Interesting Times, but not Interesting Food, at Feed Company Eatery & Bourbon Lounge
We've had the opportunity to try the new Feed Company Eatery & Bourbon Lounge on Lowest Greenville a couple of different times since they opened in early June. The first--where we just sampled their scotch and bourbon selection--was fairly pleasant. While we're much bigger scotch drinkers than bourbon aficionados, we thought their scotch selection was fair, and their bourbon selection was deep and well thought-through. Overall, perhaps a little pricey for what they had on offer, but still a nice selection. And a great rustic build-out inside. We especially love their long concrete bar.
We decided to try them for dinner recently with a friend, and were happy to see the place super-busy on a Thursday night. While the inside was packed (hard to even walk to the bar to grab our friend), we were able to snag a table outside near one of the fans. Air conditioned, it was not. But the fans really help keep air moving, and sometimes it's just nice to sit on a beautiful patio and enjoy the night, no matter the temp outside.
We started out by ordering their Protein & Dairy (think charcuterie plate, with a scoop of soft pub cheese), and their Sticky Chicken Chips (think small boneless chicken wings glazed with a honey bbq sauce). Both came out, looked fantastic (especially the Protein & Dairy), and tasted great. The meats used for the Protein & Dairy were inventive and delicious, and the Sticky Chicken Chips, while not exactly an original concept, were as tasty as you would expect them to be. Good start to the meal for sure.
Wanting to branch out a little bit, Natalie ordered the Salmon & Asparagus for her main course, while I decided to go for a 1/2 rack of their Baby Back ribs (technically an appetizer, but big enough for a meal). Our friend decided to go with their smoked turkey sandwich. A bottle of Rose was ordered (their wine list is fairly priced) and we were off to the races.
About the time our waiter took our entree orders, we noticed a woman bringing a small golden retriever puppy on to the patio. We thought "oh good, another dog-friendly restaurant in East Dallas." Well, dear readers, more on that later . . .
So, the entrees come out, and look pretty good. Natalie bites into her salmon, which came drizzled in a "chili-herb oil," and immediately grabbed for her water and started coughing. Evidently the "chili-herb oil" was just straight chili oil, and was super strong. Overpoweringly strong. So strong, she couldn't taste the fish. Or the asparagus. Or really anything else on the plate. Just bite-after-bite of chili oil.
I grabbed my first three-rib section of ribs and immediately noticed there was a huge problem. Everything was dry. No sauce. No moisture or succulent fat coming from the meat. Nothing. Just a very dry half-rack of ribs coated in a dry rub, and smoked so long that it turned to cardboard. Having a hard time tearing the ribs apart with my hands, I even tried to cut the ribs loose with a knife and fork. Unfortunately, even that didn't work. I ended up having about 4 bites out of one and a half rib bones (that were still all connected), and that was all I could do.
For our friend's part, he came up the lucky winner. Evidently the smoked turkey sandwich was pretty good, and I was glad for that. It still looked pretty dry, but if he was happy, we were happy for him.
Pretty dissatisfied with the meal at this point, we noticed that the cute little puppy from several tables away had gotten a 20+ foot lead on her retractable leash, and was headed our way. We thought that was at least a plus for the night. After all, Natalie and I have 3 rescue pups of our own, and always love animals around. However, as we were in the middle of conversation with our friend (who we don't see often), we left her to her own devices, which involved sniffing around the area, and generally being a puppy. Not our dog, not our problem. Then, all of a sudden, her owner (who appeared to be intoxicated) runs down the walkway toward our table screaming, grabs the dog, throws something at us the puppy had in her mouth (possibly a bone left by a previous guest, or something else), starts swearing at us about how we were trying to harm her dog, then retreats back to her table where she proceeds to continue yelling and swearing and flipping us off. Her friends tried to calm her down and tell her she was wrong, but to little avail. Super pleasant way to end the evening. And, on top of that, Natalie and I left hungry because our entrees were largely inedible.
Maybe some of their other menu items come out better, or maybe Feed Company is just better at appetizers and drinks. Either way, we can't really recommend them for dinner. Drinks and appetizers for sure. Dinner, not so much. Oh, and if you do go, watch out for dog ladies. A couple cocktails in and they bite for no apparent reason.
