Brunch in the Barrio

We have yet to hit up Barrio for dinner, and their happy hour has been on our to-do list ever since Jay first mentioned their churro, but just like everyone else lately, we did make it there to try their new weekend brunch (Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.). We sat near the windows along 12th Ave and were surprised that even at 11 a.m., the ginormous wall of candles was in full effect.

Barrio has a big, diverse brunch menu [pdf], with everything from tacos to shrimp and grits, the requisite eggs and pancakes, Mexican granola, and the chilaquiles tortilla casserole of the day (not to mention a long list of cocktails). Our companion, a simple man, ordered the Gringo Breakfast, with eggs, chorizo bacon, and delicious cantina potato nuggets. Eggs come standard over-easy (though that can be modified), while the bacon was way chewy and fatty (we prefer crisp). We ordered the Huevos Divorciados with two fried eggs, cotija cheese, and red and green chile sauces over corn tortillas. We like condiments, but the plate was drowning in sauce, which overwhelmed all other flavor and left everything soggy.

Some highlights: their tangy house guacamole, which we now believe should be served as an appetizer to every morning meal. And the real star of Barrio's brunch was the coffee. The Café de Olla comes in a french press steeping with sugar and cinnamon. The tasty libation was sweet enough for us, a regular sugar-and-cream drinker, while it was not too sweet for our companion, who always takes it black. Downright scrumptious. We could drink it everyday.