Como Dockside, the new restaurant in the Como Pavilion, has been hugely popular since opening its doors last spring, but don’t expect them to rest on their laurels. Over the winter, the crew at Dockside has been busy planning new food outlets that they hope will help enhance diners’ experience.
First, there is the addition of counter service just inside the south gates of the promenade. The new walk-up counter will make it more convenient to grab a po’ boy and those addictive fries for lake-view dining, a beverage or two before a show, or a to-go order of beignets for a walk around the lake. You wouldn’t want to walk that 1.6 miles without pastries, would you?
Thanks to a shiny new grill and a couple of fryers, the lakeside concession window now serves French fries, hush puppies and corn-on-the-cob along with house-made sausages, hot dogs, burgers and ice cream. Owner Jon Oulman promises cold-press coffee and other treats will soon be added to the menu.
Sometime before Memorial Day, Oulman hopes to christen a new dining dock in his continued effort to allow visitors to connect more fully with the lake itself. (Dramamine not included.)
“Finally, we will have seating lakeside and on the dock for 100-plus diners,” Oulman said.
Inside the restaurant, the full table and bar service implemented in December will continue, with seasonal items introduced in April, including buttermilk fried-green tomatoes floating in a puddle of kicky remoulade or a fresh-as-spring salad with cucumber, mint, bib lettuce, pickled red onion, radishes and a sweet vinaigrette.
The pavilion’s Music in the Parks season kicked off earlier this month and will feature a variety of entertainment acts throughout the summer.
Alex Lodner writes about food and community news regularly in the Park Bugle.
