Foodie Friday: Barn 34
OCEAN CITY, Md. – If you visit Barn 34, you will most likely be met with a line out the door; there’s a good reason for that.
Family Owned Flavor
For breakfast food fans, the establishment is your veritable heaven. And, the family that keeps it all running smoothly, knows what it means to keep customers coming back to years to come.
“It’s a family-owned business. We’ve been in the town for about 38 years,” said Courtney Francis. “We’ve been here at Barn 34 for nine years. Prior to this, we were at the Pirate’s Den for about 20 years. Originally, my family started Coconuts in 1984.”
Big on Benedicts
And now, Barn 34 is the home of mouthwatering meals, like the lobster Benedict. “This is one of my favorites. My mom came up with this a couple of years ago, and it’s been one of our biggest sellers,” said Francis. “We’re really known in Ocean City for our benedicts. We have a whole bunch of featured benedicts. A lot of people come here just because we have so many different benedicts.”
The lobster Benedict is comprised of two poached eggs and five ounces of lobster, served over on English muffins, and topped with Hollandaise with paprika. “The eggs go in the water for a couple of minutes. They come to a boil to be poached, and we put it on the English muffin,” said Francis. “You can either get home fries, or grits with that.”
“A slice of the south in my mouth”
And don’t discount the lighter fare; Barn 34’s fried green tomatoes aren’t your average veggies.
“It’s fried green tomatoes, topped with pimento cheese. Then, she’s going to top it with a bacon jam,” Francis said. “Drizzled with a balsamic glaze.”
If there’s any way to start begin your day at the beach, it’s over a spread, starting with those tomatoes.
“There is such a beautiful mix of flavor and texture going on here,” Foodie Host Hannah Cechini marveled. “[The fry on the tomatoes] is so crispy and crunchy. On the inside of that, you’ve got that beautiful, bright acidity from the fried green tomato, which is balanced really nicely by the bacon jam that’s on top. It’s got just the slightest hint of smokiness to it. All of the little veggies that are in here are super fresh tasting, they’re a little crunchy. It’s just a nice, creamy way to tie everything together.
Foodie Photog Mike has many family members from the south; for him, the fried green tomatoes were a trip down memory lane.
“I’ve had a lot of pimento cheese. The elephant in the room is this is very not yellow pimento cheese. Well, this is what happens when you make it fresh in your restaurant every day,” said Mike. “This is a slice of the south in my mouth.”
“Breakfast done right”
And good thing we started light, because the lobster Benedict with lure you into nothing short of indulgence.
“They did not hold back on this lobster. That’s kind of an understatement, actually. There’s so much lobster on this plate,” Hannah said. “The Hollandaise is such a beautiful, creamy texture.”
Add a good hash brown coated in Hollandaise to the list of Things Foodie Photog Mike Didn’t Know He Needed.
“The lobster is lovely, and the poached egg with the Hollandaise has that nice creaminess that you’re always looking for,” Mike raved. “That’s fantastic. Just a beautiful, nicely poached, slightly runny egg. That’s breakfast done right.”
Dessert for Breakfast
But, that’s not all. We’ve all heard of breakfast for dinner. And now, Barn 34 asks the question: What about dessert for breakfast? Or, as Mike calls this one, “a veritable explosion of summer berries.”
The angel food cake french toast is nothing to mess around with.
“It’s basically your own personal angel food cake, that’s been deep fried, beautifully dressed up with all this sauce, the berries, the whipped cream, and presented to you. It’s like a present, almost,” Hannah smiled over the dish. “The deep fry on the angel food – and maybe I’m just thinking this because we’re in Ocean City – reminds me of the boardwalk a little bit. It’s like funnel cake. But, it’s not oily like a funnel cake would be. A plus, ten out of ten, 100%. So good.”
Barn 34
Barn 34 is located at 3400 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Md. 21842. You can call them at 410-289-5376. If you go to check it out, tell the team that you saw them on Foodie Friday.
