Barton G.'s first location was in Miami, and the design of the restaurant in Los Angeles surely had some influence from the Miami culture as there were bright lights everywhere, the plates were flashy and showy, and everything just felt young and hip.
We began our evening with a variety of meats which included beef & pork ribs, lamp chops, and a chicken drumette. If I do say so myself, I will never get tired of lamb chops, and I was very impressed with the dish at Barton G. It seemed as though the chef topped the lamb with a red wine sauce which added quite a bit of flavor to the dish, and I could not get enough of it. The ribs on the other hand did not have the same affect on me as the lamb chops. The barbeque sauce which was lavished on top of the ribs tasted like your average store bought sauce. I mean I could have cooked some ribs at home and added some Stubbs to it, and I'm pretty sure I would have preferred the ribs with Stubbs drizzled on top.
Before I get hungry, let me discuss the mouthwatering lobster pop-tarts. When they refer to the dish as a pop-tart, they actually mean it. It looks exactly like your average strawberry filled pop-tart, except instead of being strawberries, it's lobster. But wait it gets better, instead of toasting the "pop-tarts" in the kitchen, they bring a full size toaster to your table, and allow the customers to toast the dish by themselves. I mean if I was not in public, I would have ate the pastry with my hands, but since I did want to embarrase myself, I had to use the old fork and knife.
We ordered one final appetizer, and boy did the restaurant go out of its' way to present the dish. It was a popcorn shrimip dish, and when they say popcorn, I mean they brought a popcorn machine to our table, and make it right in front of our eyes. The fried shrimp was great because it was not too greasy, and the popcorn was popped to perfection.
Since the appetizers were so rich in flavor, we decided not to order an entrée for each person, rather we split four entrées amongst the five of us.
We decided to order two plates of the "Samurai Tuna", and we had know idea what we were getting into when we placed our order. When the server came out with the plates, little did we know, it also came with a weapon. Right in the middle of the tuna, there was a samurai sword in each of the two plates. While I did not have an opportunity to get a taste of to tuna, it did get quite a recommendation from my two brothers.
Since I had began my dining experience with meat, I thought I would avoid it for my entrrée, and order fish accordingly. I ordered a salmon dish, which came wiht a side of lobster hushpuppies. What I noticed while dining at Barton G., while the presentation may have been spectacular, the dishes were not something I am going to rush back for. While my salmon was great, I just did not feel as though anything stood out, and I feel as though the restricted menu limits the consumer from choosing exactly what they want to eat. While I enjoyed my dining experience at Barton G., I thought the price was "tres cher." It think this is a purpose place for a nice celebration, but other than that, I don't think I would return for just any ordinary saturday evening. I just think people should be informed as to what they are getting themselves into before they dine at Barton G. I would give Barton G. an 8/10 on the scale, partly due to the pricing, and partly due to the limited menu.
