MarBar

Note to Pouch: Do not ever read white people's reviews on any Mexican't joint... They will all love it. Dumb down Mexican't grub has a place in society, usually, around 2AM with your pants half undone missing a shoe and waving around a few crumpled up singles in your hand like you're trying to hail an Uber car but the only ride you can get may be going down on a giant pair of dirty bug filled pink moustache, instead. Ok, this place revamped itself into a more casual seaside ambiance space than their last theme. I like the space, it really looks relaxing in here and a place to booze til dawn. It would be better if it was ocean front but we must settle for some old train tracks and a hipster depot. If you sniff real hard you might be able to smell some oyster sea drippings from across the street. Ok, speaking of bi-valves, time to sample some tacos up in this piece.. 

Mojito and chips. One of the ugliest looking mojitos in recent years, it looks like an aborted jellyfish fetus floating around in there. And you want me to drink this? I rather eat pan fried Wondra dusted placenta in baby oil with a side of smoked umbilical cord... The snappy casing is my favorite part. But I did drink it and it was weak as a 14 year old shih tzu. The chips were chips and the red and green salsas were pretty much a snoozefest, the red was the better one. Thank god for Cholula.

Cebiche MarBar, octopus, calamari, shrimp, scallops. I don't get it, why would you put a scoop of wet "ceviche" on an oblong plate with chips next to it soaking up all the liquid. It's like the deck of pirate ship in a storm, water swooshing back and forth across the deck. Those poor chips on the bottom were water logged before it even reach land at my table. The cebiche mix was a decent balance of seafood and other stuff like corn, maters, avocado, mango, red onions... Too bad it was bland as shit. They should serve this with a side of sea water. And what's with the pickled stuff on the other side... They were barely kissed with vinegar. If you're gonna pickled something, take a giant vinegar piss on it and let it soak in. $11 for this... Tasted like a buck and change.

Shrimp + bacon, seafood mixto, octopus, marbar shrimp. Taco time! Lightly grilled corn tortilla, good start. Let's hope they don't fall apart. The shrimp with bacon was the stand out, the rest tasted pretty much the same one after the other. How is that possible, they are different tacos. Don't worry, whities will absolutely adore these. Speaking of which there was not one Latino in the place, not even in the back. Ok, I look kinda like a Mexican, so I'll be the token shy Mexican't for the night...Siiiii. To give this joint some street cred. Next!

Carne asada, smoked pork chamorro, mahi mahi dorado. Man meat taco time! The carne and pork weren't half bad. Decent flavor to them but nothing noteworthy. It seems that they used real beef and pork proteins in there. It is amazing what happens when you let the natural flavors of the meat do it's own thing without bastardizing it. They were decent tasting, not saying it made me mess my underpants up. The mahi mahi was ok in a I'm starving kinda way. The one thing I must say is that they need to season all their food here, well, everything that I have tasted.

It's a cute place after the make over but the real make over really should be in the kitchen. Tacos are not hard to make, really good tacos are not hard to make... Because tacos are the star of any Latin joint, everything else is just conversation. Focus on the protein (aka main ingredient) and everything else shall fall into place. The cebiche was a debacle. I was kinda bummed they took off the tortas, how fucking difficult is it to make a sandwich? I also get the feeling that microwaves are heavily in play on many of the dishes on the menu. It's hard to ignore the ding if you listen for it. Hey, a lot of people like nuked food, the monkeys at Fukushima enjoy it well enough, betcha they would love tacos. I don't know if I will be back anytime soon but I will next door at Las Brasas... I like cheekan.

314 E Howard Ave
Decatur, GA 30030
404-373-2725
http://www.marcoastal.com/