The Tavern Review

    The Inn at Essex, (now called just, The Essex), has been going through a major remodeling ever since NECI, (New England Culinary Institute), moved out. A new high end restaurant called Amuse has been added to the old Tavern space and a brand spanking new Tavern has moved into a much bigger space towards the rear of the hotel. Looking at the menu on line, I have to say we were intrigued. So, on a what we thought would be a quiet Saturday, before leaf peeper season, we decided to try it out. BUT, what we didn't know, is The Essex seems to have become the go to marriage capitol of New England. On this supposedly quiet Saturday, there were no less than five wedding receptions and an engagement party. And were do you suppose all these people hang out before and after their receptions? Yup, you got it, The Tavern. Walking in there was like entering a football game, VERY LOUD.  So much for a quiet, romantic, date night.

     We did manage to find two seats way over at the end of the bar. And after a while, we were presented with menus, (did I mention how packed it was?). First a bit about the space, the bar is definitely the focal point, as it consumes about 1/2 of a very large space. And it is a very cool bar, as it has many different angles and alot of seats all around. This unfortunately can work against the two bartenders, as some patrons are at odd angles to them and may be hard to see. We started with drinks, (shocking I know), and our first disappointment, for such a high end resort the wine list by the glass is absolutely pedestrian, WAY too many grocery store choices for a place like this and for cuisine like the chef is putting out. The wife settled for a rather ordinary Zinfandel and I was excited to finally try the Trapp Family Ale, but alas, they were out and I settled for a nice ale from Belgium, Palm Ale if I remember correctly. It was good but not exceptional.

      We decided to try smaller plates so we could experience more of the menu. Though I will say some of the small plates were anything but. Our first taste was a avocado and crab cocktail. very tasty with a bit of heat ( a trait the chef exhibits in most dishes), just a little too much cucumber for my taste, but with a nice yogurt dressing and some crunchy bits on top;

      Our next plate was duck confit potato skins (did I mention this is a creative chef). These were wedges of potato, topped with duck, and some really sweet caramelized onions and a nice cheese. All of this was placed on a sauce of chipotle cream, (spice again). Very, very yummy and as you can see a really nice presentation;

      For our entrees, we went with two more smaller plates. For me short rib sliders,( watch this blog recipes for both short ribs and sliders coming soon, seems to be a bit of an obsession for me). And for the wife, the Pittsburgh Salad, an homage to the famous Primanti Sandwich ( HA, bet the chef hasn't had anyone else pick up on that ). For those of you not from Pittsburgh, a Primanti Brothers sandwich is a sandwich with meat, salad and french fries, all stuffed into a bun. For this version, the chef took a big hunk of romaine, topped it with fries, grilled hanger steak, tomato, cucumbers and a blue cheese vinaigrette. Very nice and quite yummy. For my slider order, I received two sliders, Boyden farm short ribs, Ascuntney mountain cheese (Yes, the tavern is proud of its local sources) and homemade barbecue sauce along with the aforementioned fries;

      We both loved our meals, though one of the sliders was more fat than meat and some of the steak on the salad was a bit overcooked. Overall, a very nice meal, OH and about half way through, the reception must of started, as the tavern emptied out and we could talk without shouting. And since there were about 100 less customers, service picked up substantially. We really liked The Tavern and while pricing is quite high, with appetizers in the $9-$13 range and entrees starting at $14 for the fish and chips and rises to $34 for the bone-in Prime NY Strip Steak, the quality and presentation is excellent.

On a scale of 1 to 5;
Food,                Quality means much more to us than quantity.
Beer and Wine,  Based on selection and pricing

Service,             Speaks for itself
Ambiance,          Does the look fit the food and pricing

 Price,                And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.

Food,                     4     Everything we had was very good, a couple of small miscues but overall great presentations and wonderful flavors.
Beer and Wine,    2.5   I am going to be overly critical here. As this is a high end experience, you should be able to get local and national beers that are unusual and interesting and wines by the glass should expand your knowledge of the wine world and be more than grocery store offerings.
Service,                 3.    Here I am going to be less critical, the place was packed and while our bartender/server wasn't super friendly, she was efficient but needs more insight into the menu

Ambiance,             3     Great room, nice bar and booths. LOUD when full of wedding goers. maybe a touch too casual for such upscale food.
Price,                     3     Above Average food with Above Average pricing also. Presentations and flavors like this don't come cheap

Overall                  3.1  The tavern advertises itself as a casual bar/restaurant serving upscale food , ala Bevo's or Wooden Spoon Bistro (review coming soon). In reality, it is a high end restaurant, ala Kitchen Table or Hen of the Woods, saddled with a casual space.  As such, it is a special occasion evening out, but doesn't really feel too special if it is packed with wedding goers. Next time I would check with management before arriving. The chef is very creative and I look forward to trying the REALLY high end space, Amuse. But only after a rigorous upgrade of the wine offerings.