Seattle: Barrio

Posted by Degan on October 4th, 2010

Note: this post was imported from EthnicEats.ca

The first time I walked into Barrio in Seattle, it was late at night, raining and I was by myself. The sleek grey decor and wall of candlelight were beautiful and inviting, but it wasn’t meant to be – they were just closing and so I found myself a block farther down at Cafe Presse (Le Pichet‘s Capitol Hill establishment) with an Armagnac and a plate of charcuterie. I’ve been trying to get back and a late summer sun-soaked afternoon after a scuba dive in Edmonds was the perfect opportunity.

I ordered a trio of tacos – pork loin al pastor, shredded chicken in adobo sauce and Tecate beer-battered cod – without realizing that they meant you to have three of the same kind of taco. No matter, they were more than happy to honor that request, as well as the one for a ceviche and crudo sampler. The raw combo came out first; raw scallop & prawn and halibut “cooked” in lime juice for the ceviche and tuna crudo with salt and lime. It was refreshing and suited the evening, but the ramekins of each type were quite small and difficult to get the goods out with the delicate plantain chips.

Sun streamed in through the open doors and I didn’t even care that my hair was full of sea water. To drink I had some lovely summer cocktail – the special – with gin and lemon and angostura. Matt had less luck, first trying a jalapeño marg that muddled the sour notes of both chili and lime, rather than the flavourful ones. This was followed by a Pacifico in a bottle – Pacifico only because they were out of Corona and Tecate. Guess they used it all up on the beer-battered cod.

By the time we got our mains things were looking up. My tacos were excellent, being the right mix exactly of sloppy and juicy without falling apart, although I could have used some more traditional variations of filler. The side of beans that came with, though! Traditional or not, I will take them. They’re baked beans in sauce with more of that Tecate beer and bacon and they were just heavenly. Matt had a cazuela - chorizo, egg and cheese with fried potatoes, guacamole and tomato and hot sauce baked in a clay dish and served with tortillas. It didn’t pique my interest all that much (possibly because I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had eggs for dinner) but it was sure tasty.  The smoky sausage / fluffy eggs / piquant hot sauce combo is one I could definitely get behind. Especially at breakfast.

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Barrio
1420 12th Avenue, Seattle