"The next time an unprompted craving for citrusy fish and giant mussels pops into your head, go here. Barra Callao is a small ceviche counter in North Miami Beach that turns Tuesday’s casual dinner plans into a salsa party featuring some of the best classic ceviche you can get in this city. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Since the place is exclusively counter seating, all 12 seats get a front-row view of the chef, who single-handedly assembles beautifully intricate dishes with the finesse of a figure skater mid-axel jump. He also occasionally whips up off-menu dishes like lucuma mousse and powerful passion fruit pisco sours to friendly customers who ask, so don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation. Even though the chef prepares food quickly, he’s doing it with just one other person—and sometimes all alone. So when this place gets packed, be prepared to hang around for a while and enjoy the salsa music constantly playing on the TV. Barra Callao is casual enough to show up in sweatpants, but the food is plated so elegantly, it makes us feel like we could come here in a tux and it wouldn’t be that weird. Food Rundown photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Pulpo Al Olivo It looks like the kind of futuristic dish they’ll serve in the first restaurant to open in space. Thankfully, it’s available here on Earth. The octopus slivers hide beneath a puffy periwinkle layer of olive mayonnaise. Typically, this dish comes with generic soda crackers, but Barra’s version comes with bubbly rice paper crisps that excel in appearance and crunch. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Mega Spork The sporks from every middle school cafeteria dream of one day being the spork at Barra Callo. It’s the perfect ceviche utensil because you can get spoonfuls of lime juice with each piece of fish. Passion Fruit Pisco This passion fruit pisco is not on the menu, but just ask the chef and he’ll make it. The egg white is blended all together with the pisco creating a frothy texture like a fruity, edible shampoo. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Choros A La Chalaca If looks could kill, there’d be an arrest warrant out for Barra Callao’s gorgeous mussels. These meaty molluscs are topped with chalaca—a kind of pico de gallo that’s made with diced red onions, choclo, tomato, and a little sprinkle of roe that’s like the seafood equivalent of a cherry on top. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Ceviche De Conchas Negras This mountain of citrusy black clams is unlike any other ceviche on the menu. It looks like an oil spill but tastes like a celebratory meal Atlas would have enjoyed after he was given the city of Atlantis. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC El Chalaco The chef will ask how spicy you want it (we learned “medium” has a nice kick, but it’s not painful). The tower of evenly cubed corvina soaks up the housemade leche de tigre like delicious fish sponges. It’s topped with thin slices of gravity-defying red onion, bits of choclo, and sweet potato here and there. It’s as invigorating as driving over the Rickenbacker Causeway with the windows down on a cool winter day. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Causa De Pulpo Anticuchero Like wearing a seatbelt or pouring cereal before the milk, ordering this is a moral obligation. The pulpo, perfectly seasoned and thinly sliced, sits on top of the causa’s even layers of potato and avocado. Make sure your fork digs into each layer and then visits some of that periwinkle sauce. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Sashimi Salmon Maracuya The passion fruit sauce has the consistency of nectar and adds a hint of sweetness to the thick slices of salmon. Order it. photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC Arroz Con Mariscos Norteño Barra Callao can also do hot dishes. For example, their version of a paella, which is packed with scallop, calamari, squid, and mussels that peek out of the rice as you dig in like an archaeologist searching for stegosaurus bones." - Mariana Trabanino
