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First Glimpse: Barrio
Went to Barrio the other night, and it was fabulous. The corn soup was silky, full of fresh kernels of perfect summer corn, enriched by blue cheese and made elaborate and complex with herb oil—it was wonderful. The guacamole was the best I’ve had in my life, just lush and satiny, and the tortilla chips are sturdy, crisp, house-made creations dusted with cumin, chili, and sea-salt. I’d rather have them that most French fries, which is saying something. I’ll have a full review in November based on multiple visits and putting them through the full critical rigamarole, but if you’re the kind of person given to rushing to the hot new thing, rush on over. Shockingly, for a place where most everything is priced from $3.50 to $7, (the menu is mostly small plates, not unlike Solera) they take reservations. The cocktails were amazing too. All hail Johnny Michaels! Like I said, I’ll have more—and more reasoned critical evaluation—soon, but my gut-level first impression was that I’ve only seen a very few restaurants open this strongly: 112, Alma, and La Belle Vie. And I feel very hopeful about it all.
And now because this entry seems kind of short, I’ll close with this: You can buy a bumper sticker on cafepress.com that reads: “I’d rather be eating pheasant.” How weird is that? Also one that reads: “Have you eaten your grouse today?” So, if you’re itching to get bird-hunting season under way, via the bumper of your car, now you know.
Barrio
925 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN
612-333-9953
Barriotequila.com
Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008 in Permalink
Comments may be edited for length, clarity, or appropriateness.
Reader Comments:
I stopped by tonight; guacamole and corn chowder both lived up to your praise. And I'm only slightly embarassed that I stopped 2 different people from taking away my soup bowl in order to scrap and ... well, did stop just short of picking it up to lick, but I got every last drop.
I also loved the red chili enchilada with chorizo and fried egg. The crab empanada was the only dish I tried and liked but not necessarily enough to order again.
Great service & decor - and next time I'm saving room to try the churros with spice chocolate sauce I saw served a table over.
I ate here for lunch yesterday. The guacamole was excellent! I also had the spicy crab soup, and some of the other small taco plates. Everything including the service was really good. I probably could have gotten away with just the gauc and soup for lunch but my lunch mate and I ended up spending over $50 as we wanted to try so many different things. I'll be back lots...but I'll need to be more frugal next time.
Although I have not eaten there, this is the first time I have read or heard that the service was good. Other blogs as well as friends of mine raved about the food and complained about the service. I will certainly be seeing for myself as I love their other restaurants, but I was suprised to read your comment.
Dara, are you quite sure they didn't recognize you? I had high hopes for my first visit, but if the chips were dusted with cumin and chili, it was imperceptible, the guacamole wasn't any better than I can make, and the service wasn't anything to write home about (and this at prime-time on Saturday evening, with a reservation). I did love the tequila salmon, and the ceviche was good, but the portions were, well, on small size even for $7.50. (The mixed drinks were excellent, however!) I do plan to go back, but I'm hoping things will be looking up -
Yeah, I'm sure I wasn't recognized. Like I said above I'll have a more full, and more fully nuanced review in the magazine, but I will say that later visits weren't as starry as the first one. The chips, for instance, changed radically, they got thinner and lost their cumin. Dunno. Restaurants are living, breathing, changeable things, and none are more so than restaurants in their first few weeks of life.