Boulton & Watt: Steam Pub

[Pigging by Wilfrid: January 16, 2012]

James Watt famously developed the steam engine.  In partnership with Matthew Boulton, he made and marketed them.  What better name for a steampunk gastro-pub with ersatz British trimmings?

Boulton & Watt brought its industrial look--and noise--to what had been Nice Guy Eddie's at the bottom of Avenue just before the holidays.  It's already a smash.  And not without reason.

I had my doubts, not least because the team behind it also run the "cocktail" bar Ella a few doors up, one of my least favorite venues in the neighborhood.  There also seemed to be something perfunctory--pandering, even--about the menu of pickles and burgers and bone marrow.  Although the seating (high, communal, awkward) is uncongenial, and the racket from the bar crowd deafening, I admit to being pleased by the polished service, and by some of the food.

The managers (and chef) are certainly earnest about the cooking: very keen that diners understand and enjoy it.  We'll see how that positive attitude endures, given the bar's dominant role as profit-center.

As a neighborhood observer, it was curious to see the Nice Guy Eddie's crowd traded overnight, and wholesale, for a new clientele.  Gone the casually-dressed sports fans and local workers.  Hail the pressed white shirts.  But the new crowd is a drinking crowd too.

Speaking of which, nice to see 50cl carafes on the menu, and a flat rate for wines ($35 the bottle, $20 the carafe, $10 the glass).  The list is unfussy.  I took on some Malbec.  It's a Malbec sort of place.

Yes, there's a pickle section on the menu.  Eight varieties, from carrots with cumin to brussel sprouts with garlic and dill.  Four bucks buys you a jar, and I did like the gently sweet okra. 

Three jars for $10, for those with hearty pickle appetites.  This is why I have a problem with pickle festivals: I don't really want more than two or three pickles on any one occasion,

I was tempted by pigs-in-a-blanket, but the Scotch egg won out.  Round and very brown, and garnished with petit mache, it could have been dull.  In fact, it showed imagination and deft execution.

The execution: keeping the egg soft and runny in its meat shell.  But a lot of kitchens can do that.  The imagination: introducing some very smoky pork to the blend.  A baconey Scotch egg.  Great idea.

I probably shouldn't have ordered the duck confit croquettes, simply because they looked so much like miniature versions of the Scotch egg.  More breaded globes.  These were boring--more about potato than duck: the spicy harissa aïoli, for dipping, was essential.

Looking around me, I could see that the burger was the popular choice.  It comes as a big plate, with fries and fixings ($14).  It held more appeal than the brief list of entrées--chicken, steak-frites, fish'n'chips, duck confit carbonara--but I can't eat a burger everywhere.

Instead, I weighed myself down with an order of short-rib and bone marrow toast.

A little heavy on the salt, but altogether a pleasantly fatty mess, heaped on sturdy, toasted bread.

Curiously, just about everything on the menu (except the steak) is priced between $10 and $17: burgers, salads, "snacks" and mains.  The result, together with the wine program, is a reasonable check.

Here's the website.