Clint in the Barrio

Went to Barrio tonight for a great evening of upcoming Mexico vacation talk with friends and family, but I can't prove it because the place is incredibly dark and inhospitable for photo taking. However, a pre-dinner classic margarita at Masa was digitally captured before consumption was completed. Enjoy.

Walking into Barrio, you're bombarded with noise and darkness and a sort of goth Mexican ambience you can't find anywhere else in town. Clint Eastwood's classic Western movie, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, was playing in a continuous loop on a high wall which lent a Western vibe that took some of the pressure off of the Mexican decor to be totally authentic. Clint was looking pretty beat while we ordered our food and drinks. I don't know what magic they mash into the guacamole at Barrio, but I'd happily eat it every day for the rest of my life, especially with the lightly salted and fried chips they serve alongside it. And my Barrio blood orange margarita with Cava nearly made me swoon. I adored the small bites option on the Barrio menu, single serving sizes of enchiladas and tacos that were just the right amount in the mouth and in the wallet. My chicken enchilada was marvelous, it's such a wonderful departure to eat enchiladas without going home way past the full point as so often happens with a cheesy casserole of chicken and love. Just one enchilada is absolutely perfect. I finished off my meal with a single mahi-mahi taco, puffy deep fried fish in a bath of fresh salsa nestled in two mini corn tortillas. Barrio is perfect for cutting edge cocktails and small bites, not so perfect for conversation due to the cacophonous noise level and low light (yes, I'm a hundred years old). But I want to go back to sample more delicious Mexican menu items (the shrimp taco comes to mind) and cocktails (Pisco Sour, anyone?), and to see if Clint makes it out alive in The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.