Bow & Truss; you could have been a contender!

When I first saw signs of a new restaurant being built in my neighborhood, I was intrigued. When I found out it was Spanish Tapas, I was overjoyed. When I went there last night, I was let-down.

Bow & Truss on Magnolia Blvd opened a few weeks ago and it’s from the same masterminds behind one of my favorites: The Federal Bar on Lankershim Blvd.

When you walk into Bow & Truss, you are welcomed by the sounds of Spanish guitar and you instantly feel like you’re in a Plaza outside Madrid. The ambiance here gets a 10 in my book.

I ordered a Dolores Park Sizzle, and I should have listened to my better judgment and just stuck to wine. I had to convince myself to get a cocktail and at $12 dollars a pop I wanted more than just a pretty drink. The wines on the other hand are great! Lots of nice Spanish wines and at pretty reasonable prices-especially by the bottle.

The chef’s amuse bouche was green olives and almonds and neither really rocked my world, but I figured it’s because these were the freebees.

My friend and I had tapas for dinner: the standard cheese and jamon plates. These were pretty tasty, but there really isn’t any cooking involved. The jamon was served with nice mustards, and the cheese had some jellies, but I it tasted like Smuckers to me.

My biggest pet-peeve though was the bread that accompanied the charcuterie. These enormous platters were served with 4 crisps of slightly burned toast. It wasn’t even enough to handle half of the cold cuts! I felt like Oliver Twist, shamelessly begging for more pan!

Bow & Truss… no one wanted to like you more than me 🙁

I’m not a restaurateur, but I feel this place could be so much better than it is.

 Happy Hour? More Bread?…just some suggestions…