A “casual latino” eatery, Macondo claims its food is “Freestyle Latin”. I don’t like the word freestyle. It’s usually just a different way of saying “I’m making shit up”. It also makes me think of freestyle walking (not a sport), and every moron in college who owned an Eminem album and freestyle rapped at parties. Needless to say, I was not encouraged by their choice of words on the website. Luckily, Macondo was a good experience, minus a few stumbles. The restaurant is huge and lively on most nights, with a ton of big tables and some bar seats in front of the open kitchen. On my most recent visit (a slow night), I watched the kitchen staff spend twenty minutes experimenting with a blow torch on various dishes, only one of which was a brulee. Freestyle man. Nobody knows what’s going to happen next!
Stick to the tacos, the bocadillos, and pretty much anything with pork or beef and you’re in business. I am going to go out on a limb and guess you’ve never eaten Mofongo, but you need to. A few things on the menu were disappointing, but it’s a big menu with lots to choose from and they mix up some solid drinks which helps the cause. Overall we’re still partial to Mercadito Cantina and Yerba Buena for South of the Border cravings in the area, but we’ll happily hit Macondo for a quick one next time we’re in the neigborhood for a show.
