The newest additions to Uptown Westerville’s dining scene are a study in contrasts.
On one hand, top-notch barbecue and an emphasis on Southern hospitality. On the other, a trendy new type of ice cream and an emphasis on flavor exploration.
And these are just two of the recent – and forthcoming – newcomers to the city’s restaurant line-up.
Barrel & Boar BBQ Gastropub
Barrel & Boar BBQ Gastropub
8 N. State St.
The meticulously prepared food may be the star of the show at Barrel & Boar, but the hospitality is a major point of pride there, and the staff hopes it will be remembered just as fondly by diners
Barrel & Boar opened its fourth central Ohio location in January in the heart of Uptown Westerville, in the space previously occupied by 8 State Bistro. Westerville suits the company well; owner Stan Riley, who started the company as Yoho’s Catering in 1983, is from here.
“Casual, but upscale” is how Chris Scarver, general manager of the Westerville restaurant, describes its atmosphere. He emphasizes its focus on genuine Lowcountry hospitality, such as by always taking the women’s orders first.
Though Barrel & Boar is better known for the latter part of its name, the former part is gaining increasing prominence at the Westerville location, thanks in part to Scarver, who comes from a beverage background. Barrel-aged cocktails are now being incorporated into the drink menus.
“We’re really starting to dive into more upscale cocktails,” he says.
Staff at Barrel & Boar BBQ Gastropub
The restaurant is even experimenting with smoked cocktails, including a smoked old fashioned. Barrel & Boar works with a local carpenter to obtain custom Cherrywood planks, then fires them with a butane torch and traps the smoke in a glass.
It helps, Scarver says, that bourbon pairs well with barbecue. So does beer, and Barrel & Boar’s draft list is 100 percent Ohio, part of an overall emphasis on local.
“We try to incorporate as many Ohio ingredients as we can,” Scarver says.
Still, the smoked meats – like all other Barrel & Boar locations, the Westerville restaurant has its own smoker on site, and all meats are smoked in-house – are likely the best-known part of the experience. Scarver stresses that everything is made from scratch, with shipments of ingredients arriving every morning. And even though some of the tableside barbecue sauces – original, sweet, chipotle and Carolina – are bottled, they’re made from Barrel & Boar’s exclusive recipe.
The 13-hour smoked brisket is probably the most popular item on the menu, Scarver says, with four to eight briskets coming in per day and being cut to order as soon as orders come in. The ribs aren’t far behind; the restaurant does a “buck a bone” deal on Sundays, and on its very first Sunday open, it sold 55 and a half racks of ribs.
The pork shoulder, pulled to order, and smoked wings are also big sellers. On the dessert menu, the strawberry shortcake is a customer favorite, made with strawberries, strawberry puree, fresh-made whipped cream and mint syrup.
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Rollies
79 S. State St., Ste. A
Though taste is not to be discounted, presentation plays a central role at Rollies, from the artistic appearance of its rolled ice cream treats to the light bulb glasses customers can buy for their boba tea.
Rollies joined the local dining scene in October, taking over the former home of Chocolaterie Stam. It’s the second Rollies location; the original is in Marysville.
Owner Tommy Zheng is all about introducing people to new flavors and new dining options. He and business partner Donny Wu also own Japanese steakhouses, and have long wanted to offer rolled ice cream – which is popular in Asia, particularly Thailand, but only starting to gain traction in central Ohio.
People might be too mesmerized by the cool look of rolled ice cream, Zheng says, to realize that, compared to standard ice cream, it’s actually relatively healthful. It’s all gluten- and chemical-free, it’s full of all-natural ingredients and it contains less sugar than ordinary ice
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cream.
Rollies makes its cream in-house. There are standard flavors, such as chocolate and strawberry, and less conventional ones, such as matcha and taro. The shop will bring in limited-time flavors as well.
The customer chooses an ice cream flavor, watches as the ice cream is mixed in an ice pan and rolled, then can choose toppings and whipped cream to add. Or he or she can choose from a list of predetermined combinations, such as the nutty.buddy (peanut butter ice cream with Nutella, animal crackers and Reese’s Pieces), Fruity.Bam.Bam (taro ice cream with berries, gummy bears and Fruity Pebbles) or Thai.Me.Down (Thai tea ice cream, coconut shavings, animal crackers and caramel).
“We call it fresh, never frozen ice cream,” Zheng says. “It’s never frozen until you order.”
Toppings are also varied. Alongside chocolate chips, animal crackers and berries, there’s also pocky and bursting bubbles.
Rollies’ limited-time offering for May is Unicorn Fairy: cotton candy ice cream with cotton candy dust and marshmallow cream, topped with berries and more cotton candy.
Not to be overlooked is Rollies’ boba tea, commonly known in the U.S. as bubble tea. The shop offers an assortment of milk (honey, almond, honeydew, matcha, coffee, etc.) and regular (passionfruit, lychee, mango, strawberry, raspberry, etc.) teas, as well as mocktails, including a handful of virgin mojitos. For an extra charge, customers can have their drinks served in custom light bulb glasses, which they can keep afterward.
Garth Bishop is contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
What Else is New?
- Delaney’s Diner, 5916 Westerville Rd.: Opened in May 2017
- Giordano’s, 2137 Polaris Pkwy.: Opened in June
- Ray Ray’s Hog Pit, 5755 Maxtown Rd.: Opened in July
- The Draft Room, 570 W. Schrock Rd.: Opened in September
- Espresso Air, 25 N. State St.: Formerly known as Heavenly Cup, reopened in February
- Phatt Taco, 20 S. State St., Ste. K: Scheduled to open in May
- Clean Juice, 665 Worthington Rd.: Scheduled to open in May
- Local Cantina, Westar: Opening date not announced
- Bru Burger Bar, Westar: Opening date not announced
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