| rev:text
| - This is one of those restaurants that wants us to, by sheer force of will, make us, will us, to love them. I, for one, did not. Love the place. And the fact that there isn't an email/contact for any of the Barrio Cafe's on their websites is troublesome, just like they don't want to be contacted. That is not the way a PROFESSIONAL service business operates responsibly.
These guys talked about "flavor" but I thought the flavor was lacking in the food that we ordered (never mind that they pushed way too hard on the tasting menu for $50 or $60).
The only thing I've ever eaten from Barrio Cafe was a doggie bag of guacamole from the 16th St. location. It was absolutely delicious, probably the best guacamole I've ever had. This guacamole wasn't really guacamole; it was more of an avocado and pomegranate salad. The avocado was left in chunks, not mashed, no tomato or tomato sauce, interesting, yes, and absolutely nothing like the doggie bag guacamole I recall. Could the recipes be that different between the two restaurants?
I ordered a shredded pork dish that, while a very generous portion, was good, not great by any means. My dining companion ordered the Chile relleno, which looked beautiful but was rather unspectacular in every regard.
I watched the chef shows and I think most common mistake that I see is the chefs not tasting their food. There's no way these people are tasting this food and patting themselves on the back.
HERE'S THE KICKER: we had enough of each dish left over to take home. So, if it's "all about flavor", how could the busser have put both entrée dishes into one doggy bag like it was some stew or goolosh, or a f-Ing buffet! Why would I want to reheat two dishes, totally unrelated, now piled together? Not "mom-and-pop", UNPROFESSIONAL!
You go. I'm not. $77 plus tip.
|