Plowman’s Kitchen — Restaurant in Taylor

This was our first time eating at The Plowman. Loved that it was a high school band hall! The decorations really celebrated the history of the building and Taylor, Texas. Our greeter, was our server too…who informed us about a 30 minute wait. Loved seeing someone jump in to help make a positive impact on the business. No problem, actually sat next to some really nice people from Taylor. When we were seated, I saw they have this super eclectic chandelier hanging in the center of the room. Real, authentic diner cafe vibe. I couldn’t wait to order. There were 5 of us.We had 2 of their half lb. Homemade buns and juicy hamburgers. One had 2 eggs for the hamburger the other had their tortilla soup. My kiddo was licking the bowl (which I’ve never seen him do) he said it was so good. We also had chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak. This is a real cube steak and tender chicken breast. Loved how the fried meats were coated…I’m always a little disappointed when all the fried batter just falls off. Theirs passed the test and the jalapeño gravy was an excellent pairing. One had grits and mac n cheese. The other had fried okra and mashed potatoes. With those sides I had to try the mashed potatoes because they looked so homemade. They were just like home. I had the salmon croquettes with caper dill tarter sauce, Texas caviar and mac n cheese. The 2 croquettes were so tasty and they were both about the size of a crab cake topped with the tarter sauce. I’m a picky tarter sauce person and the caper dill mix didn’t disappoint. Both were so delicious together I’m happy I took a picture of it!! The Texas caviar and mac n cheese of course tasted perfect, loved the cheesy flavor and the caviar mixture just needed a little more salt for my flavor. The service was awesome and they had just seated a huge party before us. The waiter checked on us, refilled our drinks before we even had to ask. He was worried about our food taking longer than usual because of the larger group. No worries, we had ordered some queso and our server was taking care of us. We got 2 slices of pecan pie and one slice of brandy pecan pie…who can pass that packed dessert case without something. Perfect location in Taylor, right next to their historic high school. Which had unique stores from microbrew bars, arcade and interesting little shops. Real cool stop and don’t pass up...

We've been occasional visitors to Plowman's Kitchen since they opened. It seems each visit is more disappointing than the last. It's been a while, so I won't go into prior history, but tonight's visit was our last. It is irredeemable, short a full refund. I didn't feel that way while in the restaurant. It was only after visiting their online photos that my suspicions were confirmed. The Salmon croquets: The menu describes them as "two large salmon patties", as seen in pics from some time ago. What I was served this evening was two small salmon meatballs. Together, they may have been one large salmon patty. The burger: 1/2 lb? I'm skeptical. My wife ordered medium and received medium rare. I started to send it back, but she didn't want to waste the time as we had other stuff to do before we could go home. The cocktails: My wife had two, mostly because they were quite small, maybe 6 oz. At $14 each, they should exceed the standard margaritas as Mas Fajitas. They didn't. These were an $8 drink, and the second was just because it was a small drink. The highlight of the meal was the pimento cheese app. Probably the best in this area (I'm wondering about Jack Allen's Kitchen, here), except the crostini weren't even toasted. I'd have thought a crispy brown toast would be the thing, but we got small sliced bread, and a LOT of it. The insult: Cowboys Caviar is a long-standing Texas dish of black-eyed peas. I was served black beans in a vinegrette. The crowning achievement? Plowman's own photos show Cowboy Caviar as BLACKEYED PEAS! Typically short on seasoning in the usual places, overall, it was just NOT worth the $76 tab ($90 with tip). The service was OK. Just OK. This is not a knock on the staff. They are inexperienced. Pretty typical of restaurants that cost $25 a plate, not $45. My wife did note that staff were openly sitting at the bar, beverage in hand, and management was distributing paychecks and having conversations about them with employees on the dining room floor, close enough she could hear it all. Staff should take breaks out of sight, and business should be dome in the office. This is disrespectful of diners who enjoy a quiet venue, and don't want to feel like we're sharing the staff space. We are locals and love the bandhall turned bistro. It's great that a piece of Taylor has been preserved. It should be put...

We were seated immediately. For a Friday night I think that's awesome.! I said, came over promptly asking us if we were ready to order, at this point, he had already ordered our packages. The service is here is really great. !! To be continued : My grandson ordered chicken fried steak, mac & cheese and french fries chicken fried steak was huge and beautifully fried with cream gravy. He has a hefty appetite, but it was so large. He ended up leaving a small piece of it as he was just too full/ his french were OK and he ate all his mac & cheese one of his very favorite dishes. I decided on the meat salad with goat cheese and poppyseed dressing. It also had pecans sprinkled throughout. It was delicious. It was massive so next time I will order a half portion. I also ordered tortilla soup which came with five or six tortilla chips. It was quite good But very spicy. They also have a bakery and make a lot of pies and cakes. There was no way we could eat dessert, but we definitely stopped at the Bakery Case and ordered some Red Velvet Cake for the boys and a piece of Coconut Cream Pie for me. The restaurant has several unique features, including a bar along one side of the restaurant where you can get beer, wine, and cocktails. It had a massive chandelier that was vintage and quite beautiful in the center surrounded by other light fixtures. The tables and chairs and the booths also reminded me of vintage café style furnishings . The round tables and chairs were very unique in that barrel style. Bottom of the tables were a metal cut out design, making them very unique. Our server was absolutely wonderful. Very patient and helpful. Next time I’m in town I will...