Bowlmor Lanes on 44th Street, just off Times Square, is a delicious surprise. They are not your grandfather’s bowling lanes -- instead, Bowlmor is a 90,000-sq.-ft., 45-lane colossus. The lanes are themed, and the space includes Warhol-inspired artwork, a Prohibition-themed lounge, a Brooklyn Bridge-inspired stairway, and antique items from what was Tavern on the Green.
Most notable of all for this particular space is the Stadium Grill Sports Bar and Restaurant. A restaurant and bar, believe it or not, that is presided over by none other than David Burke, the critically acclaimed, internationally recognized chef who runs restaurants at Foxwoods Casino as well as in Chicago, Las Vegas, Rumson, New Jersey and New York City. And what’s David Burke doing in a place like this? Turning out always fresh, and exciting, unique dishes. And the same hip, young crowd that bowls also patronizes the noisy, bustling Stadium Grill and Sports Bar with its 29 wrap-around televisions.
And if such facilities are not the ones you remember from your youth, neither is the menu, which is dotted with Mr. Burke’s whimsical creations. A complimentary amuse of oxtail onion soup with a thin porous cap of Gruyère cheese was as good a version of this preparation as I’ve ever tasted. It was followed by a fat, cornbread-crusted crab cake on a bed of corn relish and chipotle aioli, ten plump Chinese chicken wings with a snappy Asian dipping sauce, a too-big-to-eat whole leaf Caesar salad speckled with molten brie croutons, and crisp calamari accompanied by a sweet and spicy peanut sauce.
The main courses included: grilled yellow fin tuna with a vegetable mango summer roll plate mate; a rock shrimp chopped salad; and a Millionaires meatloaf.
Every one of the four desserts sampled was a home run. There’s no better hot fudge sundae around than the one served here. The David Burke babycakes proved to be a silken, chocolate mousse-like concoction anchored with a thin layer of cake and topped with chocolate flecked whipped cream. Warm drunken doughnuts featured squeeze bottles of Bailey’s milk chocolate, strawberry daiquiri and salted rum caramel.
Every portion is huge. They are no doubt influenced by the fact—as our excellent waiter, Jeremy, confided to us -- that professional athletes, including the New York Jets, often eat here. And why not?
222 W. 44th St. (7-8 Aves.), 212-680-0012; bowlmor.com
Richard Jay Scholem was a restaurant critic for the New York Times Long Island Section for 14 years. His A La Carte Column appeared from 1990 to 2004. For more “Taste of the Town” reviews, click here.
