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| - I always frequent the boutique next door, so I have been patiently anticipating the opening since construction started late last year. Boy, am I pleased.
Bakersfield is a very modest Tex-Mex/Mexican hybrid, with a lot of offerings that I didn't expect to see at all. There is apparently a Bakersfield location in Cincinnati, but I'm very glad to see it claim W. 25th as a home, because it's probably my favorite barstaurant in the area right now.
The décor is very Texan-inspired, with Western films playing on the mounted flatscreens, tables made of crude stained wood, and bartenders occasionally wearing derby hats. Sitting at the bar is the best, because you can see their entire assortment of whiskeys and tequilas, and your drinks arrive quickly (duh). The service is generally very snappy.
The food offerings are limited to dips, sandwiches, and tacos, but there is a lot to choose from. The queso is served up in a shallow cast iron dish, and becomes absolutely magical when you add chorizo for a dollar more. The sandwiches, labeled as "tortas," are incredibly large portions for $9-$10. I'd recommend the Torta Milanesa, because the butterflied chicken breast that they give you is fried just right.
The tacos deserve their own paragraph. There are six options, but the two that stood out to me the most are the Al Pastor and the Huitlacoche tacos. Al Pastor is an incredible culinary mixture between Lebanese and Mexican food, and Bakersfield did pretty well with spicing, pineapple-to-meat ratio, and giving it a unique spin. Huitlacoche, which is a fungus that grows on various species of corn, is a rarity in northeast Ohio. That being said, Bakersfield brought it to the menu, and it is definitely something worth trying. My only reservation is that all of the tacos were generally undersalted, and if you ate them in one bite or in a rush, they're rather forgettable morsels. Chew your food!
Phenomenal start, and I look forward to watching the restaurant grow and adapt over time.
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