Evaluate: Mexican Barrel House in Creve Coeur serves upscale fare in a enjoyable, festive environment

Remember again within the early ’80s, if you checked your Swatch, popped your collar or adjusted these two-story shoulder pads, and sashayed into Casa Gallardo for a platter of enchiladas and a margarita that would double as a wading pool? Casa launched “upscale” Mexican fare in St. Louis, and we took to it like MTV took to Madonna. Walking into the brand new Mexican Barrel House is sort of a journey again to these salsa-stained days. Everything is large, loud, and enjoyable.

The décor, for instance, takes “Mexican restaurant” straight to DEFCON 1 stage. Every wall is shingled with a complete pueblo’s value of tchotchkes. Multiple ranges, together with an extravagant, brilliantly lit bar and a balcony flooring with seating, add so much to the atmosphere, creating the simultaneous sensation of each intimate nooks and a festive environment. We can’t recall eating wherever else with casters on the chairs, an odd element that really makes dialog simpler, particularly at bigger tables. Resist the urge to take one on a spin throughout the checkered parquet flooring.

Dining selections listed below are, ah, expansive. Instructions for reprogramming your cable field appear positively childlike compared to the menu. Pages of choices cowl seemingly each Southwestern chance, from Monterrey to Midland. We received la banquete rolling with a really credible ceviche, salmon, and finely chopped shrimp with cilantro, onion, and avocado, all smacked with lime juice. A superb ceviche puckers the palate, simply wanting bitter, and this one does a piquant, chilled job, with chips for dipping. Another, easier starter is a calming salsa that’s darkish and smoky; the signature style is from fire-roasted tomatoes. Although it’s a bit uncommon for the chips and salsa to not be complimentary, this model is definitely worth the value.

Nearly a dozen tacos are provided. We sampled three, all in corn tortillas. Two have been distinctive. Lime-spritzed grilled shrimp, together with mashed avocados and slaw in a mango-infused habanero sauce, sounds excessive. It’s terrific, although, with the creamy avocado moderating the spicy shrimp. Arrachera (skirt steak) is hard as a curler derby skate, however marinated—as it’s right here with lime juice—renders the reduce tender and flavorful. Combined with melted cotija cheese and a gentle pico, the result’s what tacos may style like if Matisse made them as a substitute of work. The “grill-bello” taco is a good suggestion, however it doesn’t work effectively—the mushrooms are meaty however can’t carry the taco off satisfactorily.

The high quality of enchiladas is a primary normal for judging a Mexican restaurant. This model scores excessive, with a trio of them; the tortillas are baked till the corn taste pops. Stuffed with pulled hen, cheese, and floor beef, and served beneath ladles of crimson and inexperienced sauce, the latter is redolent of that vegetal earthiness of tomatillo and chiles; the previous is suitably scorching, pepper-warm, and fragrant.

From the grill, hefty slices of carne asada ship a steakhouse-worthy skirt steak that tasted extra elaborately marinated than the identical steak within the tacos, with hints of orange juice and soy sauce within the completely tender meat. It’s certainly one of a half-dozen grilled specialties that additionally embrace quesabirrias, hen asado, and grilled octopus. The home’s “Mexi-Q Boards” function the selection of a ranchero’s value of meats—brisket, hen, or ribeye, all with grilled peppers and tortillas.

“Barrel bowls” are nonetheless one other dinner possibility on the menu. They’re a type of “meal in a bucket,” with jasmine rice, diced candy potatoes, and an entire vegetable backyard tossed with avocado cubes; queso fresco; charred pineapple; together with hen, steak, or shrimp. It’s in all probability fashionable with those that routinely test “All of the Above” when life’s selections are provided.

Torta-listas can be happy with the choice right here. The telera bread is genuine, puffy, and light-weight, like a potato bread. Go for the fried carnitas stuffed inside, together with refried beans and mayo.

Halfway by way of dinner, a “flight” of barbecue sauces appeared tableside, although it wasn’t clear what they have been meant for. They ranged from “kinda sweet” to “really sweet,” with a style extra Tex than Mex. The sauce accompanying the arrachera steak is much superior—nuanced and multilayered in taste.

If it’s an alcohol that comes from wherever south of the border, the Barrel’s received it. There are greater than a dozen tequilas, a large number o’ mescal potentialities, Mexican beers, and even a few of Mexico’s wines. Sorry, however matching a great whiskey with funnel desserts can be simple in comparison with pairing Mexican meals with wine. The margaritas, nevertheless, are value exploring.

Even if there have been a manufacturing of Stomp! occurring someplace within the place, it might have been muffled by the noise of the group right here. It’s loud. This is a spot the place, whereas MTV’s useless and acid-washed denims have pale, that previous Casa vibe remains to be full of life, convivial, and fortunately buenísimo.

Mexican Barrel House
📍1085 N. Mason, Creve Coeur
📞 314-370-6010
⏰ 9 a.m.–2 p.m. and 4:30–9 p.m. Mon and Tue, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. and 4:30–10 p.m. Wed and Thu, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. and 4:30–11 p.m. Fri and Sat; bar solely 2–4:30 p.m.; brunch 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Sun.