Bowen House has a hospitable staff and great drinks, but entrees came up short
JOEY CASIANO | Dining Critic
joeycasiano11@gmail.com
One night I was speaking with a friend about needing a new restaurant to review, and he suggested Bowen House, 2614 Boll St.. After a quick Google search, I found it was formerly known as a Dallas “Ahab-Bowen House,” and it is classified as a historic landmark. When looking at the photos and the menu, I immediately knew I had to go and experience what Bowen House had to offer. So, I found a friend to accompany me, and we were off to see the wizard.
There is no signage on the restaurant to protect the integrity of the building’s status a historic landmark. At first glance, I found it very lively, despite it being dark, dulling the neutral green exterior. Once inside we were greeted by a handsome host and escorted to our reserved spots at the bar. I asked if there happened to be any table cancellations we could take over, and, to our delight, there was a table available — a very cramped table.
We admired the Victorian accents in the décor, but it was incredibly dark, creepy almost. I felt like maybe we had stepped into a Victorian funeral home, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, had the lighting been brighter. I noticed the large frame of the window we were sitting next to cut off part of the light which should have illuminated our whole table.
You can present the world’s greatest cassoulet to me, but if I can’t see it, it might as well be goulash.
For our first course we had the fried brie and escargot. With the candle, side plates, bread plates, flatware and water glasses, I was looming over a battlefield of obstacles. I had just about an inch of room between my torso and the edge of the table. Nevertheless, we dug in. L’Escargot came first, since it was my friend’s first time trying this dish. And It. Was. Exquisite. Creamy and savory yet bright, it was a joy just to dip our bread in the sauce and savor that. Next we dug into the fried brie — pizza-shaped with a dollop of blueberry compote seemingly plopped on top, We felt as though the dish were lacking. Yes, brie is good. And fried Brie? Great! Along with blueberry compote? Sure. But the compote tasted like Smuckers.
It could have benefited from being a little less dense, less sweet and, maybe, with a hint of lime, a dash of champagne vinegar — something added to brighten up the very heavy sensation of eating fried cheese.
Along with these dishes, we shared a cocktail called “A Tree Grows In,” which was recommended by our lovely server, Monika. It was an absolutely perfect pairing. The gin, sherry, cucumber and saline in the cocktail complimented L’Escargot so perfectly, I’m going back just for those two items.
But while we did take our time enjoying our first course, there was a good five to 10 minutes in which our flatware was crossed on our plates, and we sat there with a messy table. This seemed to just be how they operated; servers, bussers and bartenders didn’t seem to care about clearing the table.
They refilled our water, walked by and smiled, but no one thought to ask if we’d like our table cleared but, instead, spent time socializing with each other.
After 15 minutes I decided to go ahead and just make eye contact with every employee, and finally another server took notice and asked if we needed anything. I let her know we were ready for our second course, and she smiled and said she’d let our server know — still leaving the dirty plates. These plates stayed til our second courses arrived — and before our second place settings were brought.
Let me be clear, by no means am I coming down on Bowen House. But even in casual restaurants touting an elevated dining experience, the guest should always have their utensils before their course, even if only for a few seconds.
Normally I’d forgive this but even the manager, who seemed to stay in one spot the whole time, did not notice the mess on our table. Everyone was incredibly kind, and the team there exudes a gracious and hospitable attitude, but there are some improvements that need to be made in terms of operations.
Now for the second course: We opted for the chicken salad with ritz crackers. They call them butter crackers, but they’re ritz, according to the chef, and hey, I don’t mind. Who doesn’t like ritz crackers?! It actually comforted me, like I was a little 10-year-old feelin’ fancy.
We also had the ratatouille; my friend and I love a good veggie dish.
Unfortunately, the chicken salad was bland. It seemed fresh, but it needed salt and acid, so I had to send it back. The ratatouille was better, with a bit more salt, but it also could have benefited from some acid.
We had the Clear and Sunny cocktail with our entrees, and, although we were disappointed by the entrees, the drink was once again a perfect pairing.
The dessert was a cheesecake with the blueberry same compote. I get zero waste cooking, but this just seemed uninspired. Still, it was absolutely delicious. It’s hard to mess up cheesecake, plus it’s a favorite for both me and my dining companion.
Overall, it was a pretty space, despite the 1980s-excess type “chandelier” highlighting the bar, reminiscent of something you’d see in the Netflix series Pose. I don’t disapprove of it; it just seemed out of place. Everyone was nice, and the drinks were great. I just wish the other three dishes were as well balanced as the escargot.
(Special thanks to Nyx Winters for helping me with my assessment yet again.)