Sweet Baby Jesus (that's meant to be "Hay-sus" if you will)
I could not wait to type this post up!! Because Not only does this post celebrate my new favorite food place! But it also commemorates my first ever Tweet! :) I joined Twitter this weekend! First and foremost you can follow me @Mommy_Spooner (that handle took a lot of thinking about- that's for another post).
Sooo... on a lovely kid-less Saturday afternoon with Music Man, we set out on an adventure to discover a new restaurant before visiting out newly-made-parent friends. First we started in the direction of JB Mac (which is all the way downtown, and serves over 25 different kinds of Mac & Cheese). Then we veered off I90 at the McKinley exit (Lakewood), and followed Madison avenue to a magical place called Barrio! I am more than happy that we did!
Barrio is mostly Tacos, Tequila, Whiskey, and Beer (of course). They have quite the impressive list of Tequila (many I have never heard of... still impressive), and an even more impressive list of Beers. What really was the stand out here (beverage wise) though was the Margarita I had! It is exactly what I was craving on this fabulous summer afternoon. What really sold me though was the adorable mason jar it was served in! I for sure did not see that coming! They served us water in regular water glasses, and then brought out our drinks (Music Man had a beer... a fancy one that I don't remember the name of) in these cute jars! With the décor of the building, and the amazing murals on the walls, I was not expecting mason jars!
Now the piece de resistance (clearly my computer does not type in Spanish or French- I'm sure you get the picture)... This restaurant is a build your own tacos... That's really all it is. They have chips and salsas and guac, and queso... with 2 kinds of dessert.. but you literally can fill out a checklist of what you want on your tacos. You can order by the taco ($3/taco) or by the box ($14 for 5 tacos in 1 box). I ordered what is called the "Hasta la vista, Baby" tacos. It was one of the "pre-designed" tacos. This particular taco included the following...
The first words out of my mouth after the first bight, were "Sweet Baby Jesus"... That's literally the only way I could have described them! Music Man being the "foodie" that he is, had to invent his own. He had 3 different kinds. He sampled the fish of the day (shrimp ceviche), chicken, and a brisket/beef one. But I slightly remembered reading a review of this restaurant, once we had arrived, in Cleveland Magazine and I had to try these! The salty-juiciness of the pulled pork, combined with the red cabbage, cheese, and chipotle crema was like a dream come true. I was sad when they were gone! If anyone ever tries to describe something they ate as a "party in my mouth" I will assume they had just bit into this taco creation! I do not like spicy things, by any means, but these were not spicy in a bad way. All the flavors really balanced each other out. I was left with a little "heat" feeling in my mouth, I must say... IT WAS WORTH IT... plus I just washed it down with not 1, but 2 margaritas (again those were delicious as well).
Music Man and I were so impressed with the place, that I immediately invited my parents out to dinner next Sunday following church for a little foodie adventure. My parents LOVE "Mexican" food, so I'm sure they will enjoy as well! Really looking forward to our trip back to Barrio . This will be a regular for us I am sure!- Mommy Spooner
Sooo... on a lovely kid-less Saturday afternoon with Music Man, we set out on an adventure to discover a new restaurant before visiting out newly-made-parent friends. First we started in the direction of JB Mac (which is all the way downtown, and serves over 25 different kinds of Mac & Cheese). Then we veered off I90 at the McKinley exit (Lakewood), and followed Madison avenue to a magical place called Barrio! I am more than happy that we did!
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| I'm not too sure when the mason jar became so trendy but keep'em coming! |
Barrio is mostly Tacos, Tequila, Whiskey, and Beer (of course). They have quite the impressive list of Tequila (many I have never heard of... still impressive), and an even more impressive list of Beers. What really was the stand out here (beverage wise) though was the Margarita I had! It is exactly what I was craving on this fabulous summer afternoon. What really sold me though was the adorable mason jar it was served in! I for sure did not see that coming! They served us water in regular water glasses, and then brought out our drinks (Music Man had a beer... a fancy one that I don't remember the name of) in these cute jars! With the décor of the building, and the amazing murals on the walls, I was not expecting mason jars!
Again I must mention the murals and artwork on the walls. The Dia de los Muertos theme was kinda cool. I am not one to like skulls, and what not, but I could not help but think back to my days in Bay Village Middle School Spanish class (the first time I ever saw one of the sugar skulls- which is exactly the first thing I called these drawings when I saw them... then the cultured educated person inside me said, no it is Dia de los Muertos themed). The who atmosphere of the restaurant was very laid-back and relaxed. We got there around 12:30-1pm, and there was not a ton of people (which is surprising to me now after I have eaten the food). We walked right in and seated ourselves. It wad dimly lit, but quite. They had some adult alternative music playing kinda quite (which was a much better dining experience than hearing some cheesy mariachi music- but I didn't get the feeling that they were truly trying to give off a "Mexican restaurant" vibe). There were servers with tattoos, and gauged ears, but our server Nick (who actually Music Man knew- surprise surprise) was more than polite, assisted me in making a stellar taco choice, and kept the water and chips and salsa coming. The salsa might I add was a perfect consistency. It was not watery like most "Mexican" restaurants are. It was thick, but didn't have huge chunks of tomatoes in it.
Now the piece de resistance (clearly my computer does not type in Spanish or French- I'm sure you get the picture)... This restaurant is a build your own tacos... That's really all it is. They have chips and salsas and guac, and queso... with 2 kinds of dessert.. but you literally can fill out a checklist of what you want on your tacos. You can order by the taco ($3/taco) or by the box ($14 for 5 tacos in 1 box). I ordered what is called the "Hasta la vista, Baby" tacos. It was one of the "pre-designed" tacos. This particular taco included the following...
The first words out of my mouth after the first bight, were "Sweet Baby Jesus"... That's literally the only way I could have described them! Music Man being the "foodie" that he is, had to invent his own. He had 3 different kinds. He sampled the fish of the day (shrimp ceviche), chicken, and a brisket/beef one. But I slightly remembered reading a review of this restaurant, once we had arrived, in Cleveland Magazine and I had to try these! The salty-juiciness of the pulled pork, combined with the red cabbage, cheese, and chipotle crema was like a dream come true. I was sad when they were gone! If anyone ever tries to describe something they ate as a "party in my mouth" I will assume they had just bit into this taco creation! I do not like spicy things, by any means, but these were not spicy in a bad way. All the flavors really balanced each other out. I was left with a little "heat" feeling in my mouth, I must say... IT WAS WORTH IT... plus I just washed it down with not 1, but 2 margaritas (again those were delicious as well).
Music Man and I were so impressed with the place, that I immediately invited my parents out to dinner next Sunday following church for a little foodie adventure. My parents LOVE "Mexican" food, so I'm sure they will enjoy as well! Really looking forward to our trip back to Barrio . This will be a regular for us I am sure!- Mommy Spooner
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