10 Barrel - Corpo "America" Tacos

A couple years back 10 Barrel was bought by Anheuser Busch. Pretty big bummer in the craft beer world. Bummer in Boise too, 10 Barrel has a very nice restaurant downtown. I had arbitrarily black balled them when the buyout happened, but it's just such a nice location that I can't leave it off the list. It didn't help that a former coworker in town for work requested we go there. Compromise; as long as they don't have "America" (article for head shaking reference) on the menu, they can stay. Capiche?

Presentation - I love this location. Right across from freak alley, great patio and indoor seating, lively section of downtown, really hard to beat. Easy points there. The tacos were no slouch either, simple plating but it works fine with the furniture and simple decor inside. The only gripe I have is being seated at a table with rather glaring sunshine right in my eyes. Wabi sabi I suppose. 4/5

Aroma - A bit on the sweet side, but a really nice balance of lime, fish, chipotle, and pineapple. Mild but well put together. 4/5

Value - The low point of this review. $13 for three tacos is expensive, at least in Boise. Maybe with another side (or another taco) it would work, but tacos and a soda shouldn't be pushing $20 with a tip. It's downtown, so I suppose there's a bit of a justification, but still below average. 4/10

Fish - Prior to this I don't believe I'd had rockfish. Grilled, which isn't ideal, but marinated and pan seared, both of which sound good. Turns out it's pretty similar to halibut and pretty damn tasty. The marinade was on point, the pan sear gave it just enough crispiness, and they used many small pieces of fish instead of one or two large pieces. All around solid, probably about as good as I can hope for grilled. 8/10

Not Fish - FLOUR TORTILLAS! WHY!?!?! Seriously, double corn or go home. They hold together better (these started falling apart after getting soggy from the salsa) and they're just the right choice. On the plus side, these were grilled (or they came from the same factory that makes grilled fritos with grill marks) which I suppose helps for reasons I can't explain. Luckily lots of other good stuff in there. Great salsa and coleslaw, one lime per taco, solid side (chips and salsa is surprisingly rare so far), and even the sweet pineapple worked well. 7/10

Overall Taste - These just came together. Maybe it was a factor of the really nice night, good conversation with a buddy, or some other mitigating factor, but I was really happy with these tacos. 8/10

Bonus Points - Nothing stands out, all around good but no outstanding items. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

Tied for first, they'd be an easy front runner if the price was a bit lower. So close. I think I'm starting to show a bit of a center bias too, I'll work on that.