A Park Tavern by the Park

A friend from Chicago came to visit last weekend, so I checked all the local restaurants reviews to find a good place for dinner on a Saturday night. One name kept popping up as one of the top new spots in the city, Park Tavern. Now, I come from Minnesota, where the name Park Tavern makes me think of a suburban restaurant/bar with a bowling alley (I will say they have awesomely cheap breakfasts), so I was a little hesitant. A couple weeks ago I went on a Friday night at 6:30 with a friend to check it out and we found out even though we beat the big dinner rush, we were still not going to get a table until 10p. When I made the reservation a week before my friend came I still wasn't able to get a table until 9:30. In a sad way, this confirmed for me that this was the place to be...

Park Tavern is on Stockton on North Beach, facing the Washington Square Park and the gorgeous cathedral where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio took wedding pictures in front of (they weren't allowed to get married there, as they were both divorced, so they went a courthouse and came back for pictures). They served new American cuisine. The interior of Park Tavern somehow managed to be most modern and rustic, if that's even possible. There's a classic black and white theme, with elegant touches, like white lights in branchy trees. The fireplace and wall hangings add the more rustic, homey feel. We weren't able to get a table right away so we managed to find a seat at the bar and get some pre-dinner champagne cocktails. There's also a long communal table near the bar for those who can't get a table.

30 minutes after our reservation we finally got seated. The menu looked amazing, it was so hard to choose. We started with the artisan cheese plate, which featured Le Pommier Camembert (cow's milk cheese from France), Crottin (goat's milk cheese from California) and Smokey Blue (cow's milk bleu cheese from Oregon). These cheeses were paired an apple butter, apricot reserves and some kind of pickled fruit. The Camembert and Crottin were flavorful and soft, but I don't know if I'll ever like the pungency of bleu cheese. For an entree I ordered the Hawaiian tomolo tuna, served with crispy sunchokes, white anchovies, baby artichokes and salsa rustica. This dish had the perfect balance of flavor and texture. My friend ordered the grilled pork chops, which came as an enormous serving and had a strong smokey flavor. I had a rose pinot with the cheese course and a sauvingon blanc, which were both amazing wines. I can see why this restaurant got so many write ups. My only complaints with this place lie with the service. Even though we had a reservation, we still had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Once we were seated, the service was slow. My second glass of wine didn't come the whole time I was eating my entree, but at least they realized this and comped the glass. Still, the ambiance and food was perfect so I would definitely go back. Sometimes with new restaurants it takes a while to work out the kinks when it comes to service.