Mercadito Taqueria - Miami

We dropped by for dinner at the bar. First, the good. The atmosphere is very nice. People watching is good. The bartender was really, really great. He was truly an asset to the restaurant. But there was so much bad that over-shadowed his good service. The guac was $8 and was about half an avocado. It was good guac but ridiculously overpriced for a transitional area. The pork was well presented in a little cast iron crock but was very, very dry and salty; that recipe desperately needs a sauce. The cheesy green rice casserole was something out of a bad 1950s cookbook: covered in cheese, overcooked and tasteless. The drink menu was ambitious, combining high-quality ingredients in unnecessary ways just for the sake of having an unusual drink menu. For guac, green rice, the pork taco station, and 2 drinks it was over $80. They need to revisit the menu and it’s pricing and soon. Or the neighborhood risks loosing what could be a great asset.