Barlow's Restaurant - Boston, MA

Traveling to another city is so much more rewarding when you can squeeze in a visit with friends who you don't get to see very often. Although I can keep virtual tabs on my friends all the time thanks to Facebook and Twitter, nothing is more valuable than the in-person visits. I mean, isn't staying in touch more fun when you can do it face-to-face?

Lucky for me, I've got friends stashed all over the country, so I try and include them in my travel plans if possible. I finally got to meet one of those friends in real life when Stephen and I were in Boston for my birthday back in May. Jen (pictured above in the blue shirt) and I are both Chi Omega Sisters, and, quite honestly, I have no idea how we were introduced. However it happened, we've been in regular contact with one another ever since thanks to social media.

When I posted about the birthday trip on Facebook, Jen immediately sent me a message to see if we could schedule a meet-up before she and her family left for their vacation abroad. Within hours, Jen had arranged a tour for us at Rue La La, where her husband works, and picked a place for us to grab a drink and a quick bite to eat before they had to high-tail it to the airport.

Jen is amazing.

Because of its proximity to Rue La La, the whole lot of us grabbed a large table right near the front window of Barlow's Restaurant. The depth of the dinner menu was quite impressive, as Barlow's offers everything from salads and sandwiches to seafood and pasta. To start, I ordered the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($9) because they just sounded good.

Juicy pieces of chicken breast were tossed with Napa cabbage, bell peppers, crushed peanuts, and a sesame-ginger vinaigrette and then served in lettuce leaves. I loved the flavor of the vinaigrette and appreciated the fact that it was used sparingly. Nothing's worse than having food that's been over-dressed to the point of soggy.

Even though I knew I'd be ordering Sausage and Peppers at Fenway, the next stop on the birthday tour of fun, I ordered the Sweet Italian Sausage Pizza ($13) to hold me over until the game. I couldn't help myself... I was lured in by the promise of sweet ricotta and caramelized onions.

The pizza was satisfying -- the crust had a great chew but was still crisp on the bottom, the chunks of sausage were generously sized, and the combination of tomato sauce and caramelized onions gave the whole dish a deeper sweetness. The only thing I would have changed about the pizza was the sausage itself since I prefer Hot Italian Sausage over Sweet Italian Sausage. Other than that small change, I'd keep everything else as it was.

The folks at Barlow's were really great about getting our food out to us in a timely fashion, and they helped keep us all on schedule. Jen and her crew were able to get to the airport in time for their flight, and Stephen and I had plenty of time to make our way to Fenway.

I think I might make Jen plan all of my meals the next time I'm up in Boston.

Barlow's Restaurant
241 A Street
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 338-2142 | Online Reservations | Map



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