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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Late in the Hip Parade
Not picking on any one place in particular, but Chow, Baby is beginning to suffer from hip-sushi-joint fatigue. In now-and-then doses they’re exciting and fun, but en masse they’re sensory-overwhelming, like a TNT marathon of those stylish mid-decade crime shows with Crystal Method bomp-bomp-wowwing over the flash-cut opening credits — after a few consecutive episodes, last season’s hyper-hipness just seems sooooo last season. You want to roll your eyes, but that just makes the headache worse.
Cowtown Sushi (2225 W. Southlake Blvd., Southlake) — to pick on one place in particular, though mostly just for its those-two-words-do-not-go-together name — is less hyper-hip than most. Oh, it’s got the wall-o-water and the 1990s-futuristic pendant lamps and the floaty barback with blue-lit cutouts showcasing boutique vodkas. But the music was on the trance end of techno, very soothing, and the hostess/server’s curtness seemed to be an inherent personality trait rather than a snub of Chow, Baby’s conspicuous non-hipness. That was refreshing.
Perhaps because it’s on the Keller edge of Southlake, Cowtown Sushi’s prices are reasonable: Most sushi and sashimi is $1.90-$2.75 per piece, though you have to order sashimi in lots of five, all the same. Chow, Baby’s five different sushi bites — big double and triple bites, actually — were super fresh and silky and beautifully presented with pretty sauce-swirls of pale green wasabi mayo and bright yellow spicy mustard. All the usual roll suspects are present and also reasonably priced (example: spicy tuna roll, $5.95) plus a couple of dozen specialty rolls ($11-$13.50). When in doubt, go local: Chow, Baby’s Keller roll ($13.25) was a marvelous concoction of fried shrimp, cucumber, red tuna, and avocado, with more squiggly sauces. No witty banter from the aloof chef, but Cowtown Sushi is well-crafted, dependable, reassuringly old-school. You could call it the Law & Order of sushi bars, except that the words “law” and “order” go together.
¡Hola, Bedford!
This could be a good culture-clash TV show: What happens when you open the first authentic Mexican taqueria in a suburb that’s 92.8 percent non-Hispanic? Hoo, exotica! Astonishing to ’burb-scorning Chow, Baby, El Paisa (2801 Harwood Ave., Bedford), in a former Dairy Queen that’s now unrecognizable under bright red and yellow paint, seems to be doing quite well serving food that’s hardly Anglo-fied at all. Sure, the barbacoa had no hint of brains, and you get offered lettuce and tomato on your tacos, and the horchata (small $1.10) doesn’t come out of a big jug. But that horchata, like everything else, tastes wonderfully homemade.
Asado de puerco ($4.99) starred big chunks of pork, with almost all of the fat and bones trimmed off, simmered in a medium-spicy guajillo chili sauce; very nice. The taco plate doesn’t seem like a deal — two tacos for $4.99 when they’re $1.25 a la carte? — but the plate’s soupy, lard-flavorful beans and fluffy Spanish rice make upsizing worth it. The mildness of the taco meats (aw, Chow, Baby should have asked if they actually ever sell any lengua tacos in these parts) is easily remedied with the doctor-it-yourself salsa bar. Thick fresh-fried chips and delayed-burn salsa ($1.50) were so good that Chow, Baby forgot (until now) to grumble that they should be free. But that’s the suburbs for you.
Contact Chow, Baby at chowbaby@fwweekly.com.
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