Barrios inspired by a GOOD EGG
Local restaurant group names new Midtown restaurant after loyal employee
Ever since Keith and Heather Paul made the transition from selling food to restaurants to owning a restaurant of their own, they’ve leaned heavily on one name: Barrios.
Shortly after the Pauls purchased Cheever’s Cafe, they hired a young cook named Juan Barrios.
Juan still works there today, and in the 17 years since, he’s fed dozens of family members into employment with the restaurant group that grew out of Cheever’s, A Good Egg Dining.
That’s why when the Pauls opened their eighth concept last November, the Mexican restaurant Keith Paul harbored for years, the only name they ever considered was Barrios.
The Pauls moved chef Chad Willis from The Drake to Barrios Fine Mexican Dishes,
1000 N Hudson Ave., but the Barrios family lent plenty of influence to a menu that blends both modern interpretations of both Tex-Mex and interior Mexican cuisine.
Barrios draws as much inspiration from the $4 enchilada plates and sizzling cast-iron platters of fajitas Keith Paul grew up with in Fort Worth, Texas, as it does the black mole of Oaxaca.
The bar and dining room share space under the same tin roof of the old Frederickson-Tireturned-Swanson-TireCo. “We used to get our personal cars and our company vehicles serviced there,” Paul explained.
Menu done right
As inviting as the dining room is, the best seats are located in the courtyard, which is anchored by a pink wood-burning fireplace. Outdoor seating is surroundedby windbreaking walls and covered by rippled awnings. As usual, Heather Paul mixes practicality and panache to create a simple, elegant atmosphere that’s drawn steady crowds since it opened seven months ago. Besides signature house margaritas, beverage director Jason Ewald installed a distinctive group of variations like Frozen Avocado Margarita, Grilled Pineapple Margarita, Guava Habanero and Roasted Grapefruit. The Beer Rita is a whimsical, almost satirical play on the beer fallen head first in a mug of beer favored at sports bar nationwide, including a high-octane Popsicle made of Tang and tequila. Last month, liquor.com called the Guava-Habanero as one of the 11 hottest cocktails in the country. The cocktails starts with habaneroinfused tequila with guava puree.
Willis, who also worked with corporate chef Chris McCabe on the menu, offers plenty you’ll recognize in word but not execution — and that’s a good thing. Table salsas come in green and red. The green is a tomatillo-based and offers a tart and bright flavor, perfect for topping fajitas or tacos. The red is made of roasted ingredients, which sweetens and enriches them. Neither salsas are terribly spicy, but fear not chile-heads, a habanero-kissed version is a request away.
If you’re looking for a free bowl of runny yellow cheese-product dotted with lumps of pepper and/ or onion, forget it. Barrios offers a traditional queso fundido served in a castiron skillet served with house-made flour tortillas and a Tex-Mex Queso with Red Chorizo. This is queso done right
Same with the Smashed Guacamole, with is an unfussy presentation of exactly what you’re looking for in a good avocado dip: fresh, ripe avocados tinged with just enough lime and salt to let it sing.
Entrees includes fajitas, enchiladas, tamales and sopes. Sides include borracho beans, brown rice, Mexican street corn and Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale slaw, and refritos made with either pinto or black beans.
Traditional Mexican mole is sprinkled throughout the menu. The black mole and short ribs enchiladas are a rich, decadent dish for those who swoon over interior Mexican cuisine. Sides items show the kind of thought and precision you expect from a chef-driven kitchen.
If you order churros for dessert, don’t expect a simple custard-stuffed cylinder of sugarcoated fry-bread. These are not your favorite theme park’s churros. No, these are really lightweight crullers dusted in sugar and cinnamon served with ice cream and lightly battered banana slices, a pecan praline all topped with caramel sauce and mint served in a cast-iron skillet. Enter emoji whose eyes are bugging out of its sockets.
Dream come true
The concept was years in the dreaming for Keith Paul. When I met him nearly a decade ago, we talked at length about our common culinary upbringing in Texas. Keith grew up eating at places like Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth. Paul told me then he had an idea for a concept to celebrate the flavors of his youth, but instead opened a halfdozen other places first.
Now, that he and his wife have opened a Mexican restaurant, he admitted there had been some changes to his original idea, but not many. He said probably the first thing that mattered to him was being able to offer house-made tortillas daily. “We’ve got two ladies back there who make them everyday. I’m the chief-tester,” he said. “And that’s a job I’ll never give up!”
Mike Folks is the general manager. The restaurant will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Brunch features are available on Sundays. For reservations, call 7026922. See the menu and specials online atbarrios mexicanokc.com.