Tavern On the Hill

Tavern on the Hill

Tavern on the Hill is everything a neighborhood pub should be. It’s friendly and inviting and has a loyal clientele. Noted for their pizzas, they are also respected for the quality of their burgers. Located at 1111 St. Gregory St. in Mt. Adams and online at www.mtadamstavernonthehill.com, it may not be the easiest destination but like many places up on the hill, it is worth the twisty one-way road drive.

Josh

           The Tavern on the Hill is just that, a tavern. It has a quaint, friendly atmosphere that couples good service with good food. Almost immediately, we were told to seat ourselves and had menus and drinks fairly quickly. The service was pretty speedy considering my family and I arrived during the lunch rush. After the food was ordered, we sat and watched the pre-game towards opening day for the Reds. As we watched on the multiple T.V.s that were placed around the half of the restaurant we were seated in, the pleasantness of the atmosphere took hold. Once I sat at my seat and had gotten comfortable, I began to understand that this tavern was a favorite eating spot of the locals. The waiters and bartenders seemed to know a few of the customers and the joint was hopping even after we had paid and left. As the food was placed on the table I took note that the food was made to order and there were no screw ups. Also, I noticed that upon first bite, the meat was charred well, the garden was pleasantly crisp and fresh, and that the sandwich was messy. The Tavern on the Hill seems like another local joint, because it is. That being said, the local joints are often times the best. The Tavern on the Hill comes recommended if you’re looking for a good place to simply hang out for lunch then look no further.

Mark

                I think eating a burger should be like tasting a nice wine. Lots of senses should come into play and there should be a nice complexity to them all. For this review I chose the Tavern Burger, a half-pound of beef served up on a Kaiser roll with lettuce and tomato (I had them hold the onion). I added a slice of cheddar and a little mustard and ketchup, but not too much because I didn’t want to drown out the flavor of the other ingredients. Remember, always practice safe burger; use condiments.

                 Even with the lunch time rush the freshly prepared burgers came within a reasonable time. The burger looked good enough to eat and as I put it together and lifted it for the first bite the aromas of fresh char grilling almost made me tear up with joy. Not really but I do appreciate the scent of a nice burger.

                Juices lay on the plate, all except those being soaked up by the bun. With my first bite my taste buds worked their way through the sandwich. The bun was softer than many more traditional Kaiser Rolls and added just a hint a sesame seed flavor. Next I hit crisp lettuce and a pretty good slice of early spring tomato. The condiments added their perfect little touch and the cheddar was strong enough to be tasted and blended in well with everything else.

                Then came the meat. While up to this point I only smelled the char grilled flavor, now both the texture and the taste of the grill came alive for me. It tasted good but something was wrong. There it was, I had ordered my burger be cooked medium rare and it was well done. Yes I understand the potential dangers of eating undercooked meat but in my opinion, overcooking any piece of meat saps the flavors. Just as you want some fat content for flavor in a steak or burger, so too, in my opinion, do you need meat that hasn’t been turned to charcoal to really bring out the taste.

                On the side came regular French fries. They also offer up garlic, Cajun and sweet potato fries. I should have opted for one of the others. The fries were about as basic and bland as could be. I’m not a big ketchup guy (though I love dipping fries in barbecue or tartar sauce) these needed something to add some taste. My daughter, who came with us on the trip, had the sweet potato fries and they were perhaps the best I’ve ever eaten. Light as you could ever imagine, putting one in your mouth was like eating sweet potato flavored deep fried air.

                Overall Tavern on the Hill is worth checking out if you’ve never been before. I’d like to think that if my burger hadn’t been overcooked my meal would have been very good. Even cooked well done there was a decent amount of flavor to the meat. But like a wine that just misses the mark, so did this burger.