Bourbon Barrel Beef & Ale Waynesville, Nc

(Clockwise from top left) Owner Ashley Owens;  Garlic- and herb-marinated beef medallions with béarnaise butter and au gratin fries; The popular Bourbon and A Bite appetizer features the bourbon of the mean solar day alongside a starter: on this day, it was sweet and salty candied bacon.

In this corner of Northward Carolina, with new restaurants and thematic eateries opening left and right, it'due south piece of cake to forget how satisfying well-crafted simplicity can be. Bourbon Butt Beef & Ale, now in its 7th yr, has perfected that notion with sincerity.

Tucked into Waynesville'south Hazelwood neighborhood, Bourbon Barrel is an anchor for the growing revitalization of a once-decorated commercial commune that had fallen on quiet times, with boarded-upwardly storefronts. It sits smack in the eye of a tiny main street near a bakery and coffee business firm, bookstore, austerity shop, and bazaar.

Afterward a culinary turn in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and helping open Nashville's well-regarded Miel, Haywood County native Ashley Owens returned to her hometown to launch this steak-axial eating place that offers elevated sides and stupendous desserts. A graduate of Western Carolina University's hospitality direction program, Owens originally planned to partner with individuals to open up restaurants, developing a professional staff and "watching how the business falls into identify from the get-go of the vision … whatever that vision may be," she recalls. But now, her focus is on staying put and offering a steady bill of fare of favorites for regulars, which was created with former partner and Chef Gary Cormann and is at present executed by Chef Davon Culler, who earned his chops working his way through the ranks since Bourbon Barrel opened.

Warm Welcome - The grilled Firecracker Shrimp with creole-seasoned tomato sauce over smoked Gouda grits; The bourbon pick, displayed at the bar decked with bourbon barrels.

The interior is a minimalist composition of cream-colored tile floors, nighttime wood paneling confronting ochre walls, a mix of wooden chairs and tables, and broad booths of leather with brown and gold brocade banquettes. Arresting oil portraits of horses and black and white photography provide a touch of art.

The pocket-sized bar at the far end of the dining room seems always crowded with regulars. Bourbon barrels stacked on a shelf above the liquor bottles create an appropriate backdrop for a litany of specialty bourbons and other liquors.

The crowd during my visit was equal parts date night, equal parts family outings. Servers, near of them male and clad in blackness, affably greet diners. Every bit I settled in on a cold, drizzly evening, the Bourbon and A Bite starter proved a particularly appealing way to warm up from the within out: it was the bourbon special of the twenty-four hours, served with a small plate of smoked candied bacon. The onion soup, with a gooey Gruyère-crouton melted topping, comes highly recommended, as well.

Spicy, grilled Firecracker Shrimp and fried light-green tomatoes with horseradish cream and salsa verde seemed an obvious choice, but I veered from my condolement zone and ordered "hot fried" oysters instead. Select shucked oysters, dusted in corn flour and lightly fried, were velvety smooth past a satisfying exterior crisis. Sweet-hot sauce and lashings of thick firm-herbed mayonnaise were perfect counterpoints.

While Owens planned the eatery as primarily a steak house with a large multifariousness of cuts, a broader pick of dishes appeals to diners. The bone-in, orange-chili glazed double-cutting pork chop, caramelized-onion smashed potatoes, and braised collard greens appeared on several tabletops throughout the evening. Applewood-smoked bacon surrounds the meatloaf. For vegetarians, Owens offers the crispy eggplant stack, with feta, roasted peppers, smoked mushrooms, and basil pesto over herbed quinoa.

I chose to have one of my roughly twice-a-yr steaks hither: the herb- and garlic-marinated, pan-seared Teres Major. Information technology's a tender shoulder cut served with béarnaise butter and curious au gratin fries. These are au gratin potatoes broiled, sliced and, yes, fried. A guilty pleasure indeed, they pleasingly blot juices from the brightly acidic balsamic stewed tomato.

Meating Expectations - The double cut, orange-chili glazed os-in pork chop; Bourbon-glazed breadstuff pudding with vanilla water ice foam.

Never a big fan of grits, I tested a smoked Gouda grits side dish. I'll take this version of grits over average mac and cheese any day. Creamy and cheesy, with just the subtlest hint of smoke, information technology is the perfect partner for sautéed Brussels sprouts and leeks as an additional side.

None of these dishes have been on my culinary to-do list, and yet, they were the divine drove of comfort on a plate this particular evening, and I would social club them over again in a heartbeat. Even the steak was cooked to my, perhaps, off-kilter preference of "medium with the slightest nod towards well."

Who eats dessert after a hearty steak dinner? Plenty of folks, it turns out, then I indulged also. A traditional crème brûlée or staff of life pudding, with bourbon sauce that utilizes one of the many unique bourbons on offer, enticed; however, chocolate pot de crème with chocolate whipped foam atop absorbed. The supple chocolate ganache-like custard had me swooning. The generous portion in a crisp white crock could easily serve two, but I relished every bite. Then I turned out into the dark, wet evening, mollified by the sweet simplicity of meat and potatoes, bourbon and chocolate in the best possible mode.

The Draw: Affable service in a comfortable neighborhood steak restaurant that elevates on various fronts
The Drawback: Night merely unflattering recessed lighting
Don't miss: Afterward the steaks, do enjoy the bourbons and dessert, particularly the chocolate pot de crème

Bourbon Butt Beef & Ale
454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville
(828) 452-9191
bourbonbarrelbeefandale.com

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Source: https://wncmagazine.com/feature/bourbon_barrel_beef_ale

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