Restaurant Review: Square Cow

In the past year there have been some new restaurant developments on the west side of El Paso, and one of ones that felt the longest to take place was Square Cow  located at 4172 N Mesa St near Executive Blvd.  My boyfriend lives within walking distance of this location and we anxiously awaited the opening of this restaurant.  We loved the idea of being able to have burgers, a couple brews or a bottle of wine, and walk on home safely.  We began to see signs of an opening coming soon and we jumped at the chance to attend the soft opening after longingly anticipating being able to eat there.  

Immediately we understood why it may have taken longer for the restaurant to open, the amazing decor.  Every detail of the atmosphere is carefully though out from cowhide bar stools to the udder machine chandeliers.  They figured out how to make farm motif very chic and hip. With all the attention to detail with the interior, I was surprised by a few things.  For starters there was no menu or beer list provided.  I can understand not having a fancy or well made menu created yet, most soft opening are meant to try certain items out and certain meals may make it into the official opening or they may not. However, given that the restaurant is located almost directly next to a FedEx Kinkos, it seems unusual they couldn't have printed off something very basic to hand out.  As a new server there, I imagine it would be hard to remember the 100's of beers they have and each detail of the burger; and as a patron it is not convenient to order from a non existent menu. It gives you the feeling of not really knowing what you are going to get.

That night they were providing sliders of their sample burgers, we were told that when it fully opened they would be selling normal portion sized burgers.  They were out of beef, but they had a chicken cordon bleu, green chili chicken and a lobster burger available.  Each order was 3 sliders and came with a side of fries.  My boyfriend ordered a combination of the chicken burgers and I ordered one of each.  I found the chicken burgers to be extremely dry, but my lobster burger was delicious!!  They brought the wrong combination of sandwiches to my boyfriend, so he got one too which I happily ate.  The fries were way overdone, our server even commented that they did not look appetizing.  Overall we weren't thoroughly impressed with the food, but opening a restaurant isn't easy and that lobster burger gave me enough hope to go back once they smoothed out all the kinks from the soft opening.

Fast forward a few months, we were looking for someplace to go to celebrate a friends birthday and decided on Square Cow.  It's not that busy for a Saturday night and we are able to be seated immediately.  We are handed paper print outs of the food and drink menu's.  The food menu appears to change daily  or somewhat often.  They have continued to go with the sliders, with your choice of a combo of 2 sliders and a side, or 3 sliders and a side.  The variety of the menu has grown, and also include a veggie and turkey burger option.  Sides are typical of southern burger joint: fries, sweet potato fries, fried pickles, mac and cheese, etc. Each combo also comes with a soft drink, which I found odd.  That works as a special during the lunch rush certainly, but generally people are looking to enjoy one of their many beers or wines at night.  I'm not going to care about getting a soda.

Green Chile Beef and Lobster burgers with Fried Pickles

I went with the two slider combo, choosing the green chile beef burger since it wasn't available on my last visit. Of course I also add the the lobster burger and fried pickles, one of my favorite sides.  The burgers are served on soft rolls...almost too soft. They can't contain the toppings within the bun and my meal quickly becomes a mess.  The Green Chile Burger is okay, I honestly can't tell the difference between the meat they grind on location and having a burger elsewhere.  And that Lobster burger that held all my faith? It was cold and really not enjoyable that way. I would have requested it to be heated, but we were on the non-smoking patio in the back and didn't see our server often.

Texan and Smokehouse Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Josh decided to go with the Texan beef burger and the Smokehouse (bacon and cheddar) beef  burger with a side of sweet potato fries.  His burgers were also okay, nothing really to write home about.  The sweet potato fries didn't seem quite done and were also cold. This food and service experience really didn't end up being that much different than what we had at the soft opening.  I don't believe I will be returning to Square Cow of my own accord.  It's not the worst thing I've ever had, but I'd rather spend my money on dining out elsewhere. Which makes me sad, because I think those udder machine chandeliers are really rad and I can tell that there are people who have put a lot of effort and work into this place.

Bottom Line:  Love the concept, but it isn't well executed.