Andy here. On St. Patrick’s Day, the Diners visited the Tavern at our local Hawthorne Hotel (blog) in Salem. We don’t go big on St. Patrick’s Day anymore (who are we kidding…did we ever?) but the holiday was a good opportunity to add to the blog, enjoy a pint of Guiness, and start to wind down after a busy week.
The Hawthorne Hotel is an old standby in Salem. It’s a popular venue for various parties and events year-round, especially weddings and receptions. We love feeling like we’re a part of the action – whether peeping the ceremonies on the adjacent Salem Common or jumping up to catch a glimpse of the dance floor through the windows. If we ever find a way inside, don’t miss our “wedding crashers” post! Most years we do make it inside for the annual Halloween Costume Ball, which takes over just about every public space in the hotel. We’ve all made it up on stage as finalists for the costume contest, and Jen and Matt were even part of the winning group last year. As for dining, the Tavern at the Hawthorne is one of Jaime’s and my favorite locals. It’s a great place to grab a drink or a quick lunch or dinner because it’s so close, rarely overcrowded, and has a nice, comfortable atmosphere.
We met up at dinner instead of taking the train, which made sense for this outing since the Hawthorne is a short drive or walk for all of us, and we were fitting this in after work. For our typical outings we’ll be riding the train together, and we’ll be sure to share all of our unique experiences riding the rail. I actually have the pleasure – and pain – of using the train to get to work every day. Between the commuter rail, subway and a bus, I am already all too familiar with what you might experience on the MBTA. On St. Patty’s, I had one of my more memorable train rides home. You’ll have to wait for the spin-off blog – but if you spot a messenger bag clip stuck in a heating grate, please comment! Everyone else made their way to the Tavern without incident. Jennie, surprisingly caught without any green to wear, was fortunate enough to find a brand-new green cardigan waiting for her as she headed out the door – as she put it, “the UPS man delivered!”
We love to scope out the best seats wherever we go, and inevitably we end up in the wrong spot. The Tavern has some cozy, fireside tables and others with comfy club chairs, but of course we didn’t end up with any of these. Jen and Matt witnessed a bit of drama between employees before being seated, so it seemed best to just stay put. Once we were all settled in, we had a fun dinner of telling stories and people watching. The best was the couple who literally tried out three different seats before picking the best one in the house. Maybe we could have taken our pick after all!
The food: The Tavern at the Hawthorne had a special St. Patty’s Day menu, and Jaime and I both had the Emerald Salad, which included smoked salmon, greens, cauliflower, dressing and toasted capers. I was looking for something a little lighter, and this was a great choice. The toasted capers were new to me, and were the highlight of the meal. This was a nice changeup from my usuals at the Tavern – burgers, fish ‘n’ chips and onion soup.
Now to Jennie and Matt for some of their thoughts:
Jennie
The Tavern is a bit tired, but the perfect retreat for chilly, snowy evenings or holidays when any other place in Salem will be too crowded to attempt. This evening the crowd was a bit older (do you notice a trend) and the energy was a little low. Surprise, surprise I had the Mesclun Green Salad which has dried cranberries, spiced pecans, bleu cheese, tomatoes, croutons and a Champagne vinaigrette. It was pretty run of the mill. For vegetarian options, they also have a yummy Goat Cheese and Red Pepper Ravioli that I have also tried before. This week’s special is a hummus, watercress, tomatoes, feta cheese and olive tapenade wheat wrap. It appears they are always cognizant of vegetarian options, which is hard to find. We went splitsville on dessert and it was delish! We had what I would call “deconstructed cupcakes,” with do-it-yourself frosting and warm chocolate ganache, in undoubtedly the cutest cup I’ve ever seen. We also shared a warm gingerbread ice cream sandwich with mint ice cream that definitely remedied the post-salad blues.
Matt
It being St Patrick’s, I wanted to change it up a little…so I started with the Caesar salad. It was your typical Caesar. Next up was the roasted half chicken. It was a pretty big portion, and was served with mashed potato and broccoli. It was all good but the chicken could have been a tad less dry. After all that and a couple Guinness I had no room for dessert, so it was just coffee for me.
All-in-all a successful Choo-Chew outing to a local favorite. Coming up soon Jennie and Matt will share their thoughts on changes at another local favorite, and Jaime and I will tell you about packing our bags and heading in to Boston for an action-packed, full-day trip to the big city.
