Today I attended a preview of Barley Vine, the new gastropub on Main Street. It’s all exposed brick and wood, tin ceilings and chalkboards, bar stools and friendliness. I was completely charmed. (I offer no insult or condescension when I say it reminded me a lot of Plan B -- my husband and I have spent a lot of time at Plan B in West Hartford and consider it one of our favorite burger places, so to find something similar-but-different in my own little city is just totes awesome).
I have to be honest and say my preview wasn’t without flaws -- the bartender had some trouble locating a bottle opener for my cider, the fussy computerized cash register refused to print my tab, and the top of my hamburger roll was a little charred. But, hey, it was a preview. By the time Barley Vine has its grand opening on 11 October, I expect everything will be fine. Barley Vine is actually (quietly) opening to the public this Saturday and I fully intend to drag The Husband down for supper on Saturday or Sunday.
My meal, minus the 20% preview discount, came to just under $15 which seemed extremely reasonable considering it was a drinking lunch. (I even merited a free sample of Cisco Brewers' Monomoy Kriek -- it smelled slightly sulphurous and tasted, at first sip, a bit like mellow cherry balsamic vinegar. That may sound weird, possibly undrinkable, to you but I thought it was quite delicious. I can’t imagine what I’d drink it with, though. Duck with balsamic cherry sauce? French vanilla ice cream?)