The Liberty Tavern: Fully-Vested
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Posted by Blake the Megalomaniac (Follow Me)- Blake the Megalomaniac is a graduate of Virginia Tech and now lives the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC. - To see more posts by this author click here |
It’s a falsity that 90% of all restaurants fail after their first year. In fact, poorly run restaurants find a way to keep the doors open notwithstanding the massive money loss. If Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares has taught us anything it’s that restaurant owners and operators are an interesting lot. The ones that don’t know what they’re doing tend to not only be naive as to what’s not working with their business, but delusional as to the way forward and out of trouble. Incompetent restaurateurs are willing to mortgage their future holding up their paltry pet project. . .
Fortunately for you (and me) the people behind The Liberty Tavern have the experience, the vision, and most importantly the will to execute that vision to bring us one of the best dining encounters not only in Arlington but in the area.
Located on the corner of N. Irving Street at 3195 Wilson boulevard, The Liberty Tavern is a one of those restaurants you’d call a gem (I have to thank my good friend Jen Thomas for introducing it to me).
Attention: Do not shy away from The Liberty Tavern’s because of its proximity to the Clarendon Ballroom. The Liberty Tavern is hardly some seedy nightclub.
In fact, I went away from my first dining experience there thinking that it was one of the few restaurants in that area that combines seamlessly, attentive service, elegant decor, and more importantly, high-quality, well-prepared food.
I say attentive service because from the initial walk-in and interaction, all the way through to the exchange of funds at the end of my experience, it was as if we were the lone table in the place. You all know there is a fine line between good service and an in-your-face server, and our server, Tony, was cordial, knowledgeable and put every table in his section at ease. I want to emphasize that our server was excellent but I felt that The Liberty Tavern executed the “team concept” of service better than some of the fine dining places that tout Michelin stars or high Zagat ratings. Even the busboys were on their game. They didn’t refill our waters when it was unnecessary, they didn’t take my plate before I was finished eating, and they spoke. That’s right the busboys reciprocated my please and thank-you gestured which I thought was noteworthy.
The ambiance wasn’t pretentious. The bar area located downstairs was hectic but warm while the main dining room located upstairs was in vogue. I especially appreciated the blown-up photos of the city Clarendon from back in the 50′s (I think it was the 50′s anyway).
The food tasted fresh and like it was made-to-order; everyone hates it when you can taste the fact that the food had been frozen previously. I had the Duroc Pork Shank with ham hock-mustard sauce, horseradish whipped potatoes, and fried spinach. Tremendous. Jen had the Vermont Cabot white cheddar, prosciutto, caramelized onions, granny smith apples, and sage pizza, which this being her hundredth time there, she swears by.
Finally, I know I may be “late to the party” as they say because TLT has been open since sometime around 2007, but before my friend Jen introduced me I hadn’t heard anyone speak its praises. I attribute that to the people in the know being selfish and wanting to keep this good thing all to themselves. Well, the secret’s out and word-of-mouth is the best marketing tool a restaurant can have. Safe to say I’m fully-vested in The Liberty Tavern.
Atmosphere: 9/10
Food: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Price: Expensive but you have to pay for quality and you should be willing to.
DB Threat Level: Blue (see chart) due to proximity to Clarendon Ballroom.
Food4Thought, udothedishes . . .
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