Bartaco Bites
Illustrations by JeNaye Alston
As a self proclaimed foodie, Burlington doesn’t always cut it when it comes to modern restaurants. Don’t get me wrong— I love Mike’s Deli for a BEC on a Saturday morning and Pandora’s on Dollar Slice Night. But sometimes a special occasion — or just a free Friday night — rolls around and I find myself wanting to divert from the routine.
A friend of mine turned 21 this weekend, so we went to Chapel Hill to try something new for dinner. We came across a new restaurant called Bartaco, which opened in the University Place retail center in Chapel Hill earlier this year. Bartaco has other locations in the U.S. (if you’re from New York or Virginia, you may know of it!), but it’s new to North Carolina.
White picnic tables scatter the outdoor seating area, while the inside features a large bar in an open-air style space. Various plants and trees surround the seating area, creating an oasis from the shopping center.
Though Bartaco specializes in tacos (which are around $3 a piece!), it has soups, salads and rice bowls as well. They also have fun side dishes, like corn on the cob smothered in cayenne and cotija cheese – one of my favorites! The menu is reminiscent of Tangent Eat + Bar, with a variety of atypical tacos, like fried oyster, duck and falafel. My favorite was the pork belly, topped with a spicy arbol chili sauce— it tasted like a southern rack of ribs wrapped in a tortilla.
To order, Bartaco has long sheets of paper that listed out the entire menu, from guacamole appetizers to churros for dessert. You simply put your name at the top and make a mark next to each item that you want, then hand your slip of paper to the server. This made it incredibly easy to get separate checks— a necessity for a group of college students.
At the end of our meal, our waitress ended up giving all 13 of us a free dessert — our choice of gelato! They all came out together, ice cream cones lined up side by side in their own wooden stand. The great service, the delicious food, and affordable bill makes the 45 minute drive to Bartaco in Chapel Hill entirely worth it – let me know if you want to carpool.