Restorante El Barzon

Wow, did I eat a great dinner tonight.

Have you ever been to Restorante El Barzon? I hadn't either until tonight, and wow am I impressed. The restaurant, located at 3710 Junction Street in Southwest Detroit, is a mexican/italian kitchen and tastes great!

If you know about Junction Street, the area surrounding El Barzon is a bit seedy. The restaurant is just off the corner of Michigan Avenue and Junction Street, packed in with several severely dilapidated buildings. However, this allows for ample street parking and there is a small private lot for the restaurant. When I arrived, the restaurant was packed and I was forced to park well down Michigan Avenue to enter.

The front entrance is a bit small, and I imagine it gets a bit crowded, but once you get inside, the atmosphere is one of a lovely little place. There are several white, soft lights that surround the rooms, a nice bar, and several tables with cloth napkins waiting for the guests.

I ate with a friend of mine who works in Detroit and the one who recommended the place. Any great meal is made better with great conversation and we were never short of topics. Nick had just gone on a trip to Hungary, Greece, and Italy, and had so many great things to talk about. We talked about all kinds of topics and struggled over what we wanted to order.

When there are two sides to the menu, Mexican or Italian, the choices are hard. We each spent 15-20 minutes dissecting the menu and deciding what we wanted. Our choices were made easier after we decided on drinks. Nick had a beer and I had a glass of chardonnay, mainly because I've haven't had a glass of wine with dinner in quite some time.

I ended up choosing a mushroom and meat ravioli with creme sauce and Nick chose steak enchiladas with rice and refried beans. Both of these meals seem pretty standard, and the side of chips and salsa seems like there is no great reason to visit this restaurant. Let's start with the salsa.

The salsa was both red and green. I liked the red best because it was a little bit thicker consistency, but not a pico de gallo consistency or a chunky consistency, but almost a ketchup like thickness with a great kick. The green was also good, but thinner and less kick. As for my meal, I loved it from the first bite. I almost didn't want to eat it because it was so delicious. The creme sauce was what did it for me, as the sauce was thick and creamy and was almost like a melted cheese. The filling of the ravioli was tasty and perfect with the sauce.

As for Nick, I didn't get to taste his dish, but the slices of steak and the sauce that was on his enchiladas looked outstanding. There were no complaints and we were incredibly satisfied. I must say that I was a bit underdressed, though I don't think it was bad to wear jeans and a collared shirt. It may have been the large numbers of parties there, but most people were a bit fancier than my jeans. The price was also a bit more than your typical restaurant. My ravioli cost $19, with lunch prices less than that. However, I think the price was totally worth it as the food tasted wonderful, the quality was outstanding, and the atmosphere was wonderful. You forget that you're in Detroit when you venture into El Barzon. I would highly recommend it and can't wait to go back!