I've been to Off-the-Top once, on the recommendation of a friend who got a really fresh haircut…read morethere. I was a little bit nervous about it, since in the past I've had pretty bad experiences with old-school barbers. Something about the way my hair grows, I guess, but I always feel like I come out looking like a twelve-year-old.
Not at Off-the-Top. At Off-the-Top, I got the best haircut I've had in years, and for a very reasonable price (less than $20).
The place is in this awful strip mall just a block outside of downtown Barre, and it's no frills (all good signs in a barber shop, I feel like). There's a good amount of Red Sox and other Boston sports memorabilia on one of the walls. Signed photo of Larry Bird. Some places like this, you feel like maybe you shouldn't be there if you're not a regular.
Not at Off-the-Top. At Off-the-Top, they treat you courteously even if they're a little laconic.
That, again, is something that I think indicates you're about to have a first-rate haircutting experience. If you're like me, and you're a little uncomfortable making small talk with slow, steady workers, you might find yourself getting a little nervous with all the silence. Do yourself a favor and hearken back to your childhood, or even before that. Imagine a time when men were men, and they all got kickass haircuts from proud, quiet barbers with thick necks and immaculate white-on-white sneakers. Listen to the music. At lots of haircut places (barbers, salons, etc), you hear a lot of loud top-40 or sort of dancey, thumpy stuff that keeps the employees going.
Not at Off-the-Top. At Off-the-Top you're going to listen to classic rock played out of a ca. 1993 panasonic radio/cassette player, but not too loud. You already know all the words anyway.
You'll also enjoy listening to the delicate precision of the scissors as your head is transformed into an immaculate model of what a haircut should, ideally, look like. I'm not sure how much of a choice you really get w/r/t style, but after you tell the guy vaguely (with lots of halting hand gestures) what you're looking for, he sits you down, reaches into your imagination, furrows his brow and knocks on it in a few places (as one might a finicky appliance), IMPROVES YOUR THOUGHTS, and then executes them. At some places, you'd call that a win.
Not at Off-the-Top. At Off-the-Top, you get all the above, PLUS this guy is going to shave around your ears with the straight razor. You think you look fresh with that $30 Burlington haircut? Did the guy use a straight razor? Did he smoke a pack a day for five decades first? This is going to change your life, and you're going to stride out of that linoleum-lined hallway into the hazy heat of Barre in August feeling like a prince. Even better, you'll feel like a man.
N.B. Men pay in cash.
