We are there a lot and know most of the bartenders. So we sit at the bar and that night Bill is behind the bar. He comes over to greet us and asks if we have tried it yet and jerks his head toward the wall of booze behind him. (Well, that's what I thought at the time. It turns out he was jerking his head toward the building next door.) Anyway. I had no idea what he was talking about but tried to play it off like I did. But it was soon apparent that was not going to work. It turns out he was talking about a new restaurant. A restaurant that opened up right down the street from where I live and literally next door to a bar I am in on a regular basis and I failed to notice. In my defense, the outside is rather unassuming.The Ghost Pepper Taco and Tequila Bar
Now, a tequila bar is not usually my scene but it was recommended and owned by the same people who own my favorite bar, so I had to go. It is bright and open inside with a nice big, comfortable bar. The bar opens at three but the kitchen doesn't open until four. Which my good friend Bill forgot to mention when he was giving me the info on the place. He can be forgiven for assuming food was not my priority though. He has plenty of reasons for that. Anyhow. They have a selection of tacos and of tapas plates and some larger plates as well. We got some carnitas tacos, the empanadas, the pupusas and the pork belly plate.
The empanadas are filled with short rib so it's hard to go wrong. But I think they are baked and I liked fried things so I was slightly disappointed. And I felt they were slightly dry but the 'condimento' it was served on helped. My guy said he has had better empanadas but I think he has the same thought about fried things. Don't get me wrong. They were still very tasty and I would get them again.
The carnitas tacos were very good. We both like a little heat so we added some hot sauce to ours but they are not hot on their own. I would like to try the other tacos too but it will be hard not to order these ones again.
The pupusas were good too. Ours were filled with duck confit but the fillings change so you should ask what the filling of the week is. I think I might have liked them more with a different filling. I enjoyed them but of the three I would be most willing to forgo these next time to try something new.The pork belly. Get the pork belly. What more can I say. It was awesome. I didn't want to share but I had too. I wasn't fast enough to eat it all before my guy got some.
We didn't try too many cocktails off the menu because we have a habit of ordering an old fashioned everywhere we go. We like to see how different bartenders make it. We got one from each of the bartenders. They were both definitely old fashioneds but they were very different. One very traditional, basically bourbon and bitters in a glass, and the other was sweeter with muddled fruit. We enjoyed them both and think both were above average. And served by friendly, helpful bartenders.The only caveat is that I left still a little hungry. I know that tapas are small but... We shared the empanadas (served two to an order) and the pupusas (also served two to an order) and each got a carnitas taco, and shared the pork belly plate. And I wanted more. Which is nice in a way because you get to try different things but the tacos are $5 or $6 a piece and the tapas plates go from $5 to $10 and things start to add up. Just go in knowing you are going to have to order several things to make a meal.
We had a good time. We will be back. But it is nice to know that there is a bar right next door where they also serve a good old fashioned and the plates are a little more filling.
