Restaurant Review: Bowery Uptown

It looks like gourmet burgers have moved aside to make room for hot dogs as the next comfort food to get its trendy haute cuisine moment in Dallas, as evidenced by a number of planned openings by restaurateurs such as Phil Romano (Hofmann Hots) and Sarah Lombardi of Lombardi Family Concepts (Dog House). Add Tiffanee and Richard Ellman of Oak and John Paul Valverde of the recently shuttered Campo Modern to that list. The threesome partnered to open Bowery Uptown in mid-July. The original menu was dominated by dogs of all kinds, from the Chicago style to a savory beer-braised bratwurst to a duck sausage topped with seared foie gras. That last one cost $18. It comes as no surprise that the foie gras dog has been put down, as have several of Bowery’s other gourmet and pricey offerings. Within the past couple of months, the once dog-centric eatery has added more burgers and salads to the menu. So how is the food at the transformed Bowery? Stick with the hot dogs. The aforementioned Chicago Dog does the Windy City proud. The meat has nice snap and it’s dressed with everything you’d expect: sport peppers, yellow mustard, tomato, and more. The Korn Dog sports a slightly sweet cornmeal batter. “Better than Fletcher’s,” one of my tablemates claimed. “Blasphemy,” I said, though it was tasty. Dogs with an international flair include a delicious banh mi-inspired creation with house-made pork sausage, pork belly, and pickled daikon. Of the sides, we fell for the addictive kale chips: small leaves flash fried and hit with a squeeze of lemon. As for the new additions, skip them. The burgers and salads we tried were ho-hum. If you’re going to Bowery, go for the dogs. That is, if they remain on the menu.