Barrio

i hope it's good, and i hope they do well. however, their awning is BLINDING and utterly incongruous with the rest of the surroundings. hubby and i were taking the bus this weekend to Atlantic Center, and all we could say was, "I would hate to live THERE," (pointing at the apts. above the fish store, et al), "and always facing THERE." (pointing to the Barrio awning across the street).

day-glo pink and orange is a-okay on the inside in my book if that's your thing, but the outside awning provokes me into assuming Spencer Rothschild hasn't thought one whit about where he plunked down his newest venture.

The sign isn't any worse than that loud yogurt cafe exterior on 7th Avenue near Union Street.

Jeeze...Tempo Presto. What a flash in the pan. How long was Tempo Presto in business at that location?

complaining about sign colors (especially given that barrio's new sign is representative of typical colors used in Mexico) is pretty absurd and shows you'll pretty much complain about anything.

now you're complaining about the yogo monster sign which is literally burgundy with a nice old style arcade lettering. there is absolutely nothing offensive about that sign.

i think barrio will be a great addition to the neighborhood and look forward to something of quailty in that space. if you've ever visited calle ocho, you will know that this guy does things right.

belzjm wrote: complaining about sign colors (especially given that barrio's new sign is representative of typical colors used in Mexico) is pretty absurd and shows you'll pretty much complain about anything.

I don't complain about just anything. If you walk around neighborhoods similar to PS in Mexico City you'd never see anything as tacky as Barrio's signage. It's just overdone. Yogo Monster, on the other hand, is designed in good taste with the use of neon colors in adequate doses.

belzjm wrote: complaining about sign colors (especially given that barrio's new sign is representative of typical colors used in Mexico)...

i see, and besides every house in mexico sporting pink and orange exterior paint (because apparently that's what they do), is it true then that typically every mexican male plays in a mariachi band, and every mexican woman typically has Frida's unibrow? :shock: :roll: :shock:

good grief!

Well, I hope they serve Micheladas out on the terrace. Nothing beats one of those in hot weather. 8)

Jamzer wrote: I think that is a gross leap from what belzjm said. Take a breather dude.

sorry. it's just that the mexico i know and admire is so NOT how it was just portrayed. i thought i should defend it from generalities, but perhaps that's not my place.

i guess i took personal offense being portrayed as a complainer on this board, which is something i try hard not to be.

in any event, it's a win-win situation for me: if the restaurant is a success then we will have another great food place in the neighborhood. if it fails, the ugly awning will go away.

shishkab wrote: [quote=belzjm]complaining about sign colors (especially given that barrio's new sign is representative of typical colors used in Mexico)...

i see, and besides every house in mexico sporting pink and orange exterior paint (because apparently that's what they do), is it true then that typically every mexican male plays in a mariachi band, and every mexican woman typically has Frida's unibrow? :shock: :roll: :shock:

good grief!

Good grief is right. belzjm said the colors are representative of typical colors of Mexico. Enough with the PC police.

actually, just looking at the menu of calle ocho makes me 100% skeptical. ropa vieja al caballo? with no mention of eggs? WTF? are they completely retarded?

and not to mention charging $20+ for this food. please. if you can't get it right, I'm not paying. I'd rather go to fuckin' victors - at least they know what cuban food is.

eggcream wrote:

Good grief is right. belzjm said the colors are representative of typical colors of Mexico. Enough with the PC police.

and all shishkab said was that she thought the awning was blinding. i think she's allowed to not like how it looks. probably not necessary to jump down her throat about that, imho.

Jamzer wrote: [quote=alafairnadia]actually, just looking at the menu of calle ocho makes me 100% skeptical. ropa vieja al caballo? with no mention of eggs? WTF? are they completely retarded?

and not to mention charging $20+ for this food. please. if you can't get it right, I'm not paying. I'd rather go to fuckin' victors - at least they know what cuban food is.

THEY DON'T MENTION EGGS?!?!?!?!?!?

Lets burn the fucking place down!!!!

Just kidding of course. I'll wait to taste the food (not to mention see a menu with actual prices for the food) before suggesting we burn the place down.
(again, just kidding about EVER burning the place down - that is not right).

I'll definitely try the place, but ...

"____ al caballo" means with eggs. like, bistec al caballo is a steak with some fried eggs on it. this is a dish that is kinda universal - I've had it in cuban places, chinese places, vietnamese places, turkish places, french places etc. all variations on the same theme: a starch, a chunk of meat and some fried eggs stacked up. the fried eggs, for those who want it that way, are usually over easy/medium so they help form the gravy for the dish.

so yeah. I do find it dubious when a cuban place says they're making something al caballo and don't say anything about eggs. it means they don't know wtf they're talking about.

Jamzer wrote: [quote=alafairnadia]
I'll definitely try the place, but ...

"____ al caballo" means with eggs. like, bistec al caballo is a steak with some fried eggs on it. this is a dish that is kinda universal - I've had it in cuban places, chinese places, vietnamese places, turkish places, french places etc. all variations on the same theme: a starch, a chunk of meat and some fried eggs stacked up. the fried eggs, for those who want it that way, are usually over easy/medium so they help form the gravy for the dish.

so yeah. I do find it dubious when a cuban place says they're making something al caballo and don't say anything about eggs. it means they don't know wtf they're talking about.

Thanks for the explanation alafairnadia. Now I get it.

I don't know why, but I found the line - "ropa vieja al caballo? with no mention of eggs? WTF? are they completely retarded?" - kind of funny. Nothing personal. I was just trying to have some fun.

no worries!

Subject: Re: Barrio

eggcream wrote: [quote=Jamzer]Brownstoner has the full scoop on Bario, the new Mexican restaurant on 7th Avenue where Tempo Presto used to be. Looks like it will open on Monday the 21st.
http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/04/streetlevel_bar_1.php
I, for one, can not wait to give it a try.

Pink and orange, Dunkin Donut colors. It's annoyingly bright and cheery but more importantly let's hope it's good. Not much lasts in that corner.

Thank god it's not Dunkin Dognuts. With 7th Ave restaurant rent starting at $10,000/month soon enough big companies is all we'll have.

We went there today for a late brunch... I'd say they still have some kinks to work out... and they obviously know it. Our waiter was very, very nice and was probably overworked as the place was pretty crowded. My friend ordered the Pollo Mole Torta and said it was good, but sweet tasting and not quite what she was expecting based on the description. I got the huevos rancheros - when they came out the egg whites were crispy/burned and the yolks were so hard that the fork could barely go into them. However - when the waiter asked how things were and I told him about the eggs, he whisked them away, kept apologizing and I had a new plate in front of me in less than 10 minutes! The replacements were tasty and well cooked - the sauce, especially was nice. Then...when we got the bill, THEY DIDN'T CHARGE ME FOR THEM!!! I thought that was very nice on their part, and definitely a good publicity move as where I might not have returned despite the fact the second plate was decent - now I almost definitely will give them another chance.

Stella wrote: Barrio is not that good. Last night, I ordered the Pollo Mole and the empanada appetizer to go. First, although it was a bit on the expensive side, they are rather cheap with their portions. The chicken was alright, if not a little dry, however it was supposed to come with plantains- I only got 2 small coins of plantains. The plastic containers they give are sturdy, but their size makes the portions seem even smaller and not as appetizing. Also, the guy who handed me my food had no idea how much change to give me. I paid for my $24.33 meal with a $20 and a $10. It's not that difficult, is it?

The plantains should have not been mentioned on the menu description if you only got a garnish portion. When that crap happens to me, I call up and complain ("my soup came with ONLY one shrimp" or "the last time I ordered this it had lots of mushrooms. Why did you send it to me with only two mushrooms?") I've received apologies and more food. Probably spat in, but what can you do?