Bo’s Kitchen & Bar Room – Yea You Right

After a reader recently attacked us for judging a restaurant after eating there once (a disclaimer we gave at the beginning of our review, nonetheless, but he seemed to be the only person offended by it), I decided I’d wait until after my second visit to Bo’s to give it the props it deserves. In all honesty, I made the second reservation for a week after I first dined there, because I just had to bring my partner in Pants back with me to try it.

Bo’s Kitchen and Bar Room opened pretty quietly in the end of November, in an area where lots of new places are popping up – I wouldn’t call it NoMad, and I wouldn’t quite call it Flatiron, but either way it’s around the corner from Eataly on W 24th St., and super convenient for us. Our first visit this winter on a freezing Friday night (shocking) warmed me up immediately with a lively, packed bar and a creative cocktail menu, inclusive of a “Pickle Program,” where you pick your poison and then pick your pickle. While I love me a craft cocktail every now and then, I was thrilled I was able to put my own little touch to my standard vodka order. Side note – the bar is a great spot to meet up with friends or coworkers, and downstairs there’s also a lounge called the Garden District (open Thurs-Sun) which is a new Thursday night hotspot.

When we were escorted back to the pretty small (and super loud) dining room, we were sat in front of the large “Yea You Right” sign which has already become the standard Instagram shot for the restaurant. Simple dining room, but appropriately fun with some nice big booths for larger parties.

Our waiter was friendly, explained that the menu is a fusion of New Orleans and NYC fare, and give us some highlights without us even asking. This was convenient, but he definitely didn’t get the memo that the Pants does serious  menu creeping and formulates our order before we even walk in the door…  He then brought over a magical carb offering, Monkey Bread. While it doesn’t look fancy, it was perfectly crisp around the edges and soft and buttery (VERY buttery) in the center. This place went from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds as we devoured our bread and reconsidered our order…

During my two visits, we started with the fluke,  the fried alligator, the roasted oysters, and the low country ham.  The fluke with housemade hot sauce, crispy okra and pickled chanterelle was pretty standard, yet fresh, however I didn’t get much pop from the hot sauce. The fried alligator, being something you don’t see every day, was basically on every table, and was definitely good, although it pretty much tasted like anything else you can fry and dip in spicy mayo… no complaints here though! The roasted oysters had a touch of grano padano, which was an interesting and welcoming Kosher twist (kidding). Finally, the low country ham was a smokey proscuitto served with warm biscuits, butter and a marmalade that when combined, balanced each other perfectly and made for a burst of flavor in each yummy bite.

Entrees were also a difficult choice, and while most dishes were highlights, the fried chicken fell short. It was seasoned well and tasted fine, but it was just a little more ambitious than we hoped for a Southern staple. There was some weird mush underneath the bird that we thought was possibly some sort of mash, but ended up tasting just like a hunk of butter mixed in with the herbs… yuck. The sauce was also really thick and made the dish a lot more rich than necessary. However what the chicken lacked, the pork chop, curried goat, and shrimp made up for tenfold.

The curried goat was cooked perfectly, braised and served in a bowl with cauliflower and brussel’s sprouts, which again made for tasty and balanced bites of tender goat and crunchy vegetables mixed together in the curry. The pork chop, also cooked perfectly, was served with an apple mixture on top, and nestled on top of cabbage and farro with a homemade Creole mustard. The sweetness of the apples balanced out the punch of the mustard, and a pork jus added saltiness, and when eaten with the farro and cabbage, produced a faultless forkful. The Shrimp Fra Diavolo was a creative, Creole twist on the Italian classic, with the grilled wild shrimp nestled on top of creamy (and cheesy) grits, and served with a spicy chili relish. The flavors and textures meshed excellently, and while not super spicy, it was definitely a dish I’d go back there for.

You’d think that after all this food, we’ve be stuffed, but we had to keep going –  everything we ate was pushing this NOLA-NYC ship forward, so how could we not see what was in store for dessert? While the chocolate bread pudding was my choice (and I’ve since read that it’s incredible), we ordered the Pecan Bar with candied bacon (best way to get my husband to eat dessert is for there to be bacon on it), and although he liked it, I wasn’t as impressed… next time, I’m coming for you hazelnut profiteroles and bread pudding!

Whether it’s post-work drinks, date night, or a (loud) dinner with friends, Bo’s is a solid, fun spot and it’s food is really damn good. Check it out soon so you can then tell me “Yea, you right!”