Stovehouse — Restaurant in Huntsville

Yummy! Taqueria El Cazador is a popular local Mexican eatery with many trucks and one or two brick and mortar locations throughout Huntsville. This one was the original "taco bus," but it's now one of the vendors inside Stovehouse.

Like other Stovehouse vendors, you head inside and order at the counter. This place has a large menu consisting of popular favorites like tacos and quesadillas along with less common offerings like mulitas and birria. You can pick your meat for most meals, and they offer chicken, beef, pork, lengua, and tripa. You can also order a variety of Mexican beverages like Jarritos and aguas frescas. The restaurant was clean and the employees were very friendly.

There are a couple barstools and counters to eat at, but mostly the idea seems to be take your food either to go or sit outside at one of the many tables around Stovehouse. There's also a separate indoor dining area for patrons of all vendors if it's raining or too cold.

At any rate, I ordered sopes. It was my first time trying them, so if you're like me and still trying to build your understanding of Mexican cuisine, here's what they're like: a round piece of masa (shaped almost like those strawberry shortcake pucks you can buy), crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Then they're covered with a layer of beans, lettuce, your choice of meat, diced tomatoes, a bit of cilantro, and sour cream. Red and green sauces come in small containers on the side. The red sauce had a great kick to it. I can finally say I've found a Mexican dish that I really like! I loved the texture and consistency of the fried masa, and the toppings were perfectly distributed. I'll probably ask for no cilantro next time, as I'm one of those folks whose genes insist cilantro tastes like soap, but even then, it wasn't heaped on there so I was still happy. The price was right (~9 bucks for three large sopes and a can of coke), and I was very full and satisfied.

I really enjoyed eating this dish and people watching at Stovehouse. I'll be back, and I'm excited to know that there are several other locations in the area that offer such...

This review is about Bark and Barrel at the Stovehouse.

The food came quickly after the friendly clerk at the counter took our order. I ordered the platter of pulled pork with collard greens and BBQ beans; my wife ordered a loaded baked potato. We sat down outside at a table in the shade and the atmosphere was nice; everyone was relaxed and having a good time.

The flavor of the pulled pork was good but parts of it were overcooked, dry and the tips nearly burnt. I put a lot of sauce on it to add wetness, but I thought that the sauce was a little too spicy for it being the ONLY sauce that they provide. Yeah, and that? We got there at 11:30AM and the "serve-yourself" sauce station had a pump dispenser that looked like it was just put in the reach in yesterday after work. The sauce was caked all around the spigot and overall looked very dirty and unsanitary.

The greens were bland with a spice that added no flavor: I couldn't quite place it, maybe a seasoned vinegar? Also, there was more stalk in the leaves than I would have liked owing to how tough they were. And I like kale, mind you.

This review is being written at the conclusion of the first week in Huntsville that was cold, so I know I have eaten a lot of chili and beans this week but the beans here were really boring, I promise. And I like beans! Just tasted right out the can.

All in all, I paid about thirteen dollars for the pulled pork platter and next time I will go next door and get tacos instead. I used to eat at the Bark and Barrel when it was out on County Line Road and I loved it! I am not sure what has changed, but until I hear someone else recommend it, I am...

This isn't so much on the Stovehouse as it is on the organizers of the MMA fights on 22 July. This was hands down the absolute worst event I have ever been to. First, the line outside to get in was the absolute slowest moving I've ever been a part of and I'm 45, been to many events all over the world. We waited 2 hours outside to get in and here's the reason. Every person that had purchased tickets online (most everyone) had to have their names verified on a printed sheet of paper some teenager was checking one by one. Mind you, there were probably 600 people attending. We missed the first hour of the fights and had spent $160 for my family's tickets. Next, once we actually got in the door, we hit a wall of people. They sold probably twice as many tickets as they had seats. So, we spent the first fight smashed up against the wall standing trying to not get totally squished, at least for my two young boys. About 20 minutes into it the security gentleman began screaming over the p.a. system for any general admission to move to the back off the wall. This screaming got worse and worse. At least 3 separate times. We moved to the back No seats. Couldn't see a thing. Way too small of a venue with way too many people. Most unprofessional operation I've ever seen , and I spent 22yrs in the U.S. Army, so that's saying a lot. Steer well clear of this event whenever it comes around. Any staff or anyone involved with the organization of this event is more than welcome...