Barrio Queen

Barrio Queen Restaurant Review:

Silvana Salcido Esparza rocked the Valley’s idea of Mexican food when she opened her Barrio restaurant in central Phoenix, and she did it again in a funky, punk-fabulous, Euro-Mexican-style fine-dining Barrio Queen in downtown Scottsdale. Amid the colorful Day of the Dead décor accented with marble and crystal, you can get a taco in dozens of vibrant, regional Mexican flavors, including carnitas, salmon or cactus, all of which are tucked into a hand-pressed corn tortilla. Or, you can go for a full entrée, including cochinita pibil, slow-roasted pork with habanero pico de gallo and sour orange-pickled red onions, served with unlimited homemade tortillas, salsas, epazote black beans and Barrio slaw. There are also fancier dishes showcasing the kitchen's creative, often irreverent Oaxacan/Chihuahuan style, like grilled filet mignon smothered in serrano jam, menonita cheese, sautéed huitlacoche, chorizo and a fried egg in a port-serrano reduction; or pan-seared duck breast over serrano, spinach and garbanzo bean sauté finished in quince fruit and wine demi reduction. Whatever you decide to eat, don’t miss the line-up of 400-plus tequilas and mezcals or the homemade sangrías concocted with wine and Jack Daniel’s whiskey.