Tavern on the Green (as we know it) Serves Last Meal on New Years...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tavern_on_the_green

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I used to take my students there for lunch when we went to NY for field trips.

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I'll miss your lights at Christmas as the cab drives through the park.

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IS there still a market in New York for mediocre (but pretty) restaurants charging $8 for a baked potato or Fries to sit next to your $46 roast beef? Start out with a "Lettuce wedge with Bleu Cheese Dressing" salad and your modest two course meal with vegetable and starch is going for $76- and for that they won't even promise you that you'll be sitting in the "good" dining room?

Updated On: 12/30/09 at 03:02 PM

All the times I've eaten at Tavern On The Green - lunch, Sunday brunch and dinner, the food was far from medicore. It was absolutely delicious! When I was there last time, we had a pre-theatre, price fixe dinner and I think it was $55 per person. And, in NYC, that's a bargain.

And, you gotta look at the big picture. How often do you do it, and look at what you are getting. You're getting a wonderful experience - in one of NYC's most popular restaurants, sitting in a beautiful dining room, and have great food and great conversation with your friends. You can't put a price on having a wonderful memory.

I was there only once. I'm very grateful to PalJoey's parents for letting me experience this New York legend.

The first big industry events I went to as a buyer during fashion week where at the Green. For a wide-eyed twenty two year old from North Carolina -- it was MAGICAL!

"IS there still a market in New York for mediocre (but pretty) restaurants charging $8 for a baked potato or Fries to sit next to your $46 roast beef? Start out with a "Lettuce wedge with Bleu Cheese Dressing" salad and your modest two course meal with vegetable and starch is going for $76- and for that they won't even promise you that you'll be sitting in the "good" dining room?"


Yes, there is. These prices are a pittance compared to what a restaurant like Per Se charges, and for that one you have to book months in advance. The super rich will pay absurd prices to eat where they want.

But I loved Tavern on the Green: the setting, the topiary, the conviviality, the ambiance inside, winter or summer, and yes, the food as well. Something truly beautiful and special is being lost here, and I'll miss it.

"You can't possibly compare Per Se to Tavern on the Green, especially when it comes to food. Yes, Per Se is ridiculously expensive, but Thomas Keller prepares exquisite meals that few restaurants in New York can rival, least of all the mechanical and industrialized grub at Tavern. "


I can possibly compare because I've eaten in both. Per Se is ridiculously overpriced for what you get. Exquisite? Perhaps. If you like chi-chi, nouvelle cuisine in tiny portions. I've had excellent food at Tavern on the Green that I would not at all categorize as "mechanical and industrialized grub."

As for the decor, the ambiance, no comparison. Tavern on the Green wins hands down.

Updated On: 12/31/09 at 08:20 AM

JoeKv99 gets it exactly right. I've eaten there on several occasions (always taking visitors who had to have the experience. "OOOh John and Yoko used to eat here.") Overpriced food in a nicely appointed dining room, if you can get seated in the nice dining room and not in one of the "converted hallways."

The last time I went there, one of my friends got into a fight with the waiter. He kept telling her she had to check her coat. She said it was too expensive a coat and she refused to let it out of her sight. The waiter actually tried to use the argument that with the coat on the back of her chair, it would be "too crowded and waiters wouldn't be able to get by."

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I call those side dining rooms "converted hallways" because they cram so many tables in there that it feels like a very narrow hallway. Granted last time I was in there was during the Christmas season, but I felt like I was eating in a number 4 train at 8:30 am.

No we did not summon a manager. Maybe we should have, but in a place like Tavern on the Green, a customer really shouldn't have to. When a waiter escorts you to a table and then stands in the middle of the floor arguing about coats, you have to assume that the manager has already failed in his/her duties.

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You're right, a customer shouldn't have to. But, if there is a concern, then talking to a Manager can easily solve the problem. I hate to use the word COMPLAIN, because it has such a negative vibe. But, if you don't inform someone of a concern, how are they going to know how to fix it? I'm sure the Manager would have appreciated it, that way they can make sure that it doesn't happen again.

And, whatever you do...don't give 'tude when talking to a Manager about a problem. HUGE, HUGE mistake. Not saying that you did, or would. Just throwing it out there for everyone reading.....

Yes, I have been in one of the side dining rooms once. It was quite lovely. The last time I was at Tavern was 2 years ago at this very time.

One thing that always impressed me about Tavern, was how smooth operating everything was - considering the huge amount of people that were there, everyday.

Very sad that it's closing.

Updated On: 12/31/09 at 11:59 AM