FFC Week 6: The Barn
FFC Week 6: The Barn, Sherrill, IA
We have been told since we moved to Iowa that we must go to The Barn. We were told it was a 'dive' bar & grille but had a great seafood buffet during fish fry season. After numerous suggestions and recommendations, we ended up at The Barn!
Upon entering The Barn, I was very surprised as it was nothing like I expected. I had heard 'dive' bar, but this looked nothing like how I had imagined. The inside looked updated and very, very clean. And it was a lot larger inside that it appears from the outside. We arrived at the Barn at 6pm, without a reservation. We had a group of 7 (with a baby), and were able to be seated right away. Our server was very bubbly and asked for our drink order right away. She also got us a high chair for the baby and we had enough room around our table to put the carseat in the high chair.
The Barn's Friday night special is a seafood buffet, for $16.99. The buffet consisted of the following items: fried pollock, fried catfish, baked cod, fried jumbo shrimp (yes, jumbo!), shrimp scampi (with noodles), mac & cheese, baked potato, soup, full salad bar with so many toppings I can't remember them all! The salad bar also had macaroni salad, coleslaw, potato salad, etc. and...apple crisp with whip cream for dessert!!
I, of course, chose the seafood buffet. I started my first trip of the buffet with the salad bar. The salad bar was so big, with so many options-- I was happy! I got a lettuce salad with french dressing, chose pasta salad, coleslaw, and potato salad. And of course took cheese & crackers. The lettuce salad was really good, and the french dressing was just the kind I like. The pasta salad was...eh...nothing to call home about. The coleslaw was more of a 'chopped-up' type of coleslaw which isn't my favorite, and it needed some pepper. The potato salad was very good though. The cheese dip was a little more like nacho cheese sauce, so it had a more distinctive flavor to it that was not my favorite to eat with crackers.
For my next trip to the buffet, I started to dig in to the fish! I chose a piece of each of the fish, and the jumbo shrimp. And a big dollop of tartar sauce to accent my fish. For the fish, the pollock and catfish were both fried, and the cod was baked. I really liked the catfish as it had a great flavor to it and was easy to cut in to with a fork. I did not care for the pollock as it was kind of tough, and just didn't seem like it had much flavor to it. My husband really liked the pollock though, so it could just be my fish pickiness. The baked cod was dry and so it was not too enjoyable. The tartar sauce was perfect!!! The exact kind that I like. Two thumbs up with the sauce. And now for the jumbo shrimp....it was awesome!! It was large and had a flavorful breading on it. It was the best part of the meal. I also went up to try the shrimp scampi and the mac & cheese. The shrimp scampi needed a lot more flavor and was very basic. Even though it wasn't a favorite, it was nice to see something like this on the buffet. Same with the mac & cheese. It wasn't my favorite, but was not terrible and was nice to see on the buffet.
And for dessert....I got myself a spoonful of apple crisp, with a pile of whip cream on top! This was very, very tasty and a great treat at the end of a great meal.
Service/environment: Our server was very attentive to our table. She came back numerous times to check on us and refill our drinks. She interacted with us and even helped grant a food request for someone at our table. The dining room area had just the right amount of room to get around the buffet area, and the dining room tables were a perfect amount of space apart, making the dining experience very enjoyable.
With a price of $16.99 for a seafood buffet with a full salad bar, and dessert, I thought this was a great deal. And after eating the buffet items, I confirmed that it was a quality dinner, and the price was definitely appropriate.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed our dinner at The Barn. The fish was good, and the jumbo shrimp was even better! Their entire buffet area was so clean and laid out so perfectly. I was definitely impressed by The Barn. Since this is a fish fry challenge, I am going to reflect on the fish more with my rating. I will give The Barn a 9 out of 10, as the cod was dry and I did not find the pollock very appetizing. BUT...everything else was amazing!!! And I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves fish and/or seafood.
We have been told since we moved to Iowa that we must go to The Barn. We were told it was a 'dive' bar & grille but had a great seafood buffet during fish fry season. After numerous suggestions and recommendations, we ended up at The Barn!
Upon entering The Barn, I was very surprised as it was nothing like I expected. I had heard 'dive' bar, but this looked nothing like how I had imagined. The inside looked updated and very, very clean. And it was a lot larger inside that it appears from the outside. We arrived at the Barn at 6pm, without a reservation. We had a group of 7 (with a baby), and were able to be seated right away. Our server was very bubbly and asked for our drink order right away. She also got us a high chair for the baby and we had enough room around our table to put the carseat in the high chair.
The Barn's Friday night special is a seafood buffet, for $16.99. The buffet consisted of the following items: fried pollock, fried catfish, baked cod, fried jumbo shrimp (yes, jumbo!), shrimp scampi (with noodles), mac & cheese, baked potato, soup, full salad bar with so many toppings I can't remember them all! The salad bar also had macaroni salad, coleslaw, potato salad, etc. and...apple crisp with whip cream for dessert!!
I, of course, chose the seafood buffet. I started my first trip of the buffet with the salad bar. The salad bar was so big, with so many options-- I was happy! I got a lettuce salad with french dressing, chose pasta salad, coleslaw, and potato salad. And of course took cheese & crackers. The lettuce salad was really good, and the french dressing was just the kind I like. The pasta salad was...eh...nothing to call home about. The coleslaw was more of a 'chopped-up' type of coleslaw which isn't my favorite, and it needed some pepper. The potato salad was very good though. The cheese dip was a little more like nacho cheese sauce, so it had a more distinctive flavor to it that was not my favorite to eat with crackers.
For my next trip to the buffet, I started to dig in to the fish! I chose a piece of each of the fish, and the jumbo shrimp. And a big dollop of tartar sauce to accent my fish. For the fish, the pollock and catfish were both fried, and the cod was baked. I really liked the catfish as it had a great flavor to it and was easy to cut in to with a fork. I did not care for the pollock as it was kind of tough, and just didn't seem like it had much flavor to it. My husband really liked the pollock though, so it could just be my fish pickiness. The baked cod was dry and so it was not too enjoyable. The tartar sauce was perfect!!! The exact kind that I like. Two thumbs up with the sauce. And now for the jumbo shrimp....it was awesome!! It was large and had a flavorful breading on it. It was the best part of the meal. I also went up to try the shrimp scampi and the mac & cheese. The shrimp scampi needed a lot more flavor and was very basic. Even though it wasn't a favorite, it was nice to see something like this on the buffet. Same with the mac & cheese. It wasn't my favorite, but was not terrible and was nice to see on the buffet.
And for dessert....I got myself a spoonful of apple crisp, with a pile of whip cream on top! This was very, very tasty and a great treat at the end of a great meal.
Service/environment: Our server was very attentive to our table. She came back numerous times to check on us and refill our drinks. She interacted with us and even helped grant a food request for someone at our table. The dining room area had just the right amount of room to get around the buffet area, and the dining room tables were a perfect amount of space apart, making the dining experience very enjoyable.
With a price of $16.99 for a seafood buffet with a full salad bar, and dessert, I thought this was a great deal. And after eating the buffet items, I confirmed that it was a quality dinner, and the price was definitely appropriate.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed our dinner at The Barn. The fish was good, and the jumbo shrimp was even better! Their entire buffet area was so clean and laid out so perfectly. I was definitely impressed by The Barn. Since this is a fish fry challenge, I am going to reflect on the fish more with my rating. I will give The Barn a 9 out of 10, as the cod was dry and I did not find the pollock very appetizing. BUT...everything else was amazing!!! And I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves fish and/or seafood.
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