Barley Swine Works Chronicle's Palate, Odam Finds Treasures in The Hollow

The Chronicle's Melody Fury visited the rebooted Barley Swine and finds the newly expanded restaurant in need of some new tricks. She had high hopes for the eleven-course tasting menu and, while she enjoyed the first three courses, including shiitake mushroom ravioli that "wrapped [her] up in a blissful blanket," the next several dishes were a bit formulaic.

The hay-roasted carrots' sweetness was overshadowed by the mixture of seeds and the (tart in nature) chèvre. The nicely poached red snapper rested on a pool of koji butter that also had a hint of acid, alongside roasted brussels sprouts, Marcona almonds, and pickled radish. Sure, both dishes were cohesive on their own, but they lacked diversity in the grand scheme. [...] Frankly, my palate was exhausted by the omnipresent acidity.

She had better luck with the "swine time" happy hour, singling out the roasted oyster mushroom and coffee-marinated egg as particularly good dishes.

The Statesman's Matthew Odam trekked up to Georgetown to visit The Hollow, an aspirational chef-driven concept on the town's main square. He was pleasantly surprised to find "bright and beautiful" dishes in a space suffused with "folksy charm."

One of those Instagram-worthy dishes was a first course of beet-cured redfish crudo blushed like a smoke ring at its edges and roused with ginger and citrus vinaigrette. The curing process speaks to Hilbert’s thoughtful approach to dishes, like a seared and roasted entrée of lamb tossed in leek ash and rosemary and served with a robust homemade chermoula brimming with North African spices.

The desserts, however, were "anticlimactic."

THE BLOGS — Funnily enough, A Time to Kale loves the kale salads at Vinaigrette, while Fed Man Walking checked out the burgers from Henri's and Justine's.