Close To Home: Boscoe’s Place
Posted on January 14, 2023 Posted by Athena Scalzi 19 Comments
Welcome, everyone, to a new series I’m starting here on the blog! I’m calling this series “Close To Home”, and it’s purpose is to feature small businesses in the area, much like Small Business Saturday. This series differs from Small Business Saturday, though, because it’s going to be only eateries. I’ll be going to these local places, trying out their stuff, and showcasing them to y’all, so you can see these potentially hidden gems in our small rural towns.
Now that you know what you’re diving into, let’s get started with the first restaurant of the series: Boscoe’s Place.
Around where I live, it can feel like there’s not much to do or see, or like there’s not many options to choose from when you want to grab a bite to eat. This makes it especially exciting when new places open up in our small towns. This was certainly the case when Boscoe’s Place opened in Covington, the town neighboring mine. The opening of it had been greatly anticipated, and for the past year it has been a hotspot for locals.
I drive past it almost daily, so I figured it was time I gave it a shot, and show you all this “doggone good food” they have.
I went on a Friday night at dinner time, so it was decently packed. Every table was full, but I only had to wait about twenty minutes for a table. I was glad it was busy. I like to see small businesses get good traffic.
Not only is the menu full of dog-related puns, such as their y’appetizers and ‘lil pups menu, but they even have Yappy Hour!
This is because of their namesake, the late Boscoe. The restaurant name gives tribute to the owners’ companion, so his memory may live on in everyone that visits.
I decided to go ahead and try some of these y’appetizers. First up was Boscoe’s Cheese Snacks:
While normally I don’t order cheese sticks from restaurants because they’re largely unremarkable, Boscoe’s cheese sticks are a little different, as they are wrapped in wonton skins.
After breaking one in half to reveal a rather impressive cheese pull, I dove right in and was met with a hot, crispy, cheesy, delicious bite. It was garlicy, buttery, parmesan-y goodness, made even better with a dip of the zesty marinara.
These were a super strong start to the meal, but I still had another appetizer to get through.
Here we have Boscoe’s BIG Pretzel. The description says it might be the largest pretzel you’ve ever seen, and honestly I think they were right. This thing was massive, and served with a spicy mustard, stone ground mustard, and a hatch chili queso.
The pretzel was soft and fluffy, and pulled apart easily into perfect dipping-sized bites. The spicy mustard was definitely not my cup of tea, as it had the capability of clearing your sinuses without offering much flavor in return. I am a lover of stone ground mustard, though, so I’m glad that was included. As for the queso, I was worried it would be too spicy for me (y’all know I’m a baby about spice), but it had just a small amount of kick, and was really creamy and warm! Overall, another great appetizer.
I figured I’d try a drink to get the full experience of this place, since they do have a whole bar, which they also have seating at.
I got a Lemon Drop, which I had no idea came with edible gold glitter in it:
It was so pretty! I absolutely loved the presentation of this drink. As for taste, I will say it was on the strong side, but at least you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Moving onto the main courses, here is their Caesar salad with grilled chicken:
While this salad is pretty standard, you can’t go wrong with a classic. Crunchy croutons, fresh greens, moist chicken, all in all a solid salad.
Of course, I had to try a burger and fries. Here we have the Bruschetta Burger:
A patty topped with bruschetta, balsamic, onion, lettuce, tomato, and a toasted bun (pickles served on the side).
This burger was seriously delish (though I did take the onions off). The meat was cooked perfectly, the balsamic was present but not overpowering, and the toppings were all fresh. Plus, the toasted bun made a world of difference, adding more texture and better flavor overall. The fries were pretty good. They were crispy on the outside and softer on the inside, but not really seasoned at all.
I noticed that there was no dessert section on the menu, and I asked my waitress if they had any desserts. She said they did, but no one really orders it, and it’s not on the menu. I asked what it was, and she said it was fried dough with powdered sugar and your choice of caramel or chocolate. I asked if it’d be okay to order it, since it was technically off menu, and she assured me I could. I got it with caramel.
I really can’t understand why this isn’t on the menu, because it is so good. It’s warm and crispy, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel, what’s not to love? Plus, it’s easily shareable. I definitely had one too many slices of this thing.
After all that, it came out to about seventy dollars (before tip). I think that’s a pretty decent price, all things considered.
The food was awesome, the service was great, the prices are good, and the drinks are strong. I definitely recommend checking Boscoe’s Place out, and don’t skip on the secret dessert.
What looks the best to you? What drink would you try? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
All of that looks wonderful. But I’ll need to live through you. I couldn’t order much of that due to watching my carbs (diabetic). Oh life, you love to tempt me…
Sounds like you had a wonderful time. That’s what counts. Can’t wait to read the next installment.
Mmmm…
How about the Bourbon, Bacon & Cheese burger, House Caprece salad, and a Moscow Mule? Followed by the same dessert you had — that looked yummy!
I enjoy your reviews (even though I’m unlikely to get a chance to visit these places).
But now I’m hungry…
Boscoe’s looks like it offers high-quality pub fare, which is a favorite of mine – I’d definitely try it out if I lived in your neck of the woods! I’d either graze on an assortment of appetizers, or I’d try one of those glorious-looking burgers (I’m old enough that I can’t do both in a single meal). Not a drinker, though, so you can have my cocktail.
I am really, really glad to see a small independent restaurant doing well these days. Between the one-two-three punch of the pandemic, the Great Resignation, and now inflation making it hard for customers to afford dining out, a lot of excellent restaurants have foundered in the past few years.
Thank you for supporting a local business this way, Athena! And now, if you’ll excuse me, I am suddenly hungry and need to go scrounge up some supper for myself. Hmm, maybe a nice juicy burger…..
I’m not sure what the logic is behind not having the desserts on menu. Fried dough is dead cheap, we’re talking mere cents for food cost. And in these days of scannable codes for digital menus, it doesn’t cost much to put it out there.
Good review, though that’s definitely a young person’s meal. I couldn’t order or finish half of that. You might consider doing what professional reviewers do, invite a friend or two along, order more of the menu, and share bites to evaluate and rate more things. Of course professionals have an expense account, so that might not work out if your friends can’t foot their own bills.
Damn. Now I want a hamburger and good fries.
Looks wonderful. I wouldn’t be able to do it Justice! Too many delights.
Oooooh … bruschetta burger! I could take one of those for sure!!
The burger you had looked delicious. I’d want to try one of their mule cocktails.
Keep in mind that your local businesses may attract unusual crowds in the near future and want to plan ahead:
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Solar Eclipse 2024 – Ohio Department of Natural Resources
On Monday, April 8, 2024, people within a 124-mile-wide band in the state of Ohio will experience a total solar eclipse. Areas in Ohio that are outside the path of totality will experience a partial eclipse. A total solar eclipse is a rare and spectacular event. On average, one happens somewhere on the Earth only once every 1.5 years.
@Louis Sivo, thanks for the support!
@Guy McLimore, I did in fact almost get the bourbon burger instead of the bruschetta burger! I’m sure both are equally amazing. And yes the dessert was very yummy, it’s a shame they don’t let customers really know about it!
@Colonel Snuggledorf, I also love seeing good small businesses prosper in these times, and I’m always happy to support them!
@Lym, I actually did share this meal, that way I could try more things without actually eating everything myself. I did pay for them since I invited them along to try the place with me :)
@Holly Knight, it was definitely yummy!
@Kara, I highly recommend it!
@Marion D, it was in fact very tasty, and maybe I’ll try a mule next time!
please e-mail me five of those soft chewy pretzels
supposedly those are a NYC cliche but regrettably I can never find any that aren’t stale
as to the fried dough… yeah… ditto what everyone else said… definitely ‘drunk food’… if you get around to contacting the owners please suggest they pass out sampler plates to anyone ordering a pitcher of dark ale… the bitter bite of dark ale will offset the sweetness… very likely to encourage happy drunks into buying a full order
I am all shocked and horrified at the SEVENTY DOLLARS! That’s more than a week’s grocery money!
And yet I will unblinkingly spend that on fine chocolate, which clearly doesn’t come out of the grocery budget.
I don’t eat out unless someone else is paying. Ugh. But that would all look delicious if it were here at home.
Nice. We have dozens of restaurants in our neighborhood alone, let alone in the rest of Brooklyn and New York City, but if we were there I would definitely eat here. Looks very good to me. Of the things you ate, I think the pretzel (and I like spicy mustard but not queso) and the burger look the best to me. We had a giant pretzel like that in the Park Lane Tavern in Fredericksburg on our way down to Florida.
I always like reading about local restaurants like this, even if I am unlikely to ever get there, so glad you will be doing more of these. The pictures definitely help too.
Ok, I’m nowhere near where you live but if I was, is try it. And Ohio is on our list as the Halls of Fake ….. Fame are up there so we intend to visit. Plus we have several friends who live there.
I’m a fan of pub food and that looks solid. I would probably have tried the fried pickles and got a dark beer or stout. Any vegetarian options? I can’t tell from the picture, too small on my phone.
That fried dough looks a lot like what we would call a “beaver tail” here in Canada. Strangely, I don’t think I’ve seen a beaver tail with whipped cream and caramel on it. That sounds delicious.
I’m a vegetarian but your y’appetizer selections and the fries look very tempting. I looked up the menu and it turns out they also offer fried jalapeños and fried pickles! Also they have pizza so vegetarians can eat real food if not too distracted by delicious deep fried snacks.
Due to my graduate school program I am out of the country for several more months, but after that I will be living in the Cincinnati area. Boscoe’s seems to be about an hour and a half from Cincinnati so a road trip will probably happen at some point.
The dessert!! That’s a bloody Beavertail!! A Canuckian classic! Yeah, you had a good’un there!
Seriously tho, the place looks exquisite for its food.
I think you live close to Oldenburg IN. If so, then you should try Wagner’s; the finest fried chicken I have ever eaten served family style. I live in Southern California and nothing out here compares.
Have you ever seen a “party prezel”? That’s a thing here, a pretel for a whole party – about 20 to 30 people. The party pretzel alone clocks in at 2kg to 3kg, commonly served like a sandwitch, so that’s extra. Try googling “Partybrezel”.