 If
you are looking for an above average dining experience that doesn't
feel forced and is priced right, look no further than the Barrio
Grill. Located an easy walking distance from downtown Tucson on
South Sixth Street, we found a sophisticated bistro that occupies a
hip and pleasant space when we stopped in for dinner on a recent
weeknight. We'd heard that the physical space itself was redesigned
by former Fanatiks lead singer Rob Paulus and, according to his
company's website,
was "built in conjunction with a complete overhaul of the
historic façade with the design playing off the
"old" brick with new playful forms and
re-interpretations of existing materials." We'd always been a
fan of Rob's musical work and were interested to check out the food.
The menu is a simple paper affair that consists of eight "Little Plates," seven "Green Plates" and 11 "Large Plates," along with some orally offered daily specials. Despite the relative brevity of the document, there was sufficient variety to make it hard to decide what to order. In the "little plate" or appetizer section, they offer such things as Alaskan Snow Crab Cakes, Stuffed Anaheim Chilies, Black Tiger Shrimp and some kind of mussels. You can also get a cup or bowl of soup with bread. The green plates or salad section also offers good variety including everything from a basic house salad with mixed greens, to Caesar salads with shrimp or chicken, spinach salad with jicama, and taco salads with goat cheese and black beans. The Large plates included such entrée items as baby back ribs, pork chops, penne pasta, lamb and fish dishes all coming with creative sides, sauces and glazes. We decided on the penne pasta and pork chop for the main courses and commenced to sip out drinks and nibble at the fresh French bread that accompanied.
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Upon
arrival, we immediately made note that patio seating is available
and that the bar area was expansive and cool in case we wanted to
return specifically to enjoy one or the other of these attributes. We opted to be seated
inside at a table in this case and were shown the way by a pleasant,
casually attractive hostess who allowed us to gravitate to a table
of our liking. We were a bit off put initially when we again felt
constricted by the chairs, (see 
The
pork chop "Large plate" was a good a meal as we've had in some time.
The plump and succulent chop was served on a generous heap of mashed
potatoes that included carmelized onions, huge cloves of baked garlic,
glazed chutneys and currents of some kind and a bed of crisp carrots
and snow peas. The chop itself was perfectly cooked, soft and tender
and could have easily stood on it's own with an inferior garnish but
the supporting cast of vegetables almost stole the show. It was a
large plate indeed but so tasty that the confining chairs soon felt
even tighter as the plate was cleaned. The penne pasta was excellent
as well with spicy Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, carmelized
onions, mozzarella and fresh parmesan cheeses making
the dish snap with flavor. Our complements to the chef is what we
were thinking as we leaned back, rubbed our bellies and declined the
second coffee and desert offering of the night. 