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Ottawa Citizen

Hum: Barrio woos ByWard Market-goers with casual Latin American fare, festive patio vibe

Article content Article content Of five sandwiches at Barrio, I've sampled three. The one that hit it out of the park was the well-crafted Cubano ($25 with fries or salad), in which every component — smoked pulled pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, Dijonnaise — sang. The braised beef Asado Criollo sandwich ($26), while tasty, could have been more tender. The Choripan sandwich ($25), another nod to Argentina, starred a fine chorizo sausage custom-made for Barrio by Around the Block Butcher & Market in Centrepointe. It had some uplifting chimichurri going for it, but its bread was nothing special. Article content While the simple salads that came with the sandwiches were alright, the fries were limp and subpar. If you want an exciting side, pay a little more and substitute the patacones, because those twice-fried plantains were crisp and very tasty, especially when paired with a dipping sauce. Article content Article content Article content Chicharron (slabs of fried pork belly, $28) was an exceptional guilty pleasure, paired with an onion salad with a spicy vinaigrette to mitigate the meat's richness. A chicken-thigh Milanesa cutlet ($29) was immense, crisp and juicy, although its house-made gnocchi with pesto were a little heavy. Shrimp salad ($23) was light and refreshing thanks to its tamarind leche de tigre dressing. Article content Last but not least, there's the roast chicken at Barrio, which is Becerra's rendition of pollo a la brasa, the dish that has been called Peru's favourite restaurant meal. If you're a fan of roast chicken, Barrio's version may become your favourite. Article content We ordered a half-bird ($29, with a side dish), and the separated breast and leg portions were impeccably flavoured thanks to a marinade rich with green onions, cumin, black pepper, soy sauce, a special Peruvian red-pepper paste and more. The chicken was also juicy throughout, and we weren't done with it until we had pulled every scrap of meat from its bones, dipping morsels into one more irresistible dipping sauce. Article content Article content Article content So far, dessert at Barrio is limited to soft-serve ice cream ($8), dressed up with crunchy toppings ($6) or sweet sauces ($3). If soft-serve ice cream is your ambrosia, have at it. For my part, I have my fingers crossed that other Latin American sweets or desserts — Flan? Alfajores? — might be available here one day. Article content Or maybe a sweetish cocktail, such as a mango puree-enhanced caipirinha or a concoction called La Pasion (coconut rum, vodka, passion fruit puree, lime, ginger beer, tajin) could be your meal-ender at Barrio. There are a half-dozen options here at $17 each, as well as four beers on tap ($8.50), bottles of Modelo ($9.50), and a few affordable wines. Article content While there were highs (roast chicken, chicharron, Cubano sandwich, empanadas, cocktails, solid service) and lows (fries, side salads) at Barrio, the best dishes were good enough to justify repeat visits, especially since in Ottawa, there are very few other restaurants like it.