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It was a quiet Sunday at the Black Horse Tavern when we stopped in for a late lunch, but it was still lively. The atmosphere was laid back, but the staff was attentive and I was ready to be waited on!
I have been wanting to try the Tavern mostly because I drive by it a lot and heard it was good — and they’re doing live music now on Wednesdays. I love (almost) any place that has live music because too few places do that anymore.
We sat at the bar because there’s always something going on at the bar. It’s fun to watch the bartenders work, the people you sit next to are often chatty, there are TV’s on. There was no 1990s “Baywatch” like at Caio’s in Lynn, but they did have the Sox game and a few other events going.
We started with a martini for my husband and Tito’s and pineapple for me. Nothing elaborate but they do have a great bar. It includes all manner of things it should, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and some things I wouldn’t have expected like Jim Beam Peach bourbon (which I was very tempted to try, but I was driving), Jameson Orange and an overall great selection of whiskey.
I also scanned their cocktail list. I will be back to try a perilous palmer and a blood orange Cosmo (I do love a good Cosmo!) but on a hot sunny day nothing beats Tito’s and pineapple for refreshment. My husband gave his nod of approval to his martini (which is essentially a glass of gin with olives) and my drink was pleasantly spot on. Too much pineapple and it’s overly sweet, this was just right, Goldilocks.
Drinks in hand, now what to order?
We had our pick of the lunch and dinner menu, which is a wide variety: soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pastas, steaks, fish etc. You’d be hard pressed not to find something you liked.
My husband went almost immediately with the Tavern Tip Wedge salad. He loves a good wedge salad and what’s not to like about steak tips on the side. After considering the wild mushroom and chicken ravioli (I love wild mushrooms and ravioli, but it seemed too much for a late lunch) and the pulled pork tacos (again, pulled pork and tacos — what’s not to love?) I went with the Black Horse BLT.
I know — so boring, so pedestrian but I have found that when deciding menu options, my first instinct is almost always right. And I love a good BLT. You’d think it would be hard not to make a good BLT, but you’d be mistaken.
Another place I would lunch at back in the day, in Lynn, could not make a decent BLT. It should be a crime. The real crime was I ordered it more than twice, hoping it was just an off day. I learned.
For a good BLT, the bread should be toasted enough that it has a crunch but not so much that it crumbles when you eat it. Don’t give me mealy tomatoes or wilty lettuce. You can’t hide either in a BLT when they are two of the three stars of the show!
And evenly distributed bacon is a must! I do know how ridiculous that sounds, but here’s the thing: a BLT is now a $14, $16 or at the Black Horse Tavern, a $17.50 sandwich. I don’t want all my bacon up front so my last bite is nothing but mayonnaise and rogue lettuce. I want my bacon evenly distributed — and it was — thanks, BHT.
The BHT BLT also includes avocado, which is always a nice touch, but it could have used a touch of salt. I know adding salt is a touchy subject so it was probably best I did it myself.
I will say, the fries were a little disappointing. They’re described as “hand cut” but looked suspiciously not hand cut (I say this because I worked in kitchens for 15 years and have made hand cut French fries) and I should have asked for them to be crispier. I like slightly crunchy fries. These were kind of sad.
You know what wasn’t sad, though, the eggplant fries, which I also ordered...I would order those all day long!
I think eggplant is the most underrated vegetable out there. Brussel sprouts have been having their day for a few years now as have tater tots — and the Black Horse menu sported both trendy starters. But eggplant, I think, is still stuck in parmesan land with the occasional appearance of moussaka, baba ganoush or ratatouille, and it’s so much more.
The fries were crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and the sriracha sauce that came with them was delish. Just the right amount of heat. Heck, they were even good cold the next day (I couldn’t eat them all and my husband is not an eggplant convert … yet).
The steak tip wedge salad was ridiculous and I mean that in a nice way. It was huge — HUGE! It wasn’t a wedge, it was an entire half a head of lettuce drizzled with blue cheese dressing and covered in all manner of things that make a salad great, like grape tomatoes, bacon pieces, and even more blue cheese of the crumbled variety.
It’s really too much and not the kind of thing you can take home because it’s already covered in dressing, but we made a good stab at it.
And don’t forget it comes with steak tips, which were cooked to perfection. For us that means medium rare. Although they were soft, lightly barbecued and luscious, my husband could not eat them all so I had a terrific lunch the next day with leftover steak tips and eggplant fries.
Would I go again? Sure. I’d love to give the spinach goat cheese salad a whirl, along with the fig and prosciutto pizza or maybe the shepherd’s pie.
The prices can add up depending on what you order, but they are no more steep than most places these days. Remember, the restaurant business is still in recovery mode so when it gets too hot or you're too tired or you just feel like eating out — go.
Hit up the Black Horse Tavern and go hungry! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
