Growing up in bird rock, before all the newbies came to town, and with them the influx of traffic circles, it was still a walking town.

We had a yum yum donuts, the meat company (deli), baskin and robbins, the best chinese restaurant, mulligans, the french pastry shop, and bullys. All in a three block radius. And that’s only the start. It was all about eating local.

And then cvs came to town. And slowly but surely all our local restaurants disappeared… replaced by the waitt foundation, the lice fairies, and little locks. Great places indeed, but definitely not food related.

And for a long time, bird rock had no real family restaurants. No pre-dinner drinks. Nothing.

Thankfully over the last decade + that has started to change.

One of the first, and a huge favorite of ours was/is wheat & water. We’ve been taking the kiddos ever since they opened their doors about 8 years ago.

Think elevated, and super tasty bar food. A giant step above most taverns around town; but also has some great rotating taps, and tv screens for that hometown pub feel. And when I say hometown feel, I mean that we typically bump into people we know, and know well; and my high school 25th reunion ret together may or may not have happened in the bar.

Jamie’s been obsessed with goo goo muck lately, and was excited to find it on the menu.

And are you serious? A make your own margarita? I went with spicy blackberry. All of my favorite margarita things.

You guys! When I tell you to come early for happy hour, you better believe I’m telling you specifically so you can order the nacho fries.

The carnitas is perfectly tender, The crema and aioli perfect sauces… the picked jalapeños? Love.

The only thing is we wished there was even more of the pico de gallo… it was so good.

Such a great collection of charcuterie bites. Most places do charcuterie with meats and cheese and then olives or pickles or nuts or fruit; or a combo of two. But all of the above? That’s how I craft my boards, and love having all the options.

Love the chimichurri chermoula combo; fresh herbs, citrus, and spices.

The ribeye was perfectly cooked. To be honest, didn’t even need the toast points. Just the steak and the sauce.

Which by the way was delicious in a tortilla the next day as leftovers.

Give me gin and give me lillet, and I’m a happy girl.

This was an excellent cocktail, definitely hit all the good flavors.

Pro tip: get the classic and add mushrooms. You won’t be disappointed.

This is a great pizza - and y’all know there are only a handful of pizza’s i’ll eat. Wheat & water’s being one of them.

Always a classic. Always love a pasta option; and there is nothing better than a classic parm pasta.

Yes, we started out with nacho fries. And yes, we also got the regular fries.

You might have gleaned that the fries here are not to be skipped whether you choose to top or not.

Hand cut fries just hit differently; and I’d bet that these are not only hand cut, but also double fried. Because the crispy outside and tender inside can’t be matched.