Tavern United

Tavern United
345 Graham Avenue
Tel: (204) 944-0022
Fax: (204) 926-5735
Email: tuph@CanadInns
http://www.tavernunited.com/

February, 2009


CanadInn’s signature restaurant, Tavern United quintessentially displays what makes up a sports pub. The array of large-screen televisions tuned into sports channels, an adequate selection of domestic and imported beers, attractive servers in short skirts, and forgettable menus all depict exactly what you expect out of a modern pub. The downtown location sits in the former Eaton’s Powerhouse building, retrofitted to look like a rustic watering hole. The massive two-story bar pillar dominates the main floor while video gambling terminals occupy the second floor. In nice weather, the huge (capacity 160) rooftop patio provides one of the city’s best atmospheres in enjoying a round of drinks. Strategically located across from the MTS Centre, Tavern is a great place to enjoy a drink before or after an event.

The wine selection isn’t great but they offer a couple of interesting pours; your best bet is to focus on your favourite draught, especially since pub food is meant to complement the beers. For starters, Tavern offers a Pound o’ Wings, which come in a variety of dressings. The salt and pepper wings feature a nice blending of spice and seasoning. I’m not a huge fan of chicken wings—you pay a lot of money for lots of bones and little meat. Still, if you like wings, they do them well here.

If you prefer not to contend with the bones, the plump and juicy chicken strips provide a nice alternative. Tavern only offers one dipping sauce but it’s prepared well. Honey-dill is a very simple sauce but many places butcher it—too much honey and it tastes sickly-sweet and too much dill can taste overwhelming. The nicely balanced dill sauce adds another dimension to the plain chicken strips.

Tavern has a number of soups, including the beer and cheese soup. I have no idea where this combination originated. A brief search on the internet doesn’t yield much concrete evidence but Wisconsinans claim credit readily. If those poor saps could embrace Ted Thompson, I’m not surprised that they embrace beer and cheese soup, but that’s another rant. Instead, I opt for the potato and bacon chowder. Although the consistency is thinner than I like for a cream soup, the complex and rich flavour makes up for it. Behind a backbone of bacon, the broth has big body and taste and the potato provides nice texture.

Tavern doesn’t feature a lot of mains—four to be precise and one of them is Bangers and Mash. The Yorkshire Pudding Bowl is a true delight. The side of garlicky, creamy potatoes are mashed into a collection of flavours and tastes, while the bits of potato skin provide depth and substance. The oozing gravy tastes deep and rich with a nice tang of spiciness; I wish there was a little more as it goes so well with everything. The Yorkshire pudding itself is firm but not too chewy. Poorly made Yorkshire pudding stretches with the consistency of rubber bands but this one hits the mark right on. The chunks of beef taste a little hard and tough. I would substitute stewing beef for sirloin, as sirloin can sometimes be a gamble without a lot of cooking time. A sprinkling of tomato pieces, leeks and mushrooms round out the dish nicely, although I would have cut out the abundance of mushroom stems and stuck exclusively with the caps. One of the other mains, O’Malley’s Beef Stew has the same delicious depth and flavours in its gravy, but this dish comes a little too fatty. If you don’t take the time to skim the layer of fat off the top, you end up with a mouthful of rendered fat, which doesn’t go well at all.

Although Tavern doesn’t have a deep mains menu, they offer a number of hearty sandwiches. The beef or the bison burger comes with a half-pound patty, adorned with bacon and mushrooms and the usual assortment of vegetables. A considerably-sized Kaiser bun contains all of these ingredients. If you never had bison, it has a similar taste to beef. At times, it can taste a little gamey but it’s rare and you won’t notice unless you set out to search for it. People often choose bison as an alternative to beef because it has slightly more flavour and about half the fat. While having less fat might equate to being healthier, it also means that the meat dries out a lot more easily. Unless you cook bison perfectly, it tastes dry and hard. Tavern’s bison burger comes charred on the outside, which normally is a good sign. The high-heat searing seals the meat and holds the moisture inside. Unfortunately, this burger was so overcooked that there was no moisture left to retain. Now if you take this desiccated mass and throw it into a thick, dry Kaiser, you have a mess that you have no chance of eating without downing a fifth of beer with it. Better yet, just skip the burger and have the beer.

I visited Tavern several times for dinner and several times for lunch. On every dinner occasion, a host promptly greets and seats me. The ensuing service is quick, efficient and competent. On every lunch visit, no one greets me at the host stand and the servers crisscross multiple times without acknowledging my existence. When someone finally instructs me to seat where I wish, the service is painfully slow. During each occasion, I repeatedly asked for the cheque and waited anxiously. During the evening, when I go for a post-work wind-down, I don’t mind relaxed service. People generally have limited time over lunch dining and lackadaisical service is unacceptable.

When Tavern United hits the target, it hits the bull’s eye; when Tavern misses, it misses by a mile. Hopefully, they hit the target for you.

** /5


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