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bartaco

Ballston has several new offerings, including bartaco, which opened yesterday.  Much like Taco + Pina there are some deeply creative options here.  For veggies, there are three soft tacos -- Mushroom (not my thing), Cauliflower and ... wait for it ... Falafel.  Yeah, I had my doubts but the two I tried were quite delightful.  Small soft tortillas with a plethora of fillings they were remarkably complex on flavor.  I can honestly say that ordering a pack of these (the boxes come with four little holders) would not be out of bounds.  The Falafel had a wonderfully crunchy outside with serious zing from the siracha sauce.  The Cauliflower had a nice variety of textures with the addition of nuts.  The Romesco sauce was also quite zingy.  I additionally got the three pack of Guacamole, Verde and Roja salsas.  The Roja had a nice underpinning of some sort of fruit, with the Verde sauce herby and simple.  As with Taco + Pina, the only slight disappointment was the Guac.  While replete with nice chunks of avocado there didn't seem to be much flavor.  Fresh but kind of run-of-the-mill.  The Guac and Salsas came with packets of round, crispy, slightly sweet corn tortillas, which were still warm when I got home.  I'll be using the leftovers for black bean tostadas.  A must is the Tres Leches dessert.  After the delightful meal my mouth was on fire.  The soothing, almost pillowy creaminess of the cake and toppings, balanced nicely with the toasted coconut, was the perfect end to this little gastronomical adventure.  Will definitely go again, as I forgot to try the plaintains.

Food Hall Bar with Fresh Latin Fare
Ballston Mall, with additional area locations in Reston and Mosaic
https://bartaco.com/location/ballston/

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