dave "diem" m.'s Profile

I lived in San Francisco for two years (1999-2001), and during that time every time I went out to eat, my experiences were always incredible, from the 2am taco shop to the $40/plate fancy dinner, every time was amazing. In short, I got spoiled rotten.

When I moved here, I couldn't quite find the same finesse for the restaurants - either it would be a server, the decor, a nightmarish bathroom, or bland food. Rarely have I been out in Seattle and had it all come together. And at Barrio, it did.

The layout of the place has a bar in the middle flanked by dining areas on both sides. There is a large candle wall (both the wall and the candles are large). The bathrooms  have these giant wooden doors that seem to match the outside entrance ones; big, heavy, solid. The tables have custom cubby holes to hold the menu, and the plates are thick and solid and not too large for family style sharing.

We arrived at 540, and I had a house margarita, with muddled strawberries , and Angel a beer. We ordered the Rock Fish Ceviche (served with plantain chips - a stellar choice) and the spiced beans and cheese (another fantastic creation; not too hot, and the heat maintained for several minutes, and served with extra thick chips.

Our server was James, who was fantastic, friendly, and good lookin'. I asked his opinion on what to get from the main menu, and he recommended the spiced mushroom enchiladas (so fantastic it should be illegal) and the grilled sea scallops (with a crema sauce so perfect - not too thick, not too thin - and beautiful color).

This was easily in my top three experiences eating out here in this city. A huge thanks to our friend Jim for sending us a gift card from South Korea (!) for our anniversary for this place.

This place just opened up as a restaurant, and thought I would go check it out. Upon walking in, there was a strange vibe: The "restaurant" was a fenced in section of a mini mart. After a while I was served chips and spicy salsa, so far, so good. My friends' menu was missing pages, fairly strange considering this place just opened.

One friend had a shrimp tostada, and was so overdone with cucumbers it was inedible. The other had a enchiladas, and luckily they were fine. As for me, I ordered a shrimp and fish burrito, and it came with.....wait for it....french fries? WTF? French fries? Really? Not only does the menu say rice and beans, but you sub in french fries without telling me? *facepalm*. It gets better - I get into the burrito and they had an overdose of some weird white rice with peas and carrots, and nearly no seafood to be seen. What little I did get of the fish was tasty, but if you're going to advertise seafood in bold signs outside, you should back it up, and sadly that was not happening.

This barely gets two stars, only as I reserve one star ratings for food that gets me sick and luckily I did not.

Solid deal! $9.95 for a buffet, and naan is made fresh and delivered shortly after you get back to your table. I enjoyed the lamb curry, the tandoori chicken, and the well done mint chutney. I am absolutely going back.

We invaded the bar for Beer Friday, a post work gathering our friends have hosted for 10+ years. As this specific spot is popular, we took over almost the entire southern wall and one the booth on the north side. They were a bit overwhlemed with us, as they are not usually that full, but we are a patient group.

Can I just say how awesome the owner is? He wrote us a letter later, and apologized for the delays that night, as they had a new larger menu, and assured us it will be more efficient wehen we return. I LOVE owners who take personal reponsibility in issues like this, and I will recommend places like that over and over and over.

The new food, by the way, was grubbin'.

I have been going here since I moved nearby six years ago. Even though it has been through at least three owners, it has amazingly been consistent and tasty all those years. In fact, I have yet to have an untasty pie. They are quick, accurate, and friendly.

I was in downtown SF for a quick trip, and super duper had huge yelp reviews, so why not? Dear me, I am rather upset I went here, because I CAN NEVER HAVE A BURGER THIS GOOD EVER AGAIN.

I ordered the standard burger (2 1/4 patties), and served on fresh bread, and I added the egg. The egg was done perfectly, flowing molten yolk lava all over the bread, thereby increasing the awesome to +11. ON a side note, I could have done the smaller 1/4 and been just as happy.

I also ordered the garlic fries, and contrary to the usual ballpark garlic overdose, they nailed the right amount.

They also MAKE THEIR OWN PICKLES. Dammit man, I am now really upset I live in Seattle - we need this place!

If you know me, you know I am a whiskey drinker, and I do not say this lightly:

They serve the best bourbon cocktail I have ever had.

The drink is a house made smoked cola, bourbon, black tea, and a side of lime. This is the best I have ever had for several reasons: 1) It tastes like liquid awesome, 2) Each ingredient can be detected, and 3) You can easily have more than one.

They also had a unique beetroot drink, which was light and refreshing but you can really only have one of, but definitely should not be missed.

Sadly, there was one seriously off target menu item: The grilled triple cheese sandwich. It smelled terrible (not sure which of the three cheeeses that was), tasted terrible (still not sure how many of the cheeses that was), and looked terrible (shameful bread choice). It was amazing how bad this food was, considering I could have married the bar drink menu.

Almost 5 stars, but knocked it down one for the food. If you're going just for drinks you'll love it.

I knew I was in heaven when I walked in and was teleported to an art deco 1930's high end cafe. The hostess had fantastically done hair braids done up, which must have taken an hour, and helped bring in the atmoshere of the roaring 30's.

I opened the menu, and saw a drink called "carter beats the devil". Looking at the ingredients (chili tincture and mezcal and more), I had to have one. When our server came back she asked me what I thought, and my reply was "this is not a drink.....this is an adventure". Have one...carefully.

I was in SF for a conference, and stayed at the Kabuki. This place was just down the street, and the Yelp reviews are what drove me there. And they deserve every star.
We started with a reservation for 12, and 8 more ended up showing up. Most restaurants would either a) freak out, b) make us wait 15 years, or c) flat out say no.
Instead, the nice people at Jitlada did d) BE AWESOME. They rearranged tables on the spot and made a home for us, and on top of which did a bunch of grouped bills to make it easier to pay.

And the food, oh man - was fantastic. Light on the sauces, fresh on the ingredients, and moderately spicy.

It's the simple things in life, like a  fine burrito. The layout of this place is a little strange, having you walk to the end of the restaurant to order, however you soon realize it's because you're standing next to the cook you does it all right in front of you.
Carne Asada done right and great, and my friend enjoyed her veggie burrito.