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I Went to Neighborhood Services Tavern Last Night and Wrote This Post to Prove It

Posted on March 24th, 2010 2:10pm by Tim Rogers
Filed under Celebrity Chefs, Openings, Restaurant News, cocktails

For a couple months now, a guy named Jason Kosmas and I have been trying to find time to meet each other. A mutual friend had introduced us via e-mail. Jason was moving to Dallas from New York. He was a bartender. He was trying to get the lay of the land here, booze-wise. Finally, a few days ago, he sent me a note saying that he was working at Nick Badovinus’ new place, Neighborhood Services Tavern, and that I should stop by. So I told him I’d stop by yesterday.

“I’ll be the guy with the most badass mustache you’ve ever seen,” I told him.

“The second-most badass,” he wrote back.

It was only after meeting Jason last night — and being mightily impressed with his manly handlebar mustache — that I came to appreciate just who the fellow is. Calling him a bartender is like calling Da Vinci a tinkerer. Or calling Ghengis Khan “ambitious.” Hyperbolic? Perhaps. Am I still drunk from last night? Almost certainly. But it’s fair to say that Jason deserves some of the credit for this whole “cocktails are an art, too” national movement. Jason is the first bartender I’ve seen who mixes drinks with his nose, smelling the glass after adding each ingredient to ensure that he’s got the ratio right.

Me, I had a Thunderball (Zacapa 23-year-old run, tea-infused vermouth, lemon juice, ginger beer), a Bourbon and Bullets (Buffalo Trace, lemon juice, chai grenadine, Absinthe), and a few sips of my colleague’s New Fang (Sazerac rye whiskey, St. Germain, sugar, and orange bitters) and Griffon’s Gimlet (vodka (or gin or tequila) shaken with a housemade lime cordial). Also, I think I tried a little Pimm’s Cup (Pimm’s #1, Triplum, lime juice, cucumber, mint, ginger ale). All cocktails are $11.

Jason’s the kind of guy who can talk your ear off about mixology theory and tell you all about the special preparation of the various infusions he’s got going on behind the sticks — or just shut up and let you drink. Some guys try real hard to impress you with what they know about booze; Jason’s not one of those guys (which is why I didn’t fully appreciate who was making my drinks until I Googled him later). And, as mentioned, there’s the stache.

Which brings us to the food, a good portion of which wound up sticking to my own personal facial hair. Thing is, I hadn’t planned on eating. But Nick Badovinus was there last night, and he would not be denied.

Here’s the thing about Nick. I know him socially. We worked a charity event together once. But I don’t know him. And I’ve eaten at his Neighborhood Services, on Lovers, exactly once. I took my mom in for her birthday about a year ago. Yet last night, Nick walked up to me at the bar — golden locks flowing, eyes twinkling — and said, “Hey, Tim, how’s your mom doing?”

(As long as we’re talking about hair: you’ve seen Nick’s hair, right? I think I could hold my own in a “stache off” with Jason, mainly because of the novelty factor (mine’s red). But Nick’s hair is unparalleled. You’ve seen Inglourious Basterds? If I’d had a big ol’ hunting knife with me last night, I would have used it to scalp Nick and make the best toupee ever known to mankind. Nick, consider yourself warned.)

Okay, so Nick starts sending out food: meatballs, sausage, baby back ribs with spicy pickled veggies as a side, chicken wings with Point Reyes blue cheese dipping sauce, crackers and whipped chick pea spread (aka hummus, to you and me). It was all tasty and all presented delightfully. The chicken wings, made with something called Wang sauce, tasted to me almost like they had been dipped in a mole sauce. (I made this observation to Jason, and he was kind enough to correct me and not cut me off.) The sausage was my least favorite foodstuff we tried. Like everything else, it’s made in house, but it was too chewy.

The foregoing might lead you to believe that Neighborhood Services Tavern serves bar food. Yes and no. You’re familiar with the term “gastro pub”? More like that. For $14, you can get a Cleaver & Block Burger (ground chuck and brisket, cheddars, caramelized onions, frites). But there’s also seared scallops scampi ($19), glazed Fundy salmon ($20), and “The Schnitz” ($21, pounded veal saddle, black pepper spaetzle, beer-braised chard, pan jus). And the wine guy? He was a sommelier at Charlie Palmer before coming to NST. On the low end, you’ll find several bottles in the $30 range and only one topping $110 (an Andrew Will Cabernet Blend from Columbia Valley, Washington). Most bottles on the short list fall in the $50-to-$60 range.

If wine and cocktails aren’t your thing, NST serves Stella, New Belgium 1554, Boulevard Wheat, and Abita Pale Ale on tap. On ice behind the bar, displayed in all their glory, are cans of Schlitz, Lone Star, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. (“Heineken?! Eff that s—! Pabst! Blue! Ribbon!” Quick, name the movie.) Each will cost you $4. Did I forget to mention there’s also Mickey’s?

For some, a beer selection like that might be seen as a cutesy, cloying contrivance. There are other touches, too, that suggest their creators were up late, sampling their own drink recipes when they hit on them. There is a PA system in the men’s bathroom (I assume in the women’s loo, too). Last night, the Books On Tape version of Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger was playing over the speakers. (My colleague returned from relieving himself to report that he’d heard the section wherein Bond orders Pussy Galore to get into his bed.) When you receive your bill, it is delivered under the cover of a miniature hard-back volume of Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Encyclopedia (an idea perhaps borrowed from Neighborhood Services’ neighbor Shinsei, which similarly uses children’s books). And as with the Neighborhood Services location on Lovers, the staff wears a preppy uniform — though instead of white sweaters, here the servers don blue rugby shirts with the initial of their first names on one breast and the NST logo (a griffin) on the other. The bartenders are exempt from the uniform. So is the hostess, who last night was wearing a beautiful, sheer dress. I don’t know why the bartenders are exempt; I do know why the hostess is.

For me, the quirky touches are charming. They aren’t overdone. When they get in the way of service, they are abandoned. (When NST opened, the bills were delivered between playing cards, which wound up littering the place. It was a bad idea. Out went the playing cards, and in came the mini encyclopedias.)

Before I tell you that I think the place is worth a visit based on my experience, I am duty bound to reveal the “material connections,” as they are known the Federal Trade Commission. I did not pay the full price of that which I consumed. The check came to slightly more than $30. I did not look closely at it, but I’m guessing it included only the liquids and left out the comestibles — which included, right at the end, a chicken.

“Look, Nick, I’ve got to get going. I told my wife I’d pick up some dinner on the way home, and I’m already late.”

“Let me make you a chicken.”

“That’s too kind of you. I can’t accept a chicken.”

“Nonsense, let me pan-sear you a chicken. It’ll just take a second.” [blond mane disappears into kitchen]

Am I biased? It is impossible for me not to be, I supposed. But if biased is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. The place is worth a visit based on my experience.

28 comments

  1. The hostess was hot.

    @ 2:18 pm on March 24, 2010

  2. [...] to know about Nick Badovinus’ new joint on Henderson, Neighborhood Services Tavern, I offer this report on SideDish. Leave a [...]

    @ 2:26 pm on March 24, 2010

  3. You ate Nick’s Wang sauce?

    @ 2:31 pm on March 24, 2010

  4. Not quick, but Blue Velvet.

    Please tell us more about male facial hair.

    @ 2:37 pm on March 24, 2010

  5. Thanks Tri…, I mean Nick. Thanks Nick!

    @ 2:38 pm on March 24, 2010

  6. After reading this post, why has Jason decided to go from the high-profile scene of NYC and settle on Henderson Ave? Not that I don’t appreciate him already (I’m going to see him tonight in fact) but it’s curious that his career and location have taken such a turn. Any idea why?

    @ 2:44 pm on March 24, 2010

  7. @Drinkie: Jason moved here for the same reason that all New Yorkers move here: he wanted to live a more sane, more affordable life. His wife has family here. He has a 2-year-old and wants to have another kid. He’s looking to buy a house.

    And he still maintains ownership interest in two places in NYC, if memory serves. So he’s back and forth between here and there a lot. Which is also why he didn’t want to open his own place in Dallas.

    Good question, though.

    @ 2:52 pm on March 24, 2010

  8. Jason deserves every bit of praise you’ve given him. I met him several months back when he did a guest bartending stint at the Windmill Lounge. he REALLY knows his stuff.

    and the ’stache is the kind of thing you read about in history books.

    @ 3:05 pm on March 24, 2010

  9. I contend that you are fickle in your assessment of facial hair, Mr. Rogers.

    @ 3:41 pm on March 24, 2010

  10. Geez, Tim, fellate much?

    @ 4:04 pm on March 24, 2010

  11. Neighborhood Services is truly awesome… yet, this place sounds ever more AWESOMER. I’m out of town and can’t wait to get back to check this out…. heck, the photo alone has me intrigued.

    @ 4:36 pm on March 24, 2010

  12. @RAB: Per our earlier conversation, you need to resist your urge to kick people off pedestals merely because they’re on them. Some people belong on pedestals. People with great hair.

    @ 5:10 pm on March 24, 2010

  13. Praise is one thing; this is slobbering.

    @ 5:48 pm on March 24, 2010

  14. Have a few drinks and drive home. It’s not like there are kids riding their bikes around the neighborhood or anything.

    @ 7:58 pm on March 24, 2010

  15. @Mike: I arrived at 5 and left at 7. I weigh close to 180 pounds. I tend to keep track of the numbers that point to a BAC. I exaggerated my tippling in this post for — I hope — comic effect. Fairly certain if I’d been pulled over that I’d have blown under the limit. Sorry if this is a sensitive subject for you.

    @ 10:29 pm on March 24, 2010

  16. @RAB: I await your refutations. Till then, you bring nothing to the table.

    @ 10:32 pm on March 24, 2010

  17. Tim, don’t apologize to Mike. If a kid riding a bicycle down the sidewalk gets in my way after a few drinks, I just take him out. Survival of the fittest, baby!

    @ 7:44 am on March 25, 2010

  18. Mustaches are typically the province of porn stars, pimps, hipster weenies and Burt Reynolds. All present company excluded, of course. But does distract from one’s premature balding.

    @ 9:40 am on March 25, 2010

  19. @Tom Selleck: Don’t forget Chuck Norris. TC and I will be by to pick you guys up in the chopper later.

    @ 10:43 am on March 25, 2010

  20. Marcus is right re: Thanks Tristan comment. I agree with everything posted here, as I was with Mr. Rogers during the excursion. However, we did give Sarah Eveans a lot of online grief — and she was reprimanded by Wick — for sort of doing the same thing Tim just did: writing about having a great experience and being treated well at a new restaurant opening. IJS.

    @ 11:03 am on March 25, 2010

  21. Of course, that was three years ago, which means it didn’t even happen as far as our Brave New World is concerned. Nevermind. Go free drinks! Wooooooo!

    @ 11:05 am on March 25, 2010

  22. I’d like to see a restaurant dress their staff in parachute pants. As in, mighty-tighty-plastic-y Grandmaster Flash parachute pants, not balloon-ish-cartoon-ish-sparkly MC Hammer pants.

    And while we’re at it, why not bring back the mesh 1/2 shirt?

    @ 11:05 am on March 25, 2010

  23. Dear Sales Guy,

    May I recommend checking your 2008 ad revenues from Tristan vs. 2009-10 revenues from Nick? If I was Wick, that’s part of the reason I’d yell at the hired help for the slobbery promotion.

    @ 1:06 pm on March 25, 2010

  24. Not to stick up for Tim because, really, I think a steel cage match between Eric and Tim with Sarah running in near the end of the match to smash a chair over Tim’s head would be extremely entertaining and worth at least a $5 admission fee, but there were pretty big differences between the two “review” (like how I did the quotes thing there?). Tim disclosed his relationship with Nick, as well as the numerous freebies. I’d also rely on the fact that Tim disclosed he was soused, but we already assumed that anyway. In Sarah’s defense, her review was posted as she was running to catch a plane.

    OTOH, I don’t really care. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!

    @ 1:55 pm on March 25, 2010

  25. Despite Tim’s relationship with Nick/freebies, I had an absolutely fantastic dinner at NST on Thursday night. Sorry, folks, but the slobbering is warranted.

    @ 2:16 pm on March 29, 2010

  26. If Jason is doing anything at NST even close to the work he put into Employees Only in New York, then I’m sure it will be a hit. Good cocktail service is still absurdly hard to find in Dallas, so I’m happy to have Jason now calling Dallas home.

    @ 2:38 pm on March 29, 2010

  27. I had the pleasure of dining there last night. The weather was perfect for an evening on the cozy, perfectly decorated patio. We arrived around 7:30 to one of the most memorable dining experiences I will ever have.

    I’ve never dined at Neighborhood Services, so I’m unable to compare it with the new NS Tavern. We were presented with the menu and after a few minutes excitedly devised a game plan to sample these wonderful menu items. The menu is unreal, unlike anything my eyes have feasted on in Dallas. My girlfriend and I tend to stay with drinks, splitting an app, and sometimes splitting en entree…this night would not be the case.

    We had a great waitress – fun, smart, knowledgeable, no hovering, and an expert on timing. Without using a cheat sheet she beautifully described the 5 specials of the day (all sounding incredibly scrumtralescent). Great, our game plan just went to sh*t because the specials that our waitress mentioned just made me foam at the mouth, in a good way.

    Forgive me for forgetting an ingredient or two, but we ended up ordering the Monday night appetizer special (as my mouth waters) – tuna and halibut ceviche served with “angry” Marconna almonds, grapefruit and blood oranges, onion, and a couple small greens I was unfamiliar with, but found delectable. The dish is served with guacamole and chips on the side. Ceviche is one of my favorite dishes of all-time, and this interpretation may very well have been the best, of all-time. The flavor combinations in the ceviche and everything else I ate were inconceivably delicious.

    My girlfriend and I were then served (as a Niagara Falls-like drool escapes my mouth) a side of perfectly battered and flavored onion rings, a wedge salad for her, and seared scallops on a risotto-like cous cous for me. Perfectly executed – taste, presentation, satisfaction, sexiness. I feel as though I should stop typing because I’m running out of syllables and my best attempt at describing the awesomeness of the food would still be a futile, undeserving attempt. I almost feel like driving there, as we speak, standing on top of the roof and…singing, loudly. Let’s just say that if I was on my deathbed or on death row and was granted one more meal…I would request a menu from Neighborhood Services Tavern on Henderson. As we walked to the car I was looking for the grim reaper…or a sweet angel.

    @ 2:47 pm on March 30, 2010

  28. Our experience was very much the same, DS. The place is fabulous. Hope it’s consistent!

    @ 2:09 pm on April 1, 2010