On a recent, warm, SoCal-like Tuesday evening in Carmel I found a place designed for one of my favorite pastimes: being a guy at the bar, having a drink, savoring a bite and shooting the breeze.
If the food is exceptionally good, even better, but there aren’t many places with a bar as the main attraction that fit that description.
Barmel is one that does. Opened in November 2013, where Ody’s Tavern did business, it shares the same ownership and chef with next door tapas bar Mundaka another creation of Georis brothers Gabe and Nico, with Chef Brandon Miller directing the shared kitchen.
Knowing little about Barmel before my maiden-dining voyage, I did a search. No website, besides Facebook. No reviews from periodicals. The limited online comments spoke highly of the street tacos.
There are four – al pastor, baja fish, carne asada and avocado ($2.50). At happy hour (4-6pm daily) they’re a buck less. I tried the al pastor.
Muy bueno! Pork nicely flavored in a sweet and hot Spanish paprika and white wine marinade; slightly caramelized and not overly grilled. Garnished with a bit of chopped onion, cilantro, a dot of chili sauce and the dollop of avocado, the flavors dance without any single ingredient hogging center stage. Eventually I tried all four. All truly excellent. The taco I was least inclined to try was the one I was most impressed with – the avocado. The avocado pieces are battered and fried, like chef Miller’s mama used to do. I’d never heard of such of thing. Beautiful.
All four draft beers (Scrimshaw, Negra Modelo, Mad Otter and Peter B’s IPA) are $5, $4 at happy hour. The four house specialty cocktails run $8-$12. Additional late afternoon happiness comes in the Barmel margarita ($5), mezcal margarita ($7) and top shelf martini ($9). All concoctions feature fresh organic juices. Chicharrones ($3) are the other happy hour food deal in addition to the street tacos. They’re $5 outside la hora feliz.
Next I tried the hamburger ($10) – caramelized onions, Valdeon blue cheese and pickle. The patty was hand-formed, thick, juicy and precisely grilled. The sturdy sourdough bun from Lafayette Bakery in the Barnyard kept its integrity all meat bomb long despite the juiciness of the meat. Grilled caramelized onion always means yumminess; that and the blue cheese made this burger special. Below the patty sits a tomato slice and a bed of arugula, adding a zing without upsetting the structural integrity. A touch of aioli spread on the lower half of the bun throws a garlicky dimension into the mix. The fries and house ketchup go for $3 with any sandwich ($5 a la carte). The fries were terrific both times I tried them, hand cut, skin on, fried to order in peanut oil. Burger-eating tip: As I said, the meat was juicy. Juice runoff can cause a soggy mess on the bottom of the bun when you set it back on the plate. Something I learned in burger eating school: layer the plate with a napkin.
On each visit, a good number of patrons ebbed and flowed. Many greeted bartenders Stuart Satchell and Jackson Dowd by name and vice versa. Friendly banter is a constant. One local couple told me about the goodness of their poutine small plate ($8) – fries topped with gravy and house ricotta. They even offered me some. With another patron I talked burgers and other places to get a good one.
It’s a compact menu, with 12 things – four small, four medium and four large plates. But everything I tried was good and more sophisticated than your standard bar food. I left thinking the fried chicken ($11) with Dijon crème fraîche, cumin and Barmel slaw, was a must. I went back for it the following Friday evening but they were out. Wah wah. I settled for the potato-crusted chicken fingers ($7) with mole dipping sauce and liked it quite fine with my Scrimshaw pilsner ($5). A rib-sticking snack I would easily do again.
Wifey had the veggie burger ($10) – housemade shiitake-farro patty, topped with cheddar. The patty was moist and full of flavor. Our friend had the ramen ($12) – rice noodle, six-minute egg, meat and fish. Decorated and flavored with straw mushrooms, jalapeño slices, cilantro and mint, the broth speaks in tones of sweet, savory, sour and hot.
There was lots of good eating and TGIF merriment while the ultra-tight six-piece band Songs Hotbox Harry Taught Us picked, strummed and sang up a storm. The joint was jumpin’ and full of folks. Live acts are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7 to 9pm. Check Barmel’s Facebook page for details. DJ sets: Friday and Saturday, 9pm to midnight. Dancing strongly encouraged.
I did get back to Barmel the following Monday at happy hour (another nice crowd) to try the 24-hour buttermilk-marinated, cornmeal, flour and smoked chili powder coated fried chicken. It was crispy and well-seasoned outside, tender and juicy inside. Everything I like in good fried chicken. Come to think of it – good food, music and friendly folks – Barmel has everything I like in a bar. And then some.
BARMEL San Carlos between Seventh and Ocean, Carmel. •Bar: 4pm-midnight daily; kitchen: 4-9pm. • 626-3400.