Wright's Tavern

I DID IT! I made it to Wright's Tavern...twice even!

However, it was not easy. The first time, my friend Beth was willing to stand outside with me for half an hour (in the heat) before the restaurant opened in order to land one of four bar seats.

Once inside, I suddenly felt the sadness of missing I Fratellini, but one thing is still the same. The restaurant is small and with the kitchen partially in the dining room, it quite warm inside. Kudos to the staff for looking so calm in tight spaces while wearing a formal jacket.

The second time, I set a reminder on the first of the month to make a reservation at 6AM when I woke up for work. The reservations open up for the next month at midnight on the 1st. Reservations go FAST and the best I could do was an 8:15pm on a Wednesday night. That's not TOO bad of a time, but eating such a heavy meal so late in the evening did not agree with me.

Anyway, I was happy that I knew I had plans to go more than once so I could build a strategy to taste as many items as I could. The first trip, I focused on small plates and appetizers. I do appreciate a concise menu so that choices aren't overwhelming.

All the Hors D'oeuvres are seafood, and while I only picked two, I would have loved to have made all of them my full dinner. It was hard to narrow it down, but I love oysters and crab cakes the most.

The six East Coast Oysters came with a lot of accoutrements, while the Blue Crab meat was topped with a Remoulade.

East Coast Oysters

Baked Crab Cake

Since my friend Beth doesn't like oysters, she started with a Bibb Salad topped with Green Goddess dressing.

Bibb Salad

I did break down and order one side because it was cheesy! The Macaroni Au Grain was quite a dense dish; a "baked mac 'n' cheese" with a crunchy breadcrumb topping. 

Macaroni Au Gratin

Our bar neighbors next to us were regulars and very kind, so I traded some bites of macaroni for a handful of French Fries or Pommes Frites with a side of aioli. That's when I knew what I would order for my second visit.

Pommes Frites

For my second trip, my goal was simple. The Tavern Burger!! It's huge and you should probably split this with a friend. I know that isn't helping sales, so perhaps be happy that you're going to get two meals out of it. And it's made with Iowa Premium Wagyu beef with Prairie Breeze Cheddar on top. Decadent. You can see the cheese oozing out below.

Tavern Burger

My friend Julia started with a Caesar salad and chose the other sandwich on the menu, the French Dip. And ditto as to what I said above. I made the mistake of trying to eat a half after my half of the burger. This was so good the next day too.

Tavern Caesar Salad

French Dip

I admit I am curious about their entrees, with four beef options, and four non-beef choices. 

While I'm happy to have made it in, I'm not sure I will go through all that trouble again in the future, so let me borrow my Mom's friend's quote: Take a picture! (Good thing I took a few!) RIP Roberta. 

Resources:

Wright's Tavern = https://www.wrightswydown.com/