THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Barrio Cantina & Grill

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Barrio Cantina & Grill Restaurant Review:

Even if you only ate with your eyes, you would enjoy your time at this enormous restaurant showpiece, complete with dramatic architecture, Mexican pop art, and a jaw-dropping “tequila tree” towering over one of the two bars. Yet the owners (a group of independents) are serious about their food. True, it’s basically a nightclub serving noshes, but they’re tasty noshes, flourished with contemporary touches here and there. Some of the most satisfying dishes include stacked enchiladas baked in an iron skillet, short rib machaca and prickly pear grilled salmon. Sure, there are culinary winks: chicken-pineapple cheese crisp, bacon-wrapped hot dog sliders, a Sloppy Jose torta, and the crazy “Big Ass” Burro that tips the table at five pounds (eat it in sixty minutes and it’s free). Naturally, there are potent cocktails, such as the house signature “X-Rated” margarita, made with Cazadores Blanco tequila, Patrón Citronge and pink-and-fruity X-Rated Liqueur.