Hearty Food and a Hearty Pint

Barnett's Pub
420 Franklin Avenue
Waco, TX, 76701
254-714-1356
http://www.barnettspub.com
And can be found on Facebook



So after a day of running around looking for wood to BBQ with and then sanding & painting my smoker, I decided to finally hit up Barnett’s Pub for some grub and a pint.

I had been to Barnett’s once before for a friends birthday. It’s a nice little place on Franklin, with a little outdoor seating area and a dart board in the back. Currently all they serve is beer right now (as of 11/04/10), but I hear they will soon be serving Top Shelf liquors.

For food they have a small and simple menu, appetizers, some heartier items and dessert.
While there I try a new beer, a Hearty Oat Stout, recommended by my friends Casey and then place an order for their Home made Shepherd’s Pie and their Guinness 4 cheese sauce on the side. The beer was fine, fairly mellow, with a slight bitter aftertaste. Not bad, and I’m not usually a stout fan.

After hangin’ out a bit with Casey and sippin’ on my beer, my food is ready to dine down on. The Shepherd’s pie comes out in a while large gratin dish, and both are piping hot. The pie consists of ground beef, carrots, onions, peas and topped with mashed potatoes and green onions. The potatoes are fresh and creamy but with a flaky top from being in the oven. They had a nice mellow flavor and topped the dish nicely. The meat is flavorful, well seasoned, tender and juicy, while the veggies have a nice flavor and good texture, not all dry and bland. Wasn’t a big fan of the peas, but I just hate peas. lol The cheese sauce I had ordered on the side incase I wasn’t a fan, but I ended up really liking it. The guy who makes it also tends bar there. Told me a little bit about it while I was eating, he makes it fresh every day. Using 4 different cheese and Guinness beer. It had a nice consistency, you could actually taste the beer and the cheese flavors mixed well. I finished it all, minus most of the peas ;) and was stuffed. Great dish for this slightly cool and wet weather…. warms your body, heart and even soul.

But I still had enough room for their Bread pudding… oh yeah. I actually usually don’t go for dessert, but Id heard a lot of good things about this one, so I had to give it a try and besides who can pass up home made Bread pudding! Its comes out in a little dish, it’s a pretty nice helping. Smelled awesome, you could smell the cinnamon and freshness of the ingredients, and it looked just as awesome. The pudding had a great flavor, just the right amount of seasoning and “sauce” and nicely sweet. It was warm and delicate and creamy in texture with just the right amount of raisins. Was the best bread pudding Id ever had and will definitely be getting it again.

Next time I go back I’m going to try a new beer and their Club sandwich, which Casey told me is pretty good. Over all I had a great dining experience and good company.

So if you are in the down town area and are looking for a place for some hearty food and a pint, check out Barnett’s Pub.