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| - Yes, I am the traveler who seeks - even during airport layovers - to maximize the culinary adventure. Because I don't know who doesn't need a fresh meal and a stiff drink while slogging across almost the entire nation in nine hours....
Things one needs, then: a fresh meal. I know airport-fresh should be flitting around here in air quotes, but it helps in that case to avoid any of the million ready-to-eat burrito joints in favor of somewhere you actually sit down and order from a menu. A good sign of such a place is guacamole mashed and made tableside: no sleight-of-packaging there. Another good sign of such a place is an external presence elsewhere in the relevant city; reputation matters a bit, insofar as it sets up comparison, expectation, and perhaps a bit of consistency.
And then there's the stiff drink. My flying preference is a margarita: a little salt to help you retain water and avoid dehydration, a little sour to wake up your tired mouth, and a little citrus to freshen your mind. And the only acceptable sign in an airport for one of these is that you're ordering it within the confines of a Mexican restaurant (by which I don't mean Chili's Too).
Barrio Cafe it was: a pretty good choice if you have a bit of time to kill, and similar standards for how to best slay it. While much of the menu is too pricey for an airport terminal (it'll be a cold day in Arizona when I'll pay $22 for an airport meal of anything), there are tacos, tortas, salads, and soups like posole for much cheaper. Plus the tableside guacamole, which looked lovely and which you can slightly customize to your preferences. I went for one of the tortas with avocado, cotija and queso fresco, all spread over a huge split-and-splayed poblano pepper. This isn't a buttery melty torta, but it was nevertheless so big I had to take the face off and eat it with knife and fork. Americanized? Yep, but good, with plenty of nice rolling heat from the poblano in every bite.
And the margarita was perfect. Seriously, that alone is worth a visit even if you're not hungry; it was all I wanted in a little salty, lime-y glass, and was better than many a margarita I've had at Mexican restaurants nowhere near an airport terminal. I only had the basic version, but if you're feeling a little spendier they had several variations that looked quite tempting.
Very friendly service too; I was impressed by how knowledgeable my server (Brianna, I think) was when suggesting wine to other customers. I noticed because, let's face it, wine pairings in an airport aren't usually a top priority, but she was informed, attentive, and patient. And to top it all off, the music in here was Gipsy Kings: a nice change-of-pace and something that added just a touch of perceived sophistication to my meal.
Phoenix SkyHarbor, you're off my misery list. Now let's just get some signage in the airport so people can find Barrio Cafe without having noted the location the night before....
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