Bowery Lane: Preferential Treatment

I don't review service standards very much in my blog posts, but with my foray into Bowery Lane territory, I am compelled to speak of it.

5 mins into being seated, I stuck my hand stiffly in the air, beckoning for some attention to our incoming orders. 2 minutes later, with a bit of flailing action, still no response, the servers buzzing around the larger tables packed with corporate clients and men in dapper suits and slick shoes. Feeling a slight sore in my arm, I lowered my arm in dire hope that someone would notice our despaired faces. Well, that didn't happen. My partner literally had to drag an "unsuspecting" waitress by the arm to our table.

After placing our orders, we settled in for the wait. Partially fuming from the slow and amateurish service.

The Reuben ($16) received bleak stares from the both of us. The rye bread like an anemic child devoid of the sun. My heart sank at the pitiful portion of salt beef sandwiched between the two limp slices of 'toast'. To make matters worse, upon picking up the sandwich, the salt beef fell like sawdust on the wooden board, bits and pieces, odds and ends, as if stripped from the bottom of the tray. The only palate piquing part of the dish were the sweet potato crisps, wafer thin and deliciously salted. I was offered a glimpse into small moments when the kitchen achieves transcendence.

Faring better is the Pork Cotoletta ($27), a fancy schnitzel with flashes of decadence from the occasional bits of unctuous fats marbled into it. Served with garlic aioli, this dish got a bit jarring halfway; hence the accompanying slaw, the lemon like bites and the citrus quality in the salad acting as welcome rays of sunlight breaking through the monotony.

Unfortunately for me, Bowery Lane does not make the cut. The service needs major improvement and the sprawling industrial chic space doesn't ultimately work in their favour on a busy afternoon lunch.

Perhaps I should have given the slow cooked lamb shoulder a go instead. *shrugs*