Bar #44 (Preview) El Carnicero/Super Chango Tequileria

Three years ago Kelly and I decided to get married in places that we loved. Our wedding was on Huntington Beach. Miraculously, one day after a large storm front moved in we received a perfect sunny day in May. The lake even pretended it was the ocean giving us pleasant blue waves. We then moved onto one of our favorite restaurants, Momocho for our reception. Our wedding was small and the reception was held in the mid-afternoon. We were able to use the 2^nd floor of the restaurant. We got to enjoy fantastic margaritas, guacamole and chips. Not many people get to have wild boar for their wedding dinner. It was a great success. Three years later our friends at Momocho decided to open a new restaurant and bar right around the corner from me. One of my favorite bars has become my newest local bar as bar #44 (preview), El Carnicero and its bar Super Chango Tequileria.

We were invited to El Carnicero's invite only, soft opening. Due to a miscommunication the invite came late and we weren't on the list when we arrived but were allowed in anyway. We found two seats at the bar and met Kellie our bartender. She would make sure that everything went well for us this evening and was always knowledgable about everything on the new menu.

El Carnicero's is a hybrid between a gastropub and a Mexican restaurant. It's got a clean look to it with lots of wood and a splash of Mexican wrestling. The seating is spread out enough for easy movement, no cramping and to keep noise down to tolerable levels.

They had a happy selection of craft and Mexican restaurant standards on tap. I didn't get those however. El Carnicero does amazing things with tequila and I needed it in my belly. I started off with a Spicy Naranja Chiquita. This drink is a refreshing, yet spicy mixture of blanco (white) tequila, Vietnamese cinnamon and red pepper syrup, and Jarrito (a Mexican brand of soft drink.) This is an exclusive drink out of their separate bar, Super Chango Tequileria. Super Chango will only be open Friday through Sunday creating it's own separate tequilatastic experience. I assume it will also be the only area that you can stand without getting into the servers' ways.

Kelly had one their famous margaritas. She had our favorite cucumber margarita. A light and refreshing mixture of actual cucumber and tequila with an amazing chili-pepper salt around the rim.

We started off with Orange Sesame and Habenero Guacamole and chips. It was so good. It's a spicy guac with an orange citris splash to bring out its flavor.

My entree was a duck leg confit tamale. It was like a Mexican Thanksgiving Day dinner on an open corn corn husk. The tastes changed as you ate it. It's only downside and really the only one of the whole evening was the cornmeal lumps were a little tougher than you'd want. These may already be perfected by the time they open. I wolfed down my green beans faster than I could write down a description. I'll simply recommend them. The empanadas were fine, however their mole sauce is probably one of the best out there. It's like a chocolate sauce but different, and includes 58 ingredients and days of prep.

I want you to take a picture with Pepe and post it to the Every Bar Facebook wall or put it up on Twitter @everybarlkwd or on Instagram tagged with #everybarinlkwd. In a month I'll buy one of you that does a shot at Super Chango Tequileria.

I got to talk to Eric the chef and owner of El Carnicero. You can quickly tell that he is proud of his food and restaurant. We talked about his complex mole sauce, the separate tequileria (worthy of visiting in itself), and his staff. I found during my time there that they not only are friendly, knowledgable about their product and never left us waiting but they really like working here. This last trait I have seen repeatedly raise the bar on different bars to bring them above their competition.

I will be returning to El Carnicero; specifically to Super Chango Tequileria to see how it compares to the rest for the official blog post. I'd be returning there anyway. Obviously, this isn't a cheap place to go. You wouldn't expect it to be, but it's definitely worth it. El Carnicero, bar #44, is fucking amazing and you need to go there right now!

El Carnicero, unlike its predecessor, does not smell like sewage.

Kelly, Me, and Kellie

Thank you Kellie for the great service and Eric for your time and free food.

16918 Detroit Ave

216-226-3415

Email

Facebook

Webpage

Bar #21 The Local Bar and Grill (Deceased)

As we near the 6 month mark on the blog, the questions arise, what are we looking for, have we found it?  Is it just the right beer and food combination at the right price?  Do we judge a bar first by the people that run it or by the people that drink in it?  Is a bar superior by the additions of games, live bands, and wacky things attached to the walls. What causes that change in our perception that turns a bar local to our home to our local bar?  This week The Local Bar and Grill wants to be our local bar at #21.

The first thing you notice when you enter The Local is that it's huge.  It takes up two store front areas.  The right is in your standard bar with a row of tables across from it.  The right side is an open layout setting up its primary use as a dancing and live music venue.  We picked an off night for the bar doubling the number of patrons.  The second thing we noticed upon arrival is it smelled mildly like a damp Lakewood basement.  Today was a wet December day but still...  The Local was also very Christmassy, full of lights and Christmas ale.

Our bartender was helpful, friendly and attentive to us.  She was also Batman.  She answered our questions, coming back frequently when we couldn't decide what we wanted.  They were out of a number of items including steak, which contributed to our indecisiveness.  When asked what they are known for she quickly answered wings.  I went with their garlic parmesan and 5 alarm variety.  They were crispy, with enough meat.  The garlic parmesan wings tasted as you'd expect.  I would order the 5 alarm again but they did not live up to heat expectations.  All the food that we ordered was good with no complaints.

I ordered a 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale, one of my favorites.  12 Dogs is well rounded ale with enough but not too much alcohol and spices that put me off of some other brands.  I don't want to be able to light my beer on fire or mistake it for a liquid fruitcake.  The beer was made even better by putting cinnamon around the rim of the glass like a pub margarita.

























Every bar has its good qualities and bad.  If you have really good food, then you probably have higher prices.  If you have great dance music with lots of young single people then you probably won't be able to hear your friends talk...and will have to talk to someone that is both very drunk and very orange from fake tanning for the holidays.  The Local Bar gave me good food, beer and service.  If your looking for that plus a place to dance and/or hear live music then you should give them a try.  #21 The Local Bar doesn't stink.

Awesome: Customer Service, Size

16918 Detroit Ave

216-228-2340

Facebook