Three
things I always wanted out of life. Cool
hair, cool car, and the ability to cook my way into a woman’s heart. Superficial?
Yep. Regrets? I have a few, but then again too few to
mention. Successful? Well, I guess if I were a baseball player, 1 outta
3 ain’t so bad. As it is, the Rangers
haven’t come calling. Meanwhile, I’m
blessed with what my hairdresser says is the most generic white man hairdo
ever. Wheels? Oh sure…cool as fan…until of course you see
the child seat in the back, sippy cups and Elmo DVDs scattered all over the
floor. Kitchen skills? I’ve got a few, or at least had enough to win
over the other half of snootyfoodie.
Speaking
of my better half, it was right next door to Neighborhood Services where we had
our first “safe date”. You know the
term, right? So we met in Deep Ellum and
she didn’t trust a random guy she met at a bar (yet she was a random girl that
I met…) so I was allowed to come meet her and a half dozen of her friends at
the Dallas institution, Time Out Tavern – or the TOT to…well, you know who you
are! Somehow I passed the merciless
scrutiny and off we went. Not sure where
I was going with this tangent unless I was angling toward that area of town
having a special place in my heart? Ah, those
were the days. Oh well, let’s move on. .
.
Back to Neighborhood
Services. Nick Badovinus made his name
(at least with us) as the cool dude chef that helped launch Consilient’s
Knox/Henderson mainstays Hibiscus,
Cuba Libre,
Fireside Pies and The Porch. Before that
he sous’d under Dean at the Mansion and ran the kitchen at Nick &
Sam’s. The menus he left behind at the
Consilient spots have remained pretty much in tact. That not only speaks to his prowess behind a
stove but also to the staying power of a keep
it simple stupid formula to each concept.
Great products, done well, in a great environment. But some chefs were meant to cook and some
were meant to become corporate brands.
Either path is all good with the snootyfoodie faithful but Chef Bads was
one of those that still wanted to be the #1 cook in the kitchen…that actually likes to cook in the kitchen. So, he said bye-bye to the Corporate Chef
moniker and he and Consilient took an amicable trip to Splitsville.
After
quite a hiatus, word leaked (spewed) that Bads was returning with his own
restaurant. Details were sketchy but we
heard it would be his place, owned by
him, done his way – from the cocktails to the pepper grinders to the bathroom
faucets. This would be Nick’s
Place. Predictably he would name the place
Nick’s or Bads or Mister B’s or something that parlayed his star power into a
can’t miss venture, right? Nuh uh. Honestly, the name of the place was an
unknown for quite some time. As he was
hunting for a spot he kept seeing these zoning tags from the city that said Neighborhood Services. “I liked saying it,” Nick told us “and it
says everything about the spirit of what I wanted to build.” Thus, any thought of a self title was nixed
and NHS was born.
I guess
it can be attributed to the fact that we’re still a relatively young culinary city,
but have you ever noticed that just about every great restaurant in town is
compared to another restaurant in a more recognized culinary city? It
makes you think you’re in a tony Manhattan
restaurant. One taste of the blah blah
and you’ll swear you’re dining al fresco in LA.
Hey we’ve been guilty of it on occasion too! But our city is getting long enough in the
tooth to aptly describe our raunts
with simple, plain ole adjectives, agreed?
Well, we’ve heard Neighborhood Services described by our fellow foodies
as a San Francisco
like dive. Or a gastropub, which is really just a hip term that means a bar
with really good food, right? And then most
commonly as a half way house between The Porch and Hibiscus. Honestly, despite our increasingly rising
Billy Idol like snarl for the other city comparisons, these are all rather
befitting. He did a lot of his research
for the place in SF and his roots are in the Northwest so fresh seafood from
the upper Pacific is prevalent. There’s
no shame in calling a place a pub and certainly not a Park Cities pub! And the food at Hibiscus and The Porch are
great so no worries there either. But,
all of those comparisons are just a slice and dice away from calling the place
unoriginal. And the more times we
visited the more we realized NHS has no identity crisis and is not aspiring to
be anything its not. So what is it? Well, read on stupid…
Off of
the appetizer list we have tried the crab dip, fried asparagus, meatballs, and
ricotta & lobster fritters. The crab
dip is ridiculously good. Sweet crab
gets a little kick from roasted green chiles.
A very generous dose of parm cheese cuts the spice just right. Housemade (are any not house made anymore??)
tortilla chips are perfect for dipping and give you that perfect little pointed
edge to dig out the last little bit from the bowl. Trust us; you’ll want that last little
morsel. Something green, tempura
battered and fried is not necessarily ground breaking but these spears are more
than a little addictive. Plunge these
guys into the roasted lemon and dill aioli (yes Leslie, it’s a real aioli) and
you’ll soon be thumb wrestling your table mates for the last stalk. Honestly the meatballs sounded a tad heavy
and even a little out of place on the menu, even with the vaunted Niman Ranch name
in the description. But, since we are
not quite recovering carnivores, we had to give them a shot. Good call.
Think about a BBQ brisket.
Tender, soft, smoky, a hint of spice, right? Then get your mind around rolling that up
into a ball, baking it, and then crumbling Cali’s best blue cheese – Pt. Reyes – over
the top of them. Suddenly, this clunky
sounding starter became festive finger food that was toothpicked up faster than
you can say Neighborhood Services.
Finally, stop me when this doesn’t make you hungry….lobster, cheese,
fried. I’m honestly not sure what the
difference between a fritter and a beignet is, or if there is one, and I’m too
tired to google it so let’s just say the batter was light and fluffy and it
housed just the right amount of ricotta and robsta to remind you this was
something more than a ramped up hushpuppy from the Catfish Barn.
Two
salads were dressed to impress. A
feathery light Boston Bibb came trickled with marcona almonds and perfectly
ripe pear wedges. A handful of chopped
herbs and a drizzle of white balsamic finished it off nicely. The avocado chop is a half avocado stuffed up
with lump crab and dressed with mizuna – kind of a peppery mustard green, a squeeze
of citrus, and a little Dijon. What did
Borät say? It’s a ni-i-i-i-i-i-ce.
More and
more, when we’re out reviewing new restaurants, the appetizers and salads end
up being the standouts on the menu. Not
sure if it’s the recent focus on small plates or what; but we’ve been on a
disappointing run of great apps and so-so main dishes. Not so at NHS. Back in the winter when they first opened, we
had a short rib that was quite possibly the best we’d ever eaten. It was, as it should be, fall off the bone
tender, laced with enough fat to burst with rich, earthy almost gamey
flavor. Served over toasted gnocchi this
was a supremely soul satisfying plate-o-food.
Off the Daily Specials, there is always a Pike Place Market Fresh Fish
special, paying homage to the famous fresh fish market just off the water in Seattle. As Chef Badovinus proclaims on the menu,
these are Prepared Straight Up/Served As Is.
As it should be. We had a
beautiful piece of salmon, pan seared with just the slightest dusting of parmesan. Served beside was a mound of sautéed spinach
with garlic. Perfectly fresh, healthy
and delicious. The scallops were also
amazing. This was more of a wintry
presentation with a quartet of U10’s served atop white cheddar grits with
strands of swiss chard and chunks of chorizo mixed in. The cheese and sausage packed a punch but not
so much that it overpowered the sweet scallops.
For
dessert we’ve tried the homemade Ding Dong several times and its quite a leap
from the foil wrapped orbs we grew up on.
Moist inside and smushed full of real whip cream, it was damn near
criminal to share this.
The wine
list covers familiar territory with mostly California,
Oregon and Washington selections. We’ve said it many times – the food should
match the menu, so don’t slap on a bunch of well known yet ill fitting
selections just to make the list look serious.
Mission
accomplished.
Speaking
of the bar, they have what has to be the best selection of white trash beer
this side of Saginaw. Can you name another fine dining restaurant
that serves Mickey’s Widemouth, Miller High Life (the Champagne of Beers),
Lowenbrau – they still make this?, Schlitz, Pabst Blue Ribbon or PBR, and
Texas’ own Lone Star?? Throw on a wife
beater and meet me at NHS! For snacks
with your WT libation, they’ve
got a great little list of flatbreads if you don’t have time to wait for a
table. We’ve yet to try any of these but
the white bean & pecorino hummus as well as the fennel sausage with
pancetta vinaigrette is definitely calling our name so we’ll be checking those
out soon. If you’ve already tried them,
drop us a line.
In an
even bigger hurry? They’ve got birds you
can get on the fly. Call ahead and
reserve a BIRD-IN-A-BAG, a rotisserie chicken with sides and dessert to
go. They’ll hand it off to you in a GO
GREEN bag that you can return with next time for $5 off the price of your next
chicky chick chick. Wanna be a hero at
home? Roll in with this bag of gourmet
goodies and watch your family attack this bird like a band of jackals. “You’re the BEST dad!”
Polite,
knowledgeable, sincere, attentive, and passionate. In a perfect world, that’s our top 5 of what
we’re looking for in a server. Even in
this day of text toys and faux hawks, I really don’t think that’s too much to
ask. And I feel for the restaurateurs
and GMs out there that are trying to fish in what seems to be a very shallow
talent pool, but Nick and NHS have landed a crew that actually seems to care
about their craft and, more importantly, your experience. Even in their NHS logo sweaters – which look
like a cross between a high school letterman’s sweater and what they might’ve
worn behind the ice cream counter at HP Pharmacy back in the day – these guys
are solid and have a very good command of the room.
Leave the
bustle of Lover’s Lane behind and slink into the low lit and festive dining
room. This place is always jumping and
they don’t take reservations (though you can call ahead and put your name on a
list). Wood and banquet lined walls give
the place a warm and cozy feel. And even
though the kitchen isn’t open air you definitely feel like you’re in the midst
of all the action. And, as we said, Chef
B had a hand in selecting everything and that level of detail really shows.
As we
talked to Chef Badovinus a couple of times before we introduced ourselves, two
things struck us. Back to the top of the
review, I marveled over his super cool hair.
But we were thunderstruck by
how passionate he was about what he was doing.
Even down to discussing how he makes his reductions and the exact spots
where the salmon was fished from, the gleam in his eye was not your typical
chef speak that only comes out when the camera is on. And we were even more impressed that there
were no bigger and better plans on the horizon.
“Should we expect a NHS in Southlake sometime soon?” Nope.
“Perhaps a fancier concept nearby.”
Not a chance. “Will you start
doing cooking classes?” Not so
much. “So what is it you want to
accomplish with this place?” His
shoulders dropped and he gave us a look that said, I’m doing it silly, then simply said, “All I want is a small
footprint neighborhood restaurant. A
place where the neighborhood can come together and socially interact. A place where I can show up and cook and make
a lot of hungry people happy. Then go
home and see my family.” And as he drove
off in his fancy ride, I thought, damn that guy’s got everything.