District Tap House Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Owners Bennett Page and Sean Marr above, and their decadent Pan Roasted Black Sea Bass
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It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know and now we know Sean Marr, who hails from Glasgow, Scotland and has been a long-time New Yorker for awhile now following earning a B.A. in Hospitality Management from Napier University in Edinburgh. Along with Bennett Page, Aiden Stenson, Michael Geddes and Philip Smith, he owns District Tap House which opened in January 2014. This is our first visit there and they also own several other venues which we hope to tell you about in the future. District Tap House is so much more than a Tap House! On our first and only visit so far, we were glad to see their many culinary talents. We began with their brilliant Brussel Sprouts enhanced with a beautiful reduced apple cider vinaigrette, granny smith apples, creme fraiche and pistachio. We've seen brussel sprouts embellished in a variety of ways before but this was refreshing, creative and delicious. It was interesting without being overly trendy or over-the-top.
We absolutely love crab almost everything, so we were intrigued by the Housemade Saffron Crab Empanadas, which are made fresh on the premises daily. Almond cream comes to the party inside which looks like this:
One of the best salads this winter we've tried is this one: Harvest Salad. Each component was fantastically fresh and the combination overall harmonized well. Arugula, frisee, carrots, marcona almonds, and pecorino romano cheese teamed up to wow your stomach and our favorite part were the honey tangerines, which were the epitome of delightful on a cold winter's day.
Meet the Pan Roasted Sea Bass which should be your biggest clue that this is nowhere near a mere bar. Hailing from the Pacific Ocean, this poisson dances a waltz in a sunchoke puree and olive oil with jicame and tajin for a festive combination. This slice of fish is petite and decadent, and we look for great fish especially now for Fridays in Lent.
Oh how we love burgers and they are not all the same.
We absolutely adored the succulent, juicy quintessential District Burger which became a cheeseburger (Peachy likes cheese always on her burgers) when the Fontina melted on top. This burger is derived from grass fed beef and also brings bacon to its party inbetween the bun. The Duck Fat fries are also a total winner.
Look at this smashing color! We never edit pictures: it does look this great in real life. The Vegetable Gratin is a must! Charred peppers, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, fontina, gorgonzola and toasted breadcrumbs form a superlative concoction that is warm and inviting and also pretty nutritious. We are always on the lookout for new convincing ways to eat more vegetables.
Finally, Sean Marr mentioned his favorite dish is the Cedar Smoked Center Cut Pork Chop. Not every owner makes great suggestions, but boy was he right about this! A Worcester Sauce rub first followed by a grilling session on a cedar plank and finished with a wonderful homemade chipotle barbecue glaze make this the best pork we've had this year.
District Tap House impressed us on our first visit and we look forward to seeing what they do next!
