that. Next time I go, it will be for Sunday brunch, so I can have another excellent five-dollar Bloody Mary and try out the Steak and Eggs or Chilaquiles. Stay tuned.
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