I can be bought.

I can be bought.

I am not proud of it, but when it comes to changing my opinion about a new swanky restaurant on 14th street that had not once, not twice, but three times been too cool to find a table for me (read: was too popular to even have a reservation available on three separate occasions of trying to get in there), I can be bought with a seat at the chef's counter and complimentary crispy polenta balls.

I was all prepared to write Birch and Barley off as a restaurant that was just too cool for me. I don't stay up late, rarely wear uncomfortable shoes (except for the new purple suede platform pumps I have been schlepping around DC in my bag to change into when I arrive at my destination), and don't like spicy food. I don't believe restaurants should be so exclusive that I can't even get a reservation. But then I gave B&B a fourth try--with Beth K. and Neil S. in tow. And the lovely host told us that the chef's counter was available. As we sat down, a complimentary plate of crispy polenta balls was placed in front of us...and with that, B&B began making its way into my heart.

Our meal was fantastic. I think the combination of Neil (who is sometimes even more enthusiastic about things like a seat at the chef's counter than me), the excellent beer list (and Beth K.'s ability to always successfully advise on good beer choices), and really delicious food made the evening so memorable.

Bread "Basket"
The best part of the food at B&B was the selection of breads, butter, and a really tangy and grainy mustard we enjoyed before our appetizers were served. (I am highly skeptical of mustard, especially yellow mustard. Yellow mustard is a sandwich deal breaker in my opinion. But this mustard was so grainy and good. Nowhere near yellow mustard, and therefore spectacular.) The soft pretzel component of this course was just so good...especially with the light wheat beer I was drinking (BK, do you remember what it was called because I don't). It is clear that B&B's pastry chef (Tiffany MacIsaac) knows what she's doing. While we dined, we watched Tiffany individually wrap small squares of house made caramel (which we later learned were made with bacon fat...up there with the chocolate covered bacon from CoCo Sala) on the other side of the chef's counter. And at the end of our meal, even got a chance to sample one...


Entree
I had the port glazed fig flatbread and the beet salad (who doesn't LOVE a beet salad?). The salad had caramelized pistachios in it which added a lovely crunch. We watched as the flatbread pizzas were made directly in front of us--so when mine arrived I felt like we were already best friends. The gorgonzola, prosciutto, and figs that topped my pizza were the best salty/sweet combination a chef's counter diner could ask for.

New Friend + Gluten Free Pizza
Because we were sitting within three feet of the chef making the pizzas, I obviously tried to strike up a conversation. I would have liked a little less pizza making and a little more chatting (but then again he was working so I can't blame him for minimizing the chit chat time). During our (brief) conversation, I did learn the following things:

1) He was from New Jersey and spent two years as a student at GW (hail to the buff and blue!)
2) After deciding GW wasn't the place for him, he transferred to the Art Institute in (pardon the expression) "Rosslyn"
3) B&B has many gluten free options on their menu...and some of the flatbread pizzas can be made gluten free and are very popular menu items

I asked our waiter for more information about this gluten free situation and she told me that the "gluten free community has a very strong web presence and when a restaurant serves something that is delicious and gluten free, news spreads fast." I obviously thought of fellow food blogger (and former Hillel employee), Sarah G., who writes about her gluten free culinary adventures at Gluten-Free Grazer. I made sure to document the preparation of the gluten free pizza and frantically send Sarah a twitter message giving her a play-by-play of the discovery.


Dessert Decisions
The dessert choice was really challenging. After our amazing bread basket moment, I knew the desserts were going to be memorable and I wanted to make an informed decision. So I asked to see the dessert menu before ordering my entree (this is why I like to research restaurant menus before I arrive--I like to know the dessert options when choosing what else I will order because these decisions are so closely related and often influence each other). Sadly, I can't find the B&B dessert menu on their website, but I ended up ordering something that contained three of the house made bacon caramel items, a house made marshmallow, and an updated take on the hostess cupcake. It was good (not as good as the soft pretzel/mustard combo--but VERY good). Neil chose a sticky toffee pudding and poached pear which was excellent.

So, Birch and Barley, you have really made a place for yourself in my heart (and in my stomach, and now on my blog). I look forward to returning to B&B's upstairs bar, Churchkey, on a weekday evening when I know it won't be super crowded. I happen to know they serve fried mac and cheese cubes...

ALSO: B&B and Churchkey are both owned by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group which also owns Buzz Bakery (a key stop on my hypothetical cupcake crawl) and Tallula (where I just went for Restaurant Week on Friday). Keep your eyes peeled for another post about how the NRG is basically taking over my life...