Chefs Michelle and Matthew Merrifield plan to open Barbarian in the former Skinny Pancake location at 454 Mountain Road in Stowe by the end of June. They will serve breakfast and dinner. The menu of American classics will have “a diner feel but taken up a notch, a little more fun,” Michelle sai d. There will be pancakes and housemade doughnuts but also hash browns with caviar, she elaborated. In the evening, guests will be able to order such starters as deviled eggs and chicken pot pie fritters, followed by meatloaf with rich French-style mashed potatoes or pork belly with braised beans. Barbarian will have a full bar. The couple met in culinary school in Northern California, where Michelle, 31, earned a pastry degree and Matthew, 34, a culinary arts degree. They worked in kitchens in Napa Valley, Calif., and New Orleans before moving to Vermont for Matthew to become chef de cuisine at the Shelburne Farms Inn, where he stayed for four years. Michelle rose to bakery manager at August First. At the new restaurant, she will make all the breads, rolls, English muffins, doughnuts and old-school desserts, such as meringue cradle cake. The Merrifields named Barbarian for various comic-book characters and for Matthew’s love of Dungeons Dragons. It also reflects a reaction chefs sometimes have when eating at the kinds of restaurants where they normally work, they explained. “I always feel like a barbarian in a place I don’t belong,” Matthew said. “The chaos in the kitchen is more comfortable,” Michelle added. The full-service restaurant will have 40 seats, a lounge area with couches and a large outside deck. It will also offer breakfast sandwiches and espresso drinks to go. The post Barbarian to Serve American Classics With a Twist in Stowe appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less