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View the Barney's Only Place in Town menu
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Restaurant: Barney’s Only Place in Town
Where: 110 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra
Madre
Phone: (626) 355-3502
Reservations: Accepted
Cocktails: Beer and Wine
Service: Tableside wait service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: Yes
Credit Cards: MC, Visa, American Express,
Discover, Diner’s Club, Debit w/logo
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: No, Banquets available, though
Price Range: $3.49 - $17.99, average $7 - $10 |
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House
salad came with the dinner |
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Monte
Carlo Sandwich |
Chicken Marsala |
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Boston Cream Pie |
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DOT COM DINING A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Barney’s Only Place in Town Café Offers Wide Selection of Good Food,
Morning, Noon and Night
By Bill Coburn
Recently, there’s
been a lot of change in the Sierra Madre restaurant scene. One of the changes
was the purchase by Michael and Bill Kefalas of The Only Place in Town. Mike
and Bill are not new to the restaurant scene, as they have been the owners of
Barney’s, Ltd. in Old Town Pasadena, for about seven years or so.
While the Only Place
in Town has had a long run as a successful business in Sierra Madre, the Kefalas
brothers wanted to put their own stamp on the restaurant. They were smart
enough, though, to keep some of the old staples that had contributed to the
success of the business before their arrival.
So while you will
find a new menu that is significantly more varied than the old one, you’ll also
find several items that were the most popular with its regulars. Almost
everyone I spoke with about the ownership change asked me if I knew if the
brothers were going to keep Maggie Wong’s Chinese Chicken Salad (chunks of
chicken tossed with romaine lettuce, peanuts, sesame seeds, Chinese noodles and
their special sweet and sour dressing. They did, as they did Emily’s Favorite,
(turkey, lettuce, bacon and avocado on a ciabbata roll), the pot roast and a
handful of other items. The entire breakfast menu is also items from the old
menu. But they’ve brought in many of the items from Barney’s, Ltd., menu that
have helped make it an Old Town success story for more than 25 years.
Katie and I were
joined by her dad, Hanns, yesterday for breakfast. He ordered the Eggs
Benedict, I ordered the 110 West Breakfast, and Katie had the Bacon and Avocado
omelet. By the way, from 8am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday you’ll also find a
brunch menu, with brunch items being served with a mimosa. The 110 West comes
with 2 eggs any style, 4 slices of bacon, choice of hash browns or home fries
and toast. It’s a basic breakfast, but seemed like so much more. The portions
were good sized, the eggs cooked just right, and I was full when I was through.
Katie said there was plenty of avocado on her omelet, which she had ordered as a
2 egg as opposed to their standard three egg, and to which she had also had
Swiss cheese and sour cream added. She enjoyed the omelet, which came with her
choice of potato and toast, she chose hash browns and sourdough. She too
enjoyed her meal. And Hanns told me that the eggs were poached just right,
there was plenty of Canadian bacon, the hollandaise sauce was good, and he, too
enjoyed his hash browns.
We went back for
dinner, with Katie ordering the Chicken Marsala, Keelan had the Monte Carlo
sandwich, and I ordered the Fish and Chicken and Chips dinner. Now when I saw
Monte Carlo on the menu, I thought of the Monte Cristo, but it’s actually not a
Monte Cristo. This one has thinly sliced ham, with cheese, on Hawiian bread,
dipped in egg batter, and then grilled, not deep-fried, as the Monte Cristo is.
Keelan did have one complaint, he said there was TOO MUCH ham on the sandwich.
That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned, I’d rather take off some that I
don’t want, than wish there was more. Katie’s chicken marsala had plenty of
food with two chicken breasts, sautéed in marsala wine sauce with mushrooms,
with garlic. I tried it and it was quite good. The Bountiful Entrees at BOPIT
come with soup or salad, ,and your choice of a giant baked potato, mashed
potatoes or fries, and steamed vegetables or sautéed mushrooms. In other words,
this is a full meal, not like some places where you have to pay extra for salad,
or even for potatoes or veggies with your meal. My Fish and Chicken and Chips
dinner came out with just chicken on it, and our waitress fixed the problem
immediately. But even with the mistake, the way it was corrected was the way it
should be done, but often isn’t. She took the plate back to the kitchen, the
chef picked up two pieces of chicken, and my plate was returned with the fries
and chicken intact. The fish was brought out when it was ready. So I didn’t
have to sit and watch my family eat, or feel that the fries and chicken had been
sitting under a heat lamp while the fish was cooked. That actually would have
been even more of a drag because I’d ordered fruit as the side order, from my
choice of coleslaw, potato salad or fruit, and who wants warm fruit? Kudos to
the staff for dealing with the situation the right way. My entire meal was
fresh and hot when I ate it.
I’d heard good
things about Barney’s fish and chips, and while I still haven’t tried it at
Barney’s, at BOPIT, the fish was excellent. I also really enjoyed the tartar
sauce, which I find some places overload with pickles. Not here. All three of
us enjoyed our meals, which we followed with Boston Cream Pie, an item rarely
found on dessert menus. BOPIT’s Boston Cream Pie is light and soft, not a heavy
chocolate dish at all. It was quite good. To view the Barney’s Only Place in
Town menu online, go to
http://www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/barneysonlyplaceintown.
By the way, it’s now
easier to find these reviews on line, with full color pictures of the food, by
going directly to
www.DotComDining.com.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a restaurant website
featuring more than 150 restaurant menus, as well as downloadable coupons. He
has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant business, and has been eating
for much longer than that.
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