Neighborhood Services Tavern

Cyberspace: www.neighborhoodservicesdallas.com

Where to Find It: 2405 N. Henderson, Dallas, TX 75206

Food Group: New American/Gastro Pub

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: A

Faves: Double Deviled Eggs, Butterscotch Pot de Crème!! And Our Neighbors

Peeves: I wasn’t hungry enough to try more

The Jibba Jab:

Now I know that I’ve reviewed the NeighborHood Services Bar and Grill in North Dallas on Preston already, but I heard that this location is better, which is conveniently located right near Veritas Wine Room, and after enjoying a few glasses of the half-priced wine and a cheese plate there, my girlfriend and I moseyed our way to NHS for some real grub. 

Sangria - Check out the ice cubes!

We were immediately sat, but I was quite surprised at how full the place was on a Monday.  After researching the menu, we decided that we hadn’t had enough to drink at Veritas, so why not order a pitcher of ice-cold Sangria on this scorching hot summer night.  Our waitress immediately complied, while we pondered about what we wanted to eat.  Because we already had a bit of a snack earlier, we opted to just get a few more of shared snacks such as their Standard Dips of Crab and Artichoke Gratin and Roasted Salsa with red salted corn chips, Double Deviled Eggs made with pepper and a bacon relish, and finally the Feisty Greek Sliders that consisted of roasted lamb, greens, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce……mmmmm!  Our Sangria came out incredibly refreshing and beautiful, especially with the big perfect cubes of ice in our glasses.  Its crazy how something as seemingly insignificant as ice can take a drink to a completely new level of sophistication just by being geometrically uniform.  The gratin and salsa weren’t anything to remember, so I suggest skipping it, and move on to the Deviled Eggs as a starter.  Now these were much better than their sister restaurant in North Dallas, which were under-seasoned and mostly boring.  These had Pow from the peppers and wonderful contrast in texture from the towers of a gorgeous yellow creamy center to the crunch of the smoky, salty, bacon.  Marvelous!  Next, the Greek Sliders were placed on our table and I think I dove in not really thinking about anything else because I love sliders, or everything in the burger family, for that matter.  They were quite good in taste, particularly with the always and forever marriage of spicy lamb and a great, cooling tzatziki sauce, but the lamb to bun ratio was a bit off.  I thought too much bun action and not enough lamb.  Don’t skimp on the good stuff!! 

Standard Dips - Salsa and Crab and Artichoke Gratin

Double Deviled Eggs

Double Deviled Eggs

Feisty Greek Sliders

Feisty Greek Slider

At this point, we were finishing up and drinking that last of our Sangria, but we couldn’t help but notice throughout our meal, the two ladies dining at the table right next to us, who unquestionably were having a great time.  Somehow we all sparked up a conversation, and the next thing we knew, they were telling us that we just had to try their Butterscotch Pot de Crème.  One of the ladies said it was so amazing she called it Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!  I loved her description, so I knew that we needed to take them up on their generous offer, and we certainly did.  Now the name makes this dessert sound fancy, but NHS presents it in a brilliant jar with little wooden spoons for everyone at the table to dig their way to the bottom of this delicious masterpiece.  I took one scoop, and knew straight away why our neighbor called it Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!  The sweet and salty, velvety, buttery rich caramel creaminess made we want to use it as a mask on my face, so I could lick it off later.  Now that’s addicting!  Then, I tried to think of a way to re-create this dish at home, so I could bring it to a party and be the smashing hit!  I might be stalking the chef for the recipe in the near future.  Finally, I would have to say between this location and the one on Preston, opt for this one.  The menu, pricing, and food are all a notch above!

Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!