Mike’s second reservation was at City Tavern, a theme restaurant. Typically, I would be skeptical about a restaurant themed around 18th Century America, but what is vacation if not a place to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do?
The interior was more like a series of individual colonial rooms than what we think of as current restaurants. I guess this was the style in the 1700s. Quite cool.
We decided to go with the beer tasting, which were all made from recipes from the Revolution. Cool!
The Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce was my absolute fave.
And it was served on a very nice paddle. Good touch.
The breads were all good, however, the biscuits were sweet potato and pecan (a supposedly favorite of Washington himself) and I had to ask for seconds. They were so good.
We started with the mallard duck sausages which combined pork and duck over sweet and sour cabbage. These were some of the most flavorful sausages I have ever had. Delish.
Mike chose the colonial turkey pot pie for his entree. The top was so perfectly fluffy and crispy.
And the inside was creamy without being heavy and all the flavors were fantastic. Impressive.
I chose the Medallions of Venison with leeks, rosemary-bourbon mushroom sauce, herbed barley, and vegetable of the season (which wound up being various squashes).
The sauce on this was packed with flavor, the venison was perfectly gamey without being tough, and the barley and veggies were a great pair. This was so hearty and homey. I loved it.
For dessert, they brought out a tray of goodies. It was a tough choice…
But we went with the raspberry linzer torte. It was good… but not as buttery as it should have been and the raspberry was kind of bland. Then the whipped cream on top was more like whipped butter… and it was AWFUL. Shame to end such a good meal on such a dud note.
But City Tavern had one last treat before we went. Right outside the bathrooms and downstairs dining area was the harpist. It was awesome.
Overall, for a themed restaurant we were VERY impressed. Even as compared to most restaurants, our meals were great. Next time I might just skip the desserts.
Overall Nom Points: 7 out of 10
