Barrio Tremont

I had some great cheap eats on Saturday night for girls night.  The newest...I think...hotspot in Tremont is Barrio.  This place is hopping and with good reason.  The drinks are creative and delicious and the menu is simple but complex.  The meals are a great price for the quality and quantity.  The tacos are $3 each or $4 for a stoner taco- I had one of those.  You can also order extras including sour cream and guacamole.  For the night we ordered a sampler of 3 dips- mango salsa, the Tuscan guacamole, and the queso of the day.  All were awesome and enough to share with a large group for only $15.  The mango salsa was straight mango with so yummy spices.  The Tuscan guacamole is avocado, mozzarella cheese, basil, tomatoes, and balsamic.  It was amazing and fresh!  The queso of the day included jalapenos and tomatoes and was also delicious. 

Now on to the tacos....I ordered two tacos.  One taco was a stoner and one was a soft corn tortilla. You can also choose a hard corn tortilla or a flour tortilla.  The stoner taco is a hard corn tortilla, cheese, a soft corn tortilla and chorizo.  I included with this taco the pulled pork, chihuahua cheese, cilantro and onion, tomato, salsa rojo and a very hot sauce.  It was amazing and well spiced.  What is great is that you can choose what you want to put on it.  The second taco was a braised beef, jicama and strawberry slaw, cilantro and onion, and tomato, fresh queso, and hot salsa.  Each taco give the choice of a shell, one protein- including tofu, any of the salsas, any number of sauces, any number of vegetable toppings and any number of cheeses.  One friend actually skipped the protein and just ordered a taco with all three cheeses and other toppings and salsa. 

My entire meal cost $7 for the ample gourmet tacos- this is not ground beef iceberg lettuce and tomatoes, and $5 for my part of the sample dip.  The entire dinner was only $12.  This is a great deal.  Not my overall dinner with tax and tip was $30 but I had 2 mango margaritas! 

I hate to post this...but I fully recommend this restaurant.  Note: you can only make reservations with parties of 8 or more. 

Don's Lighthouse

So last night i enjoyed a meal for Cleveland Independent's week at Don's Lighthouse.  I had not included it in my original blog because in the past I have been slightly disappointed by this place, however, last night it delivered!

The choices for restaurant week were amazing.
First Course: Soup, Chowder, Ceasar Salad, Bistro Salad, Stuffed Mushrooms or Bruschetta

Second Course: Roasted Chicken, Steak Oscar, Salmon, Clambake, or Lobster Tail

Third Course: crumble, chocolate mousse

My choices were the Bruschetta, Steak Oscar and Chocolate Mousse!  The bruschetta was grilled with a nice soft and flavorful cheese melted on top with the compote of tomatoes.  It was crispy and fresh.  The Steak Oscar was amazing.  It was a strip steak topped with crab and served with mashed potatoes and asparagus.  Everything was perfect except for the temperature of my steak.  I ordered it medium rare, but it was more medium. Still delicious, just slightly disappointing.  The dessert was also very good.  It was a dark chocolate mousse topped with fresh whipped cream.  It was a perfect balance and a great way to end the meal.

There is one more week for restaurant week...try to go to one of these fine restaurants before it is too late for the great deal!