LITTLE ROCK — In Colonial America, taverns were places to drink, eat and even sleep for weary travelers.
In contemporary west Little Rock, The Tavern is a place to eat and drink for weary shoppers.
What distinguishes The Tavern Sports Grill, located next to the movie theater in the Promenade at Chenal, from other shopping center eateries (Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro and Bravo Cucina Italiana) - from the rest of the shopping center at large - is that it’s a “guy” place.
Which is not to say that real men don’t occasionally enjoy browsing boutiques and relishing Lobster Ravioli Alla Vodka.
But in the mainly girly merchandise mecca, the Tavern is a modern, television-filled civilized man cave cooking up cheese dip and chicken wings (and Creme Bourbon Penne, too).
It could use a few larger screens, and comfier seating than uncushioned wood chairs and thinly padded booths. And we expect the lack of sound absorption in thehigh-ceilinged interior could make for noisy nights when the place gets crowded.
“It has potential,” concluded a friend in sports media, who we invited to help assess the Tavern, which has a roomy dining room, bar, party room and patio, as a game-day destination.
But then he proceeded to leave his unexciting grilled chicken salad ($8.99), a plate of chicken, mixed greens, tomato, croutons, onion and cheese served with crackers, pretty much untouched.
The Tavern’s location and laid-back feel has its appeal. As do the hours - open until midnight is pretty much unheard of in the Chenalosphere. After three visits - two dinner, one lunch (with the same menu offered all day) - we were iffy on the new restaurant’s food, although we enjoyed good service.
Appetizers are paramount at a sports bar (as are beers - they didn’t appear on a menu just yet, so servers produced hand-written lists). And while we liked the beef Ultimate Nachos ($9.99) that featured tasty bits of beef brisket atop the tortilla chips covered withcheese dip, shredded cheese, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato and onion, we couldn’t believe the Buffalo Chicken Dip ($8.99) served with underseasoned pita chips had zero zip. We wondered about the Alligator Tail ($10.99), though not enough to order it.
The entree chicken Caesar salad ($9.99) would have been better if the bits of chicken breast - joined by romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, croutons and crackers - hadn’t been overly charred.
The Tavern Burger ($9.99), advertised as a half-pound of grilled beef topped with bacon, mushrooms, grilled onions and jalapenos, had a good flavor. But the recipient remarked that the patty seemed smaller than other restaurant burgers one can’t get a mouth around. Sandwiches come with a pile of decent fries or breaded, crisp onion rings.
We expected a lot of punch from the Chipotle Chicken and Avocado Sandwich ($10.99) and were disappointed when the rather dry sandwich that also included bacon and “jalapeno cornbread” (that just looked and tasted like regular bread with no detectable jalapeno) packed none.
Still confused about the jalapeno corn bread, weordered the Three-Cheese Grilled Cheese sandwich ($6.99) that also features it. Again we received our sandwich - an agreeable melt of cheddar, provolone and Swiss - on more traditional sandwich bread; a server later explained their corn bread is not typical.
Beyond starters, salads and sandwiches, the Tavern’s mug-shaped menu also includes steaks, seafood, two pasta dishes and dinner entrees ($8.99-$27.99).
A Make Your Own Combo ($13.99) gives the diner a chance to choose a half-portion of two entrees (grilled chicken,ribs, pulled pork, sliced beef or grilled shrimp) and two sides from a lengthy list. While the smoked pulled pork was tender, the ribs were not only chewy, they were cold. Satisfactory coleslaw and seasoned rice rounded out the plate.
We didn’t ask our server for the list of desserts ($5.99)as the menu instructed.
After the meaty, cheesy and fried food, we needed a promenade around the Promenade.
The Tavern Sports Grill Address: 17815 Chenal Parkway (Promenade at Chenal shopping center), Little Rock Hours: 10:30 a.m.-midnight daily Cuisine: Sandwiches, salads, dinner plates Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D Alcoholic beverages: Full bar Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 830-2100 thetavernsportsgrill.com
Weekend, Pages 33 on 04/28/2011