Dadeland Goes Gastro

So while perusing the www for the newest food&drink spots, we came across 'Barley and Swine' housed on the first floor of the Metropolis Building in the Downtown Dadeland area.  The website boasted images of pig tails and ears, a beef tongue sandwich, and we were sold.  

Contrary to other websites' info, the kitchen opens at 6pm Saturdays, not 4pm.  I mention this because we arrived earlier based on websites info (B&S website is still a work in progress; no hours listed).  We were kindly informed by staff of our too early arrival and in the meantime, hit up Fox's Sharron Inn for spirits. 

6pm rolls around and were back at B&S and seated almost immediately by our server, Neomi, who was pretty great.  The vibe was modern, airy, with cool people.  Side story...We sat next to a couple who offered us some of their lobster mac n' cheese! A rarity in Miami.  The menu was an eclectic mix of all things pork, veal, lamb, and a variety of mac n' cheese flavors, to name a few. A noticeable item missing from the menu-beef tongue sandwich :(  We will focus on what we did have however...

The Chard'

• Meat = A bottle of the only Chardonnay they had and it was great.
• Poet-atos = Agreed.  A good Chard' it was.

Sticky Pig Ears

• Meat = Done right and DOES NOT taste like Chicharones, unlike Michael's Genuine, who also make a great pig ear (we'll discuss this in a later post). These pig ears are absolutely delicious. A little sweet and tangy, a little crispy, and a whole lot of pig flavor. I loved these.
• Poet-atos = These were my favorite out of everything we had.  A fusion of flavors and textures enveloped my taste buds.

Crispy Chimichurri Pig Tails

• Meat = Also very tasty and again cooked to perfection and DID NOT taste like a Chicharon. It too was sweet and crispy but I have to warn you, these are fatty and when they break in your mouth they break in small boney pieces. I did not mind this at all but I know some people are all "eewww" about food texture, so you've been forewarned.
• Poet-atos = These were a nice treat.  I don't know any place in Miami who sell pig tails.  The chimi was so good.  The crispy to fatty texture is not for everyone though.

Sunday Gravy

•  Meat = This dish consisted of a tomato ragu with ricotta and some pulled pork. I would've preferred less tomato and more pulled pork but it was tasty. Not the best item on the menu but not worst I presume.
• Poet-atos =Tasty but lacked the meatiness as described on the menu.  More veal and pork in this dish would've made it outstanding.

Croquettes

• Meat = Serrano Ham and Manchego Cheese with Guava Sauce.... just read those ingredients once again. H E A V E N.
• Poet-atos =A delightful, delectable fried ball filled with Manchego, ham, and topped off it a guava sauce!  You cant visit B&S without trying these!

Death of Elvis

• Meat = All the items ordered were exceptional for the most part and they paved the road for what we hoped would be the Crown Jewel, a well proportioned ground beef patty served in a   peanut butter and marshmallow fluff smeared pretzel roll, with fried plantain toppings. On paper it sounds euphoric but in my mouth the fried plantains overpowered all the ingredients. It was not bad but it definitely was not what I was hoping for. 
• Poet-atos- The burger was cooked to medium rare perfection.  Could have done without the chunks of sweet plantain. 

 

We would like to also mention that the staff at Swine & Barley were very attentive. We enjoyed our conversations with Marco, the floor manager, and Jorgie Ramos, EL CHEF' the man behind the food. These fellas are local Miamians who are on the cusp of something very exciting and we're happy we were able to get a taste of it before thier operation inevitably becomes Miami's Next Hot Spot. Much success Swine & Barley! Oh, Wednesday of next week the menu changes and we'll be there... Need that Tongue Sandwich.