Tavern on the Green

Tavern on the Green
West 67th Street and Central Park West - Map
(212) 873-3200
American/Eclectic

Tavern on the Green - one of New York's oldest restaurants, and is touted to be the largest grossing restaurant in the world. I don't know if it is or not, but I can certainly understand why. Tavern, almost synonymous with New York dining (like the Plaza Hotel is synonymous with New York hotels...) left a lot to be desired. For the reputation it carries, I feel it fell significantly short of the mark.

As a native New Yorker, I have had the pleasure of patronizing a whole slew of restaurants, and I don't consider myself to be a professional food critic at all. In fact, just last nite I was watching an episode of The Iron Chef on the Food Network, and I was listening to the judges' review of the dishes served them by the 2 rivaling chefs. Since they have such an extensive background in food, they were equipped to give real professional critiques and praise. But since I'm NOT of those (but one day I will be), I feel I can give more of a "real person" perspective on things.

So, here's my take on Tavern on the Green. The wait staff and hostesses were extremely efficient, polite, and courteous. They accomodated our party of 11 beautifully so, and had a table set up for us right near the windows overlooking their garden. The food was as expected, nothing phenomenal or over-the-top exceptional. Most ordered their mixed green salad which was served with an almond toasted crouton, topped with goat cheese, and dressed with a champagne and shallot vinaigrette. It was light, it was crunchy, and served it's purpose as an appetizer. I, however, broke away from the crowd somewhat, and ordered their seared sashimi tuna, served over a bed of sesame noodles, cucumber, and peanut sauce. The tuna was beautiful, nice and red, with a perfectly seared ring. The sesame noodles were particularly flavorful, and quite whimsical. My mother, who's birthday we were celebrating, was particularly fond of the noodles.

We had all ordered their cedar planked salmon, with the exception of one in our party who ordered their halibut. The salmon was quite filling, and was crusted with breadcrumbs, and served over beet couscous. The salmon was ok, and nothing special to note. The beet couscous was more interesting. Instead of the semolina couscous which is typically a small, almost fine poweder-like texture, they served the larger variety of couscous, which was prepared with small pieces of beet. The couscous dutifully absorbed much of the earthy and sweet beet's flavor, which also added a wonderful dark red/purple shade to the couscous. The couscous was also served with some steamed fennel, which I think didn't add anything to the dish, and in fact, was more of a distraction since it added a sour, almost tart, licorice flavor that I didn't care for in conjunction with the salmon.

To accompany dinner, I had ordered a bottle of their 2003 Domain Chandon Carneros Pinot Noir, which was grown and bottled in Napa Valley. For one who always liked Pinot Noir long before Sideways hit the silver screen, I found this bottle to be particularly delicious. It had a mysterious nose, that hinted toward more interesting things to come. It was medium-bodied, and quite smokey, which I found to be a particularly interesting pairing with the cedar-planked salmon. Others at the table agreed with me.

For dessert, we kept it light, but we did order their Dark Chocolate Cake (that came with a lit candle for my mom) as well as their Creme Brulee. The Dark Chocolate Cake wasn't nearly as rich or creamy as I expected it to be, which unfortunately means I didn't really care for it. It was just ok. The Creme Brulee was up to par, but lacked in it's display, which was really the only thing to the Dark Chocolate Cake's credit.

For anyone who wishes to visit Tavern on the Green, I wouldn't go for their cuisine. I would, however, go because it is in Central Park, and it offers beautiful views. Better luck next time Tavern...