Critics' choice: Three takes on tavern dining

Minetta Tavern

Washington, D.C.

"Plenty of famous out-of-town acts have shown up in Washington, only to retreat after a few years," said Tom Sietsema in The Washington Post. So I was openly skeptical when Keith McNally opened a version of Minetta Tavern, his refreshed New York City institution, near D.C.'s Union Market. But then I ordered the luscious steak tartare, and "found myself eating (some of) my words." There's a remarkable consistency here.

"Diners familiar with both taverns are struck by how similar they appear, down to the nicotine-yellow glow in the rooms," and because executive chef Laurent Kalkotour splits his time between the two cities, the food follows suit. The French onion soup in D.C. "tastes exactly like the bowl in New York." The signature brook trout is perfectly crisp on one side, and the steak frites is "a class act." Only the celebrated "Black Label" burger disappointed me. The patty "lacks brawn and funk," just as it does in Greenwich Village. "No matter how many french fries you've eaten," order one of the soufflés for dessert, and finish your night upstairs at the posh Lucy Mercer Bar, where the cocktails are "liquid fantasies." 1287 4th St. NE.

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Jerry's Tavern

Portland, Oregon

Jerry's Tavern "looks like it opened in 1946 instead of 2024," said Jordan Michelman in Portland Monthly. It also looks like a joint in the Midwest, not Portland, yet it's "no simulacrum." Jerry Benedetto, who made a splash during the pandemic with his Chicago-style tavern pizzas, has since thrown his energy into creating a family tavern like the ones he grew up going to, and much of the Cubs, Packers, and Marquette University sports memorabilia on the walls came right off the walls of his childhood bedroom. "Ancient beer stuff is everywhere," and "the smell of fried cheese curds is in the air." The cheese curds are delicious, too, "puffy-crispy clouds of squeaky-gooey cheese" sourced from Benedetto's favorite Midwest creamery.

His wings are "already the stuff of legend," and weekend specials like goulash and grilled brats hint at where the menu could be heading. It all may strike you as routine, "but the superlative execution of what they do at Jerry's is transportive." One more thing: "The working fella next to you at the bar is real, too." 3010 NW Nicolai St.

Radio Kwara

Brooklyn, New York

Ayo Balogun's newest venture in Clinton Hill is "a mission statement masquerading as a tavern," said Matthew Schneier in NYMag.com. As at Dept of Culture, his tasting-menu spot, the Nigerian-born chef is spreading the word about his native cuisine in this more casual six-table storefront that he calls a buka, slang for a hole-in-the-wall.

Here, a server might politely tell you the agege bread is "like Texas toast," though "that hardly does justice to the burnished slab that comes toasted in butter and topped with a spicy, savory tangle of braised beef." The suya spice blend used on tilapia or octopus recalls a barbecue rub but with a gingery sweetness. Nigerian pepper soup wows in two versions: goat or an herby fish version. All the flavors mingle well with the soundtrack of Ethiopian jazz and Nigerian funk, and the kitchen does impressive work with just two cooks and some induction plates. You have to bring your own booze to complete the tavern atmosphere at Radio Kwara, but its low-key vibe "hardly explains its absence from best-of lists." The food should be winning more attention. 291 Greene Ave.