Monday, March 12, 2012


Pat's Tap

 The food at Pat's Tap was much like the restaurant's name: generic and
generally forgettable.  None of the food was particularly bad, but
nothing was memorable either.  Most notable was the huge gap in
the level of service received in the bar area versus that which we
experienced once we were seated for dinner.

 The night started off well.  It was a weeknight during restaurant week and
when we arrived, there was a wait for a table.  While waiting we considered
the options on the beer and wine list with a bartender who happily (and
without us having to ask) poured us tastes of every beer and wine we were
considering.  What a treat to have a busy bartender be willing to go
the extra mile to make sure her customers were happy with their
drinks.

 Contrast this with the comedy of errors that characterized our dinner
service.  We were seated with the restaurant's regular menu - no
restaurant week menu in sight.  
Pet Peeve #1 of the evening: if you're
going to participate in restaurant week, do not make me go out of my
way to ask for the special menu.   It makes me feel like you’re hoping to hide
that from me and I do not respect that.

 While my dining companion was away from the table, no less than three
different servers came to ask me if we had a tab at the bar we needed
to pay.  Although I think that's something a quality restuarant just
knows, as a casual neighborhood spot, I was willing to overlook the
question the first time.  And possibly the second.  Definitely not the
third.

 On our server's recommendation, we started with the zucchini cakes and
the pork belly skewers.  While zucchini cakes would not normally jump
out at me on a menu, these were an excellent recommendation and we

enjoyed the lightly fried cakes served with lemon honey aioli.  The pork
belly skewers were nicely flavored but could have used another element to
cut through their inherent fatiness.  In addition to the restaurant week
appetizers, we wanted to try Pat's tomato soup, which was served with
cheesy crackers.  To my taste, the soup was more smoke than tomato and it
wasn't my favorite version of this classic.

Before we had a chance to finish our apps, our entrees arrived.  
Pet Peeve #2: I have never heard a good excuse for bringing out a table's
entrees while they are still eating their appetizers.  If you have
one, I'd love to hear it.  Entrees of a warm spinach salad with smoked
chicken, egg, feta and mustard vinaigrette and a turkey burger with
whipped feta, lettuce, tomato and onion were...fine.
Izzy’s ice cream for dessert was good... it always is.

All in all, here is the breakdown on Pat’s Tap after one visit (I’ll go anywhere
 3 times before I make my final decision).


Bartender: Super fantastic

Table Service:  The “Do you have a bar tab?” refrain was kind of annoying.Bringing 
entrees well before apps were finished was extremely annoying.  Besides that, 
several servers watered and helped clear our table.


Food:
Tomato Soup - too smokey
Zucchini Cakes - GOOD
Pork Belly Skewers - worth a try
Turkey Burger - okay but messy
Warm Spinach Salad - lacked flavor even though it was over dressed

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