Al's Barn — Restaurant in Riverview

I grew up about a mile down the road before this food truck popped up. After moving away, and visiting back home—I wish this place had been here when I was living here. After traveling and eating internationally for a decade, I now work as a professional chef in Dallas, TX.

FOOD:

Fried Green Tomato BLT, on brioche.

Absolutely perfect. Thick, smoky bacon; perfectly sized green tomato; and the brioche was toasted wonderfully. The chef gave us a sample fried tomato with a homemade sauce. Loved the fennel seeds in the dredge for the tomato. And the sauce had a fantastic tangy bite.

Onion Rings.

It’s rare to find onion rings that don’t fall apart, especially after driving home before eating them. The onions on the inside were soft and didn’t pull out of the batter while taking a bite. The batter was well-seasoned and wonderfully toothsome.

SERVICE:

We originally stopped by the local produce stand to pick up a few things. One of Al’s Barn’s proprietors (the very friendly wife) asked us if we had tried their fare. So we stopped over and checked out the menu. She told us about their catering side; their philosophy behind making their food with the best ingredients and their practice of including international cuisine to the menu. And the free sample green tomato didn’t hurt either.

I also really love the location since it neighbors a local produce stand that’s been in business as long as I’ve been alive. So you know they have access to very local ingredients which also helps support both small businesses.

My only regret is not getting the Elvis Sammy as well (Bacon, PB&J, Fried Banana).

Go out of your way to visit this hidden gem. You won’t regret it.

I’ll...

Listen, if you aren't going to Al's Barn for your food cravings then what are you even doing? This little couple owned food truck packs a ton of flavor and quality! I had their breakfast burrito and it was slapped full of finely minced meat and eggs and veggies and taters. Everything was seasoned so well and the texture of everything just blesses your taste buds. Did I mention it's HUGE! Like.... It's a hefty burrito y'all. You will not be leaving Al's hungry. They're super generous with their portions. My husband had the crispy chicken club with fries and liked it well enough. The fries are superb! They have the crispiest outside and are so well seasoned. I thought about ordering a second helping to go but like I said.... The servings are generous and we just didn't have any room for more food in our stomachs. The location isn't something they can help so I don't hold it against them, but there are some other businesses surrounding the location and if the breeze is blowing you get wiffs of all the dumpsters which isn't great. There is some seating that they provide but not much so that could be a problem for some people as well. That's my only semi-negative feedback. The couple that runs Al's are so kind and friendly and they deserve all the business in the world. They mentioned to us that they do take and bake pies of all flavors, they can do some small scale catering..... Give these folks a try! You won't be...

I have been passing by this spot for way too long and today I finally stopped. My ONLY complaint is that I did not stop here sooner!!

We ordered a variety of entrées, my husband, my sister, and I and EVERYTHING was EXCEPTIONAL!!!!

We had a loaded chili dog with tater tots and I can’t help but wonder if he made those from scratch We had Smashburger sliders , which will change your mind about a Smashburger that you get anywhere else And we had buffalo chicken, french fries with all the works, which I will probably dream about these in the coming days because of all the amazing flavors!!!

Not that it matters, but my sister, my husband and I bring to the table a beautiful mixture of cultures …Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and African-American…. The comment at our table as we sampled all of today’s food, from this awesome location… Al’Barns should be called “Not your average...