Cowbell* (#142, 9/1/2010) – 95
Cowbell is quite possibly the best neighborhood restaurant out there. It may help that it is MY neighborhood and like 100 yards from my house. The people there are awesome and fun; it’s a very casual, relaxed place with fun drinks and great specials.
I think this ranks as my top burger in the city (add a fried egg to it for a good mess), but I also love the fish tacos. You can go for more of a meal as well; if so, I recommend the midnight skirt steak with plantains (of course, I recommend plantains with anything). The macaroni and cheese side is also awesome. If you drop in on Friday, you can have the best fish burger in town – Lawrence Fishburger (fun names are good too). I haven’t had anything bad there yet, but I do recommend checking out the specials – they often have some very good adult grilled cheeses, which have all variety of things mixed in. Oh, and the fires! Great french fries, I recommend dipping in the agogo sauce (anything can be dipped in that amazing stuff) and their homemade ketchup. Just solid all-around. As far as food, I’m giving Cowbell a 48 out of 50.
The fun people working and the casual atmosphere are awesome. They don’t take reservations so you may have a wait, but you can sit inside or outside on picnic-table-style tables (sometimes you may have to share a table, so if that’s not for you, might be a problem). I’m only docking it a couple of points because of the limited seating and there are also parking challenges at times. Atmosphere is 27 out of 30.
Service is awesome! Again, the friendly and fun people make it worthwhile. They all seem to really care that they have customers and they are actually there to help you out, and not just to get their paycheck. I’m giving them a 20 out of 20 for service.
Final score = 95.