Datebook Diner: A lovely room, lackluster food at BOS

Vande Rose Farms Pork Tenderloin as served at Bos, at the Renissance Savery Hotel in Des Moines. (Credit: (John Gaps III/The Des Moines Register))

Ever since Hotel Fort Des Moines got its dining act together with the fabulously buzz-worthy Django, I've been crossing my fingers and hoping the Savery might do the same.

After all, that hotel once housed Guido's, which was just about everyone's favorite fine-dining destination in the '80s. Who says hotel dining has to be ho-hum?

Alas, Django remains the exception, not the rule. Across two visits to BOS, the Savery's current fine-dining venue, we endured sluggish food and the dispiriting lack of energy that plagues most hotel dining rooms.

The look: The color scheme seductively combines modern earthy tones with an elegant blue shade reminiscent of a bedroom at Versailles. As we sat in our snug, U-shaped booths sipping Spanish sparkling wine (at a mere $5 a glass, mind you), the evening glimmered with promise.

Menu: Billed as "contemporary Midwest cuisine," entrées at dinner often feature Iowa-sourced ingredients, such as La Quercia Prosciutto from Norwalk, meats from Vande Rose Farms in Oskaloosa, Templeton Rye and Maytag Blue Cheese. Descriptions are ambitious but not outlandish; for example, roasted vegetables, sweet potato fries and an apple demi-glaze complement the pork chop.

Food: Most promising were the scallops: prosciutto-wrapped fatties glistening atop a sweet, chile-sparked creamed corn. Sadly, a bite or two revealed seafood so insipid I found myself peeling off and relishing the salty-sweet prosciutto, but leaving the scallops behind.

The Blackened Vande Rose Farms Tenderloin brought four small half-dollar-sized pieces of meat on a good corn pudding, but overall the dish tasted tired and dry. The Seared Walleye was "give-me-a-break" bad; the limp fish arrived surrounded by a rice pilaf that not only tasted like something out of a box, but was saturated with a distastefully oily sauce. We tasted other items, but none merited accolades.

Service: The staff was friendly, but listless. At one point, finding ourselves abandoned in a dining room, bereft of a server or manager to flag down when we were ready to leave, I resorted to walking into a back service area to ask for the check.

Bottom line: Inspired concepts and a fine room-but lacking in the dedication needed to pull off a top-dollar dining experience.

Add a comment