The Tavern
220 E College Ave, State College
thetavern.com
Open for dinner Tuesday-Sunday, lunch on Friday & Saturday
Nittany Lyonnaise Salad ($30)
Lyonnaise salad with frisée, confit marble potatoes, bacon lardons, Dijon dill dressing with pan-seared rainbow trout
If you haven’t been to The Tavern in years, you might not know what you’re missing. A completely renovated restaurant retains much of its old charm — and original materials, in many cases — but updated for today. Chef Brandin Gray’s menu takes the same tack. “I like to say it’s recognizable but different,” he said. “They’re regular dishes that people know and enjoy, but we’re doing it with a little finesse.”
The Restaurant Week special is a case in point: Pan-seared rainbow trout is paired with a Lyonnaise salad that marries flavors from the classic French preparation with German potato salad notes like shallot and dill. “There’s a lot of substance in this dish but it’s light enough for a nice white wine.” Pair all of that with the historic restaurant’s new second-story outdoor deck for a very downtown State College summer meal.