During our first visit about a week ago, we were bowled over by the amazingly tasty food at Tavernpointe. My salmon BLT was fresh and savory — one of those “I can’t put this down” experiences.
Others who ordered crab cakes were equally impressed. But at 7:00 PM on a Tuesday evening, we were the only diners in the place, which makes us worry that Tavernpointe isn’t finding its audience in this all-but-hidden location.
This past weekend, we returned with out of town guests for a second visit … and the meal just didn’t work. Our well-intentioned but clumsy server had to take each person’s order multiple times, confused those orders, handed me the hottest plate in the universe without warning, and was clueless about the wine list.
Our appetizer — fried cauliflower — was heavy and greasy:
My brisket entree was flavorless — and even looks flavorless in the photo:
Come on, folks. Greenery is cheap; dress the plate up a little, will ya? Meanwhile: our friends who ordered chicken didn’t fare any better:
Both the brisket and the chicken were under-seasoned, leaving the meat tasting of little more than smoke. In the end, the only dish worthy of attention was the mac and cheese:
Our theory: the mac and cheese tasted so good … because the other dishes were so bland and weak.
Despite that promising start, we think we’ve paid our last visit to Tavernpointe. Others must be feeling the same way, because on a Friday night, the dining room was mostly empty — a bad sign, we think, for this little tavern’s long-term prospects.
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