Let’s talk about pretzels. No one around here is claiming to be a pretzel expert. All I’m saying is Bowl & Barrel’s pretzel is big, warm, fluffy, perfectly tasty, and cheap. For $5, poor people can walk into Bowl & Barrel and experience this pretzel. The mustard is a minimal form of the bomb. I never say something is the bomb because this phrase is reserved for cool people on twitter. Breaking all cool rules is a must because this pretzel and side of mustard are both an above average form of the bomb.
The owner walked in during my super important tasting last week. I knew he was the owner before he walked over and said, “Hi, I’m the owner.” It’s not hard to spot the owner of a food serving establishment. They have some kind of owner vibe that’s easy to read. My first impression was that this could be a Biff type of guy. Being called Biff does not have to be insulting. I’m actually giving a Biff compliment because he’s the good kind of Biff, which is relaxed. You know the nice kind that might wear khakis and some kind of excellent t-shirt, while managing to pull off the world’s best flowy Biff bangs. A relaxed Biff usually has many of these characteristics. A relaxed Biff would never say, “Let’s go to the yacht club, Buffy.” Besides, this guy would never date a girl named Buffy to begin with. No way.
As we began talking, I slipped into a sudden owner small talk situation, in which fast thinking was the only option. Since the pretzel seemed to be making my day brighter than it should, I took our small talk in that direction. There’s some advice I’d like to share with strangers. If you ever find yourself having small talk with the owner of Bowl & Barrel, please do not say, “The pretzel is really cheap compared to the expensive food on the menu.” He will politely ask you to explain how this menu is expensive.
I began to stutter. “Um, I just meant the pretzel is $5 and I think the shrimp & avocado salad is kind of more expensive than $5. That’s all.” Do you think owners have time to hear people say their menu is expensive? No. I’m pretty sure this is a form of total owner small talk failure. If I could go back in time I would have said, “The menu is cheap enough for a homeless person to order a feast and still leave with change in their homeless person change cup.” True story.
I enjoyed everything at Bowl & Barrel. There’s simply no easy way to express how fantastic this pretzel is. I had to ask the manager how this is possible. He explained how hard they have worked to make sure pretzel preparation is a daily success. There is no pretzel fluff going on around here. It’s really that good. Look, bowling alley food is usually gross. This is almost always the case. Bowl & Barrel is an exception to the gross bowling alley food rule. Even if you don’t like to bowl because you are always throwing the ball in the gutter, please go to Bowl & Barrel and enjoy pretzel perfection.
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Bowl & Barrel
8084 Park Ln
Suite 145
Dallas, TX 75231
bowl&barrel.com
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