Barcocina

Hi everyone!
Here is a little more information about Barcocina coming to Lakeview this Spring.

Barcocina utilizes the roots of traditional Mexican cuisine to develop a menu fused with a variety of cultures and cooking techniques. Our beverage list was thoughtfully designed into three specific categories, to let out the sweet, spicy, or smoky side in you.
Whether you’re feeling like relaxing on a warm sunny beach, or getting cozy in a log cabin on the mountain, Barcocina offers the seamless combination of the two. The walls are lined with open-air garage doors among rustic reclaimed wood and sensual fireplaces.
Barcocina features a private party room with space for 150+ people. We will be the premier spot to host any type of event; the possibilities are endless. We pride ourselves in being flexible and catering the event to the needs of our customer.

The website is http://www.barcocinachicago.com.
The address is 2901 N. Sheffield Ave

If anyone is interested in booking an event or checking or the space, please e-mail [email protected].

After furniture shopping Saturday afternoon (Roy's on Sheffield is highly recommended), we decided to do an early dinner for Cinco de Mayo a few blocks north at Barcocina.

Despite being neck-deep in loud, drunk millenials at 5PM, we immediately got a table on the sidewalk and had a very nice meal. Service was a little hectic (we got four people asking us if we'd ordered drinks in the first 10 minutes, but finding our server later was much harder). For drinks, SueF had a glass of Pinot rather than what sounded like a high-proof sangria; I had the Smoke House of mezcal, cointreau and house sour -- just about the perfect drink for me: smoky, sour, some bittter and sweet, but hit like a brick to the temporal lobe.

Guacamole (they have two types, one with bacon, one with a balsamic-pasilla glaze - we had the latter) was solid. The balsamic glaze is a nice touch, but I'd have liked a little heat.

Queso fundido was different from others I've had. For one, it was topped with a poached egg -- just what you need to top rich cheese and chorizo. It was also a soft creamy cheese, like a ricotta, rather than a melty chihuahua or jack. Very nice, though.

The short rib empanadas had very thin -- almost crepe-like -- shells, rich meat, and very good salsas: a nicely spicy 'adobo' and a chimichurri. These sauces were also put to good use on the next dish.

Lastly, lollipop lambchops came with shishito peppers, a nice combo. They were maybe a touch more toward medium than I'd like, but hard to nail with small chops.

We didn't order any tacos (not wanting to figure out how to split 3 between two people mainly), but they had an interesting array of traditional styles and more fusion-oriented things such as poke.

Prices aren't unreasonable - items were $10-$16. Certainly more than you'd pay for tacos in Pilsen, but not for dinner in Lakeview. The crowd there seemed more "let's have a party" than "let's find a date" due to the holiday nature of the day -- I don't know what it would be like later in the evening.