Tabard Inn
Critic rating
|
American
|
$$$$
(Good)
2012 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Magazine
Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012
“I'll have a dozen oysters and half a dozen doughnuts," the guy next to me says to his waiter. If the order sounds audacious, you haven't brunched at Tabard Inn. The cozy, clattery American dining room with the leafy patio is one that food lovers keep in their back pocket when they're tired of the trend du jour but still want to eat well. Those oysters can be counted on to be neatly shucked, and as much as I dig the doughnuts, they have rivals in the inn's house-made bagel with cured salmon. Not every meal makes me want to zip back. I've had routine Caesar salads and a twist on a banh mi (using fresh tuna) that was undone by a squishy bun. But the rule is more like my last repast: succulent chicken jolted with olives and capers and neatly arranged with skinny green beans and fingerling potatoes, washed back with a fine white burgundy. I lack a sweet tooth, but I wouldn't dream of not ordering dessert. Be it a pie or a cake or a pudding or a cookie plate, the pleasure is all yours.
The beautiful surroundings offer a place to talk, to relax and unwind with contemporary American food.
