At Bistro 108, beef, brew and more to come
Have you seen the ads in the paper for Bistro 108?
First National Beef & Brew, 108 Court St. just off Public Square in downtown Watertown, is now Bistro 108. As part of the gradual changeover, the new fancy Bistro 108 logo appears in the front windows while the old overhanging Beef & Brew sign remains outside.
Dave Bartlett, owner of Johnny D's Casual Dining in the Paddock Arcade, is the new owner. The ads mention happy hour specials, their featured prime rib and live music on the weekends.
We were too late for happy hour and too early for the weekend music. And prime rib is prime rib pretty much wherever you go. We were there to see how the food at Bistro 108 was different from the food at Beef & Brew.
But first things first.
Our party of four arrived in waves. The first member was greeted warmly, offered a seat and asked if she cared for something to drink. Similar accommodations were extend to the rest of our party as they arrived.
The place is beautiful, every table as you enter impressively decorated with colors of the season, red napkins artistically folded at each place setting. One person in our party remarked, "It took my breath away." Lighting is subdued and just right. Small, cozy cubicles separate the inviting front dining area from the busy bar area at the back.
The layout hasn't changed at all, and neither has the menu. In fact, we were handed the old menu with Beef & Brew all over it. There are more than a dozen panani choices like turkey and brie, ham and mozzarella, Reuben, BLT and more, their "infamous" prime rib, and dinner options that include chicken, ribs, tilapia, crab cakes and shepherd's pie.
Most are cleverly titled with banking references. Our waiter, David, told us the new menu will contain most of the Beef & Brew selections but without the clever names, plus the addition of several Italian specialties like chicken and eggplant Parmesan, lobster ravioli and manicotti.
It was a good night for soup, and Bistro 108's soups were delightful.
Italian wedding soup consisted of the traditional tiny meatballs, spinach and small beadlike pasta in a satisfying chicken stock.
Tomato Florentine was excellent; thick, hearty and tomatoey with pasta and chopped spinach swirled in.
Both these soups were made in-house. Their lobster bisque comes from one of their restaurant suppliers, David told us, but gets "doctored up" in the kitchen with a touch of sherry and some other magic. It was creamy, smooth and rich with prominent flavors of lobster and sherry.
Salads are available a la carte. Tossed salad consisted of crisp greens, roasted red peppers and small pieces of chopped red onion. Crumbly blue cheese was not available, but feta was offered, so we went with that. Caesar salad utilized crisp romaine lettuce. The dressing was light on garlic, allowing the flavors of lemon and Parmesan cheese to shine.
On to the dinner selections.
Memphis-style barbecue pork ribs ($12.99) — "A two-pound pile of slow-roasted ribs with a touch of smoke" — sounded great
Quantity did not match the menu description. Six sliced baby back ribs didn't appear to weigh in at even one pound.
The unsauced ribs were certainly slow-roasted tender, a tad on the fatty side, the meat just beginning to fall off the bone. They lacked a little on flavor, but the barbecue sauce served on the side came to the rescue.
Fresh baby carrots that accompanied were a bit overcooked. Cole slaw, made with red and green cabbage and carrots, was heavy on vinegar and light on mayo.
A half chicken ($11.99) proved to be extremely moist and tender, also slow roasted, according to the menu. This was one large plateful of food, with scoops of mashed potato and stuffing underneath the chicken.
With 15 pananis on the menu, it was tough to decide on just one. I got the "Cubano panini," ($6.99), patterned after a Cuban sandwich, introduced to southern Florida by Cuban immigrants there.
The menu listed all the right components: rubbed pork, baked ham, salami, Swiss cheese, dill slices and mustard. The panini was chock full of all these ingredients except the most important one, the rubbed pork. Some kind of mystery deli meat was substituted, which threw the flavor of the sandwich off for me. But I guess if you never had a real Cuban sandwich, you'd never know.
Spaghetti and meatballs ($8.99), a special the night we were there, is one of the Italian dishes slated to be on the expanded menu.
The peppery, cheesy meatballs were tasty but the sauce didn't measure up. There was something strange about it that we just couldn't put our finger on. With so many choices for Italian food in Watertown, we hope Bistro 108 comes up with a tomato sauce recipe that draws people to the restaurant rather than send them to the competition.
Chocolate lava cake was your typical microwaved dessert with the molten chocolate center, served with whipped topping and a cherry. Raspberry cream layer cake was sweet and light, alternating thin layers of ladyfinger-like cake and raspberry cream filling.
Their homemade desserts were very good. We especially enjoyed the apple pie — firm apples, all the right spices, served warm as though it came right out of grandma's oven. Pumpkin roll used a cream cheese filling that masked the pumpkin to a certain extent, making you think you were eating carrot cake.
Dinner for four came to $89 before tax and tip.
The staff at Bistro 108 is genuinely concerned about their customers. The owner stopped by our table to chat for a minute. The chef came by to make sure everything was OK.
And David is the quintessential seasoned waiter, having worked in several Watertown restaurants over the years.
The bar had a good aprés-work crowd of professionals the night we were there. It's a cozy room with a warm fireplace, guaranteed to keep you there for more than one drink.
You can contact restaurant reviewer Walter Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
Bistro 108 (formerly First National Beef & Brew)
108 Court St.
Watertown, NY
755-2333
Comfortable dining, great ambiance, professional service at this locally owned downtown Watertown restaurant.
HOURS: Opens at 11 a.m. Kitchen open until 9 p.m., bar until 10 (midnight on Friday and Saturday). Closed Sunday for now, but that may change to Monday.
Choose from 15 paninis, a half-dozen dinner entrées and their "infamous" prime rib, served nightly. A revised menu due in the coming weeks will add Italian specialties.
RATING: 3 and one-half forks
