Barrel & Boar, 5251 N. Hamilton Road, Columbus, Ohio 43230
Overall GrubGrade B
The Breakdown:
Atmosphere: Grade B: Barrel & Boar is a BBQ joint located on North Hamilton Road in Columbus, Ohio. The physical restaurant itself was fairly small and clean, and the overall impression you get when walking in is that this restaurant must be pretty new (I don’t actually know how old it is, though). When we visited, Barrel & Boar wasn’t too busy, which was good because we were starving. The inside of Barrel & Boar is adorned with fairly traditional bar décor, so there was nothing overly unique about the restaurant itself.
High marks: Clean
Low marks: Interior décor is nothing new
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Service: Grade B: We were served by a nice young lady named Emily. She was pleasant but we got this vibe from her that she was really busy, but there were almost no other customers in the restaurant other than us. Once we made our decisions on drink and food, our selections came out with minimal wait. We can’t judge whether or not this is the typical speed at which Barrel & Boar operates since the restaurant was nearly empty (I think I may have already mentioned that fact – repeatedly). We did order an appetizer that was supposed to come with a sauce but didn’t have any sauce when it came to our table, so we have a small inaccuracy with our order, but otherwise a decent service.
High marks: Minimal wait
Low marks: No sauce for our appetizer
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Food/Spirits: Grade B: I wasn’t too excited to eat at Barrel & Boar when Katina suggested we stop in for a visit. I mean, this is another BBQ restaurant, so I’m not expecting to get wowed. I really wasn’t expecting anything different than I could get at Smoky Bones or City Barbeque. But there were a few differences. We started with the Carolina Hush Puppies for an appetizer, and we each ordered a serving instead of sharing one. These hush puppies were supposed to be served with “warm barbeque sauce” according to the menu, but ours didn’t come with any barbeque sauce. Oh, there was sauce on the table, but that’s room temperature, which in our book does not qualify as “warm.” We weren’t sure what we were expecting with the hush puppies, but what we got were good, but fairly typical hush puppies. That was a little disappointing considering Katina is kind of a hush puppy connoisseur. One nice thing about Barrel & Boar that is a little different that other BBQ eateries was the decent selection of local craft beers. I selected one called Elevator Nut Brown, which was very tasty without being hoppy. Katina ordered a drink called Southern Hospitality which she felt had a nice flavor that “couldn’t taste much smoother.” For our main dishes, Katina ordered the Cast Iron Pork & Mac, which is serving of mac and cheese topped with some pulled pork. Katina has tried at least a dozen variations of this dish over the past couple of years and felt this particular dish was good but not the best version of the dish she’s had. I ordered a burger called the Boar Burger. This burger has to be a cardiologist’s dream – I imagine it might be responsible for a lot of their cardiac patients. Imagine a thick, juicy burger and then throw some house bacon on top. Sound good? Well don’t bite into it yet, because we haven’t piled on a colossal pile of pulled pork on it yet. Throw on some sweet and smoky sauce and bang – the Boar Burger. They serve this vegetarian’s nightmare on a bun, which turns out to be absolutely ridiculous since it is so massive and juicy the bun had all but disintegrated halfway through eating it. This thing was so awesome tasting and so bad for me that I’m pretty sure my heart got stretch marks from all the extra work pushing blood through my newly cholesterol laden arteries. This is definitely a burger that you don’t make it a habit of eating. But it was YUMMY.
High marks: Boar Burger is a meat lover’s dream
Low marks: Rest of meal was fairly average
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Value: Grade A-: Two appetizers, a couple of drinks each and a future appointment to get a stent in my heart ended up costing us $50 with tip, which was a pleasant surprised. Had all of the food been as good as that burger, this grade would have easily been an A+.
High marks: Lots of food for the money
Low marks: Food quality could have been higher …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Technical: Grade A: Barrel & Boar has a pretty slick website that includes their full restaurant menu (sans adult beverages) and their catering menu. Online ordering is possible as well.
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Autism Friendly Score: 2: Meat heavy menu and typical bar décor makes Barrel & Boar a place to probably avoid if your toting around your young one on the spectrum. This one is more just for the parents.
grubgraders 