The Malted Barley
Sprinkled with salt, smothered with toppings, or stuffed with cheese. The plain old pretzel gets a gourmet twist at The Malted Barley.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “Our pretzels are unique. They've got incredible flavor. Our pretzels are fantastic.”
Located on Westminster Street in downtown Providence, The Malted Barley is a laid back 150-seat spot where the focus is on one of the food world’s perfect pairings: craft beers and fresh baked pretzels.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “Our pretzels are soft pretzels. Our pretzels are light and fluffy on the inside with a slight crunch and crust on the outside. Everybody I think likes fresh bread right out of the oven. And that's what you get when you come to The Malted Barley, you get a freshly baked pretzel. So it comes right out of the oven right to your table. And then you start pulling it apart and then you take your first bite and it's delicious.”
Ron Koller opened The Malted Barley about eight years ago, creating a rustic space with lots of wood, some steampunk touches, and plenty of fun games. Behind the bar is a 37-line draft system pouring an ever changing selection of domestic craft beers. And back in the kitchen, is chef Brian Konvit, rolling, twisting, and shaping each and every pretzel by hand.
Brian Konvit – Kitchen Manager – The Malted Barley: “We do pretzels through and through. That is our primary bread and butter, quite literally. And it's nothing like you'd ever try in a ballpark. There’s so much flavor and depth to our product that you're going to be telling all your friends about it.”
Any visit to The Malted Barley should start with their classic Salted Pretzel, which really puts all other pretzels to shame.
Brian Konvit – Kitchen Manager – The Malted Barley: “It’s gonna have a lot of that malted barley flavor. You’re really looking for that nice, rich dark color.”
For a little extra flavor, there’s the Everything Pretzel, coated with garlic, onion, and sesame seeds. Or one topped with Bacon and melted Cheddar.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “It’s a basic salted pretzel, we actually add the cheese, we add the bacon to the top of the pretzel before baking. So as it goes through the oven, it actually bakes the bacon and cheddar into the pretzel. So when it comes out, it's just a fantastic delicious, gooey salty pretzel.”
Every pretzel comes with your choice of 14 different homemade dips and sauces, from the basics like Beer Cheese and Brown Mustard, to Pesto, Marinara, and even Apricot Butter.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “There’s a lot of combinations and a lot of people order more than one dip with their pretzel.”
But to really take your experience to the next level, order one of The Malted Barley’s Stuffed Pretzels, like Mozzarella and Tomato, or Jalapeno and Cheddar.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “The Jalapeno Cheddar Pretzel is our top selling stuffed pretzel by far. It also happens to be my favorite pretzel. And my favorite dip for that pretzel is our Apricot Butter. You have the salt, you have the fat, you have the sweetness, it's all there.”
And making these stuffed pretzels requires some serious skill.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “We stuff those by hand, which is a very tedious labor intensive process because you have to make a perfect dough log, 18 inches long, then you smash it, you flatten it with a roller, and then you add what you're going to put inside the pretzel, and then you have to pinch it closed by hand, and then twist the pretzel without breaking the dough open. So it takes a lot of technique and skill.”
The Malted Barley offers more than just pretzels, but just about everything on the menu features pretzels in some form, from the pretzel croutons on the salads, to the pretzel buns used to make the sandwiches, like the Cali Chicken with house-made guac, and the gloriously gooey Grilled Cheese.
Brian Konvit – Kitchen Manager – The Malted Barley: “We have four different types of cheese. We have an asiago and parmesan topping, with a cheddar and Havarti filling. So when you pull it apart, you're really going to get that pull. It is just a delicious combination.”
If a burger is what you’re hungry for, look no further than the Barley Bacon Beast Burger.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “We have a Barley Bacon Beast Burger on the menu, and our burger is fantastic. It's basically a half pound patty. That's 75% ground beef 25% ground bacon in the patty, and we cook that off we add more bacon, pepper jack cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickle, onion, on a fresh baked pretzel roll. It's delicious. You've gotta have a big appetite to finish it off. It's just a huge sandwich.”
Pretzels even have a presence at dessert here. Like the Sugar & Cinnamon Pretzel that pairs perfectly with a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip, the Barley Brownie Sundae garnished with a mini pretzel, and the inventively delicious Waffle Pretzel with Vanilla Ice Cream and Nutella.
Brian Konvit – Kitchen Manager – The Malted Barley: “The waffle pretzel is our regular pretzel that we actually soften up and press into a waffle iron. It actually crisps the edges of it, and you get that really crispy browning that's going to make it almost taste exactly like a waffle. But you still get the hints of flavor from the pretzel.”
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “It's funny because a lot of times you will have a four top table there and order one for the table. And we always tell them it's not going to be enough and sure enough, usually they finish the first one off, and then they order three more.”
And from dessert, to a sandwich, to a snack, there’s simply ‘knot’ a better place to get a pretzel than The Malted Barley.
Ron Koller – Owner, The Malted Barley: “We have a very unique concept here. Our pretzels are very unique. We bring in a lot of unique beers. And it's just a unique experience in Providence.”
