Tavern

Tavern is yet another enchanted creation of Chef Suzanne Goin: the superstar chef behind The A.O.C., Lucques, and The Hungry Cat. Every time I reminisce about my out-of-this-world experiences at one of her restaurants, I  start to crave one of the delicious morsels I have had the pleasure of eating.  Its hard to describe her cooking style, as each restaurant has its only personality and specialty dishes.  Today, I'm here to rave about her Brentwood Neighborhood favorite, Tavern.

Traditionally, taverns are known as havens for drunkards and heathens alike to drink, be merry and eat.  As it is uncommon in the United States to come across taverns, I can only imagine that they are as magical as they are portrayed in films such as The Lord of the Rings - filled with unlikely characters and good food.  Tavern is just like that.

Rather than expect giants and dwarfs among the crowd, you can expect A-List celebrities to be crawling the restaurant.  I had the pleasure of gawking at Nick Lachey and wife Vanessa Minnillo - however, they proved to be quite normal creatures.

For our first dish, my partner and I had a rendition of the Caesar salad.  Unfortunately, it is no longer on the menu - but I can still remember the decadence of the Pt. Reyes blue cheese complimented with the roasted pecans.  Each savory bite had a hint of acidic dressing to cut through the cheese, and was worth all $15.00.

Also no longer available on their seasonal menu was a braised short rib paired with mashed potatoes and au jus sauce.  My mouth waters thinking about how the meat pulled apart with ease, and bursted with flavor in my mouth.  Yum.

As for myself, I had the crispy duck confit with black rice, swiss chard and spiced rhubarb.  It is one of the restaurants signature dishes, which is very unlikely to be found elsewhere.  I swear, this dish is so good, it is borderline witchery!

This blog entry does not do Suzanne Goin proper justice, but I can assure you, each dish was exquisite.  Tavern is on the pricey side, with main dishes averaging $30.  The best way to imagine the food at this restaurant is to remember the love Gollum had for his ring...MY PRECIOUS!!!