What a treat! My grand-nephew Jack Tanner, the new and much improved John Tanner, was back in town to visit Patterson Sheehan, who recently moved to DC from North Carolina. We all — Liza, Michael, Ella, Lily, and I — got together for a Saturday brunch. (Alas, Nancy was at a ladies gathering for a friend from Maine, Nancy Breul, who was staying with us.) We drove down and ultimately found an almost legal place to park, and met Jack and Patterson at Logan Tavern.
I’d been to Logan Tavern a couple of times before, but not in, oh, 10 years. (That’s a wild guess. As the years mount up, I can get pretty vague about how long ago things happened.) It’s the sort of place you’d expect around Logan Circle, a close-in neighborhood that used to be a zone of villains and women of ill repute and is now full of affluent young people.
I’ll warn you up front that this is not a comprehensive review. The few photographs were taken well into the meal, and I didn’t cross examine everyone about their food. I was concentrating on the company rather than the food, and we were having a merry time. You’ve met Jack at Bum’s Restaurant, which serves the best barbecue in Ayden, North Carolina, but I don’t think you’ve met Patterson. Here she is with Jack and Ella.
We ordered, beginning with Ella and Lily, both of whom had French Toast off the children’ menu ($9.00). It’s good to get food for young people quickly. The waffles were large portions which they both clearly enjoyed Michael had an order of wings ($15.00).
Patterson had a pretty Spinach Omelet ($15.50), and Liza had the Big Chopped Salad ($16.00). Jack and I both ordered the Chorizo and Avocado Omelet ($19.50).
The server was top notch, prompt and patient with a group that took up the table long enough to warrant a generous tip. And the space was roomy and pleasant, with a touch of that dinginess that so well becomes a tavern. The noise level was surprisingly low given the nature of the music and the number of people enjoying their weekend matitudinal drinks, which were generous and well received. I thought about ordering a Bloody Mary, but the Logan Tavern version is 20 ounces, and I had a full day ahead of me. (The Bloody Mary features, among many other things, balsamic horseradish, which I’ve never had nor imagined. I welcome a report from someone who has.)
As I mentioned, the waffles were well received, and they looked abundant and tasty. The chopped salad looked fine, as did the spinach omelet. The chorizo and avocado omelet was big, with lots of cheese, but it lacked very much or very flavorful chorizo, and the salsa that topped it was bland by salsa standards. The potatoes that accompanied the omelet were mushy, so that the crust that is the glory of the home fry was flabby. They seem to have been sitting in a pile of their comrades, cooked in advance of the onslaught, for far too long. And Michael reported that the wings had been under-fried. Is that a neologism? That is, the wings had not been properly crisped. Hot sauce helped the omelet, potatoes, and wings.
These are issues with a meal that, while lamentable, can easily be addressed by either good company and/or a 20-ounce Bloody Mary. And here, the company was outstanding. We had a wonderful chat, the girls were enthralled by Patterson as, indeed, were we all. And, wondrous to say, we didn’t get a parking ticket. You can do much worse. I would go back again, but I’d probably plan to take an Uber home.
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