Thursday, November 16, 2017

Barley

Barley is new new NEW. So new that most people dson't even know it exists! BAM! Yes, I'm that cool. I knew it was opening before THEY knew they were opening. What do you think about THEM apples. Wow, I'm obviously getting overwhelmingly intense. Imma stop. I went for lunch-ish, last week, with ma girl, little Boo.
Barley is the new (and only) cereal bar in Montreal. It's located on Notre-Dame (what else is new?) and it is a huge space. HUGE. Think about the biggest thing you've seen, ever. Multiply that by 8 and you have Barley. Hihihi! Basically, you enter the place, you have couches and tables and comfiness and then you enter somewhat of another room and you have some more tables. There is also this meeting room surrounded by glass, which, I think, is there only to, like we say in French, nous faire parler. 'Like, what the f is THIS doing here'. THAT kind of talk. We weren't even certain that it was actually part of Barley's... I really dug (ya, I talk like a surfer dude now) the brick wall and the fact that there was a lot of greenery. I likes me some good greens! No, not THAT kind of green. Sheesh! 
At the far end (far, far, faaaar end), the cereal bar. The owner actually brought in cereal from many places, and a lot of them reminded me of my childhood. OK, not necessarily MINE, because my parents weren't really fond of us eating crap like fruit loops, or just any kind of cereal that was overly sweet. But I totes get the reminiscence. Hey, I remember my rice krispies like it was yesterday. They don't only serve up cereal, but also smoothie bowls, parfaits, chia bowls, and salad.
I started off with a white hot chocolate. Excuse me, homemade white hot chocolate. I specifically asked because I do NOT pay for powdered choco at a resto. I do NOT. I was uber happy to be able to order a homemade white hot choco. When do you get that? Well, not all the time, that's when. I took my first sip, getting ready for pure joy, and I got... pieces in my mouth. I was like 'what the f*ck is that?'. Little boo tasted it and, in 2 seconds flat she said 'it's coconut'. She is a coconut expert, see. I love it as well. I can't get enough of it. EXCEPT, when I'm getting ready to drink soft, velvety goodness, I get coconut flakes in my mouth. I would've loved for them to warn me so that a: I would not have been so surprised and b: I would've probably thought long and hard about actually having it IN ma drink. Apart from the coconut incident, it tasted lovely: not too thick, as if I were drinking a chocolate bar, and not too thin either. Also, it wasn't overly sweet. White chocolate tends to be just that and I was glad to be drinking a hot chocolate that wasn't on the uber sweet side-o-things. I'd go back for one of those ASAP IF I'd have the no-coconut promise.
We were there for lunch, and I hardly saw us having, like, a bowl of cereal on the side, as you do with appetizers in most restaurants. So, we both went for the smoothie bowls. The guy behind the counter told me it was thicker than most smoothies and it was more consistent, seeing as there were berries and grains and what have you on top. I had the Tassie Devil: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, avocado, tofu, acai, double chocolate granola. It was very VERY berry! I loved the fresh berries on top and although the acai added an extra crunch, they added TOO MUCH crunch. As in, if I crunch you one more time, my teeth will break. I am being very serious. I am ALWAYS serious when it comes to my poor little teeth! I liked how the smoothie was thicker than a usual one, but, let's face it, this was not a meal. I really don't know how I feel about this. I'm having a big internal dilemma. OK, here it is: even if I would've had this for breakfast, I would've STILL have been hungry. On top of it, if you're going to be open all day, perhaps add stuff to this dish that will make me full. Like a salad with protein or something. NOT a mesclun. Don't do that, because then I'll really be disappointed.
Le Tannery: avocado, baby spinach, pineapple, mango, banana, ginger and green hemp granola. I do give them props for two things: beautiful presentation and different granola flavors! I absolutely loved the ginger-avocado mix! It was fresh on top of fresh! The granola was good (better than mine) and the banana was perfectly ripe. The whole time, I was thinking DAMN I should've ordered this.

Basically, you go up to the counter and you order and they bring it to you. What we found a bit on the funny side was that the guy gave us a block with a table number 'in case' it got busy. We turned around, only to find a very empty (except for 2 patrons) restaurant. I think it took just a tad too long to get our food; just long enough for us to look at each other and give each other weird looks. He checked up on us which is always a plus.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 7

Maybe I'll go back for a snack, but I hardly see myself going there for lunch or any other kind of meal.

Barley Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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