| rev:text
| - I was tempted to give The Bowery a 2.5* rating but given that we were a party of 30 people, some of whom had little consideration for the kitchen's hours along with the fact that being such a large group, we needed to get our shit together so the staff could do their thing, it's not too much to give the place the full 3* and mainly because the service was so professional and patient.
The birthday boy who chose this spot was raving about it for weeks, though he hadn't been since they opened less than a year ago (?). Apparently the food must have been pretty damn good back then as I noticed a 5* review from July 2011. My friend mentioned they used to be French but have moved on to Italian fare, which is always a safe bet. Given how un-full the place was besides our group of 30, they probably should try whichever route to get people in there.
The space had a bit of an upscale New York diner feel to it, and the music they played seemed fitting for such a place. I'm not sure if that's the norm (Chris P. mentioned the lame music in his review so maybe crappy music IS the norm here) but the night we were there, they were playing Oldies the whole time which was odd for a Saturday night and I can't say I saw anyone over 35-ish there. It was definitely too old for our group.
The menus we got were a condensed version since we were such a large group. I really wish they had the BC cod on it that Denise S. had as it's one of my favourite fish! Nothing on our menu really appealed to me but since we had to make do with what was on offer, I chose the prosciutto and ricotta crostini and the grilled fish whose name I don't recall (it was a white fish and had an Italian name that went something like 'brandiz...ende') which came with asparagus, served on a wooden board that allowed the butter from the dish to drip onto the table and also my pants. The dense bread they serve with olive oil was nothing special, and a little balsamic would have gone a long way. The crostini ($9.95 for three pieces) was served on table bread; it (not the bread) had a nice smoky flavour and contained fresh ingredients. I liked that the prosciutto didn't have that waxiness and was missing the strip of fat on it. The fish was a bit small but was grilled properly, the skin being just crisp enough and it was tasty (contained sprigs of thyme, lemon wedges along with minced garlic and a couple of spices sprinkled in there) at $26.
I didn't bother with dessert as nothing on the menu seemed very tempting. I probably should have though, as I was still hungry (as were others) after my meal and a couple of drinks. I can normally eat quite a bit but after an app and main, I'm usually good, just not at the Bowery. Had I known, I would have ordered a pasta main for an appetizer~!
It could be that my friend had hyped the place up so much that I was expecting to have an orgasm but that didn't happen, and I didn't really even try to fake one. While the food tasted good, for what they charge, I'd expect a little more sophistication from the menu (I've seen the full menu and it's nothing special either), better ingredients, or at least better sized servings. I know upscale restos tend to expect patrons to order multiple courses and servings of each course tend to be small but this place is hardly what I would call "upscale". Nothing I had was anything I couldn't make just as well at home so I was a little disappointed. I overheard a few grumbles from others at our table who ordered pizza (not the usual round pizza, but a smallish rectangular pie) asking where is the pepperoni, and another who ordered the cornish hen demanding ketchup. While this is not a pepperoni and ketchup kind of place, nor is it anything fancy that warrants such prices. It's not that they were outrageous but for what one pays for a meal there, a much better and filling meal can be had elsewhere.
Maybe this place is all about the drinks because when we were leaving in batches between midnight and 1am after the kitchen closed, there were a few cabs pulling up with groups of 2-3 young people coming in. I probably won't be heading back to the Bowery anytime soon but if I do, it won't be in a cab.
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