Washingtonian food critic Todd Kliman had a lot of not-so-nice to things to say about America Eats Tavern in an online chat. Young and Hungry and Yelpers don’t seem to love the place either.
The tavern, set-up by José Andrés in his old Café Atlantico space in conjunction with the National Archives’ What’s Cooking Uncle Sam special exhibit, is an exciting and historic proposition. Andrés has a documented passion for the history behind the cuisine of his adopted homeland. That — along with his status as reigning James Beard Foundation Chef of the Year, a restaurant empire right by the Archives, and the ability to renovate one of his prime Penn Quarter locations — makes him the perfect partner for this project.
There is a fair premium to pay for the glimpses to the past that the menu offers, which is somewhat on par with Minibar. It may help to think of the effort as a museum piece, very thoughtfully curated, more culture than gimmickry. The menu is fun to read. It’s not just a list of goods for sale; it’s a captivating piece in National Archives’ exhibition. To order from it is to taste test the art.
Yet, the pop-up does not live up to its potential. My experience with the menu was limited, so I have only an impression of the restaurant. But there’s a reason for that — many of the most interesting sounding dishes are served only one or two days of the week. The kitchen was out of most of the daily specials and several others.
The other problem is that our table read and reread the menu and absolutely enjoyed the historical descriptions of each dish, but we had a difficult time finding selections (of what was being served) that jumped out as things we actually wanted to order.
Despite corporate sponsorships by Dole and American Express, it’s hard to get around the fact that servings are small, often for ingredients that are pedestrian. I was not going to spend $30 for beef stew, even if it was President Eisenhower’s recipe. It’s still just beef cubes and vegetables — and the description doesn’t suggest otherwise.
A Bison Tomahawk Steak for two looms large as it’s presented to a table next to us and before being whisked back to the kitchen for carving. Its $68 price tag may be on par with a neighborhood steakhouse, but ordering it would limit the fun of trying to sample several dishes.
For starters, deboned wings pay a glorious tribute to Buffalo’s Anchor Bar version, packed with flavor and a blue cheese sauce flourish on top. But the wings at Anchor Bar don’t cost $3.50 each. I’ve had a very similar bite at Minibar with which the per-wing price is more in line.
Fried chicken with catsup comes with one of the eight thin catsups the tavern makes. Our waitress explains that the books Andrés studied revealed that homemade catsups of many different flavors were very popular, though the books didn’t necessarily explain what they accompanied. While I’d like to work my way through mushroom, anchovy, and gooseberry varieties, there is little on the menu to pair them with, such as French fries. Without them, the catsups make little sense.
Oysters are another surprise and take up a spacious section of the menu. Spoonbread with oyster ice cream and caviar for $15, inspired by Mark Twain, is one of the most interesting sounding and best-sounding deals on the menu. But unless you’re there on a Friday, you’re out of luck. We settled for grilled butter oysters, which were slightly smoky and served with a garnish of unexpected but appreciated fresh seaweed. With four oysters to an order, there are not many to go around. Not to mention: you’ll learn that in old-time America, an oyster costs less than a chicken wing.
The shrimp and pork jambalaya we ordered, served at the table from a cast iron pot, allows Andrés to apply his knowledge of paella making to Creole cooking. Though I found it could use much more of a kick.
Having opened July 4th weekend, America Eats Tavern is still in its early days. Service can be spotty. I’ve never seen of a shrub or a squash as drinks on a beverage menu, and I know I’m not the only one. So when the server explained that shrub is a vinegar drink with soda, I was surprised she wasn’t able to help me get over my confusion that it would lack any sort of herb-based simple syrup or bitters. I learned eventually, and it’s something I probably would have never heard of or tasted otherwise.
As you break the place down though, you realize what you are getting for your money is food with history, sometimes elevated by the skill of Andrés and his ThinkFoodGroup, sometimes not. The menu is novel for its museum value and the work of delving down to find original and quintessential recipes — it’s not so dissimilar to America Restaurant in Union Station in that way. America Eats Tavern, of course, is producing higher-quality food. But the prevailing purpose of both is the story they tell through their menus, America more thorough Americana, America Eats more through archival studiousness and a longing for our culinary frontiers. That, and both menus may be better viewed than ordered from.
America Eats Tavern
405 8th Street NW
(202) 393-0812
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown (Red), Federal Triangle (Orange, Blue), Archives/Navy Memorial (Yellow, Green)
