North Texas Daily

Nicholas Friedman | Editor-In-Chief

@NMFreed

If the Square is Denton’s heart, and music is its soul, what can a gourmet restaurant with a home-brew stage and a whole ‘lotta wood represent? We’ll call it the spirit.

Barley & Board, the latest brainchild from LSA Burger Co. mastermind John “Sparky” Pearson, along with Eric Pulido of Midlake fame and the ever-Denton-present actor/comedian/skateboarder Jason Lee, makes you feel right at home from the moment you set foot inside. But an atmosphere is only as good as its food.

The food

B&B offers a lot of options right off the bat, and you can start your meal with a small plate of bacon-wrapped medjool dates or an order of truffled portobello fries.

The dates are so darn succulent, you’ll forget you were even eating a fruit in the first place. Plus, you know, bacon. But B&B has an ace up its sleeve on the small plate menu: roasted bone marrow.

It does sound gross, I know, but it’s all about the execution of the dish. Served on a plate with a bone split down the middle and some really great bread to scoop it onto, the marrow is full of texture and flavor.

Moving on, you can grab yourself a ‘motherboard,’ as B&B calls it, which is quite literally a board topped with meats, vegetables, cheeses, condiments, jams and more. Or you can get a large plate, with dishes like hanger steak and brazen two-faced quail topping the menu. It’s pricey, but in this case you’re getting what you pay for: a really solid, flavor-heavy meal of gourmet proportions.

Also available: soups, salads and even a burger.

Also available: A moose head.

The presentation

From the minute you walk in the door, B&B slaps you with that upscale Denton flavor found in places like Harvest House or Hickory & Fry. There’s no bumping and thumping music or murals of rock legends on the walls, but there is a pretty radical painting of some bears.

Everything is designed by hand, “Sparky” told us. Tables, chairs, bars and more were commissioned by local artists and wood-workers, friends and family, and this gives B&B a fresh, non-poser-like feel.

There is a glass pop-cap bottle of water on every table and a small plate of malt to show the business is serious about its beer. Speaking of beer, here is where B&B finds its novelty: a live stage.

The homebrew station in Barley & Board hosts an array of local beers. Nicholas Friedman | Editor-In-Chief

No, it’s not a music stage. Denton has plenty of those. Here you’ll find a transparent room, with tanks and all sorts of equipment hooked up for live home-brewing. So, periodically, B&B will invite local and famous home-brewers to come in and put their beer on tap. It may be a light beer one week and a cream soda beer another, but the potential here is evident.

The execution and staying power, however, is yet to be seen.

The verdict

B&B is in a great location, nestled on the corner of the Square after a way-too-lengthy stay from chain restaurants. It offers professionally-cooked, quality food at a fairly high price, but makes up for it in taste and presentation.

This can be the place for nights out with a significant other. It can be a place to show your parents just how hip and cool Denton is. Let’s just hope it sticks around long enough to be a staple.