I've always been a fan of Tyler Florence and have been wanting to try the food at his restaurant for quite some time now, particularly the burger and fried chicken. Reservations are strongly encouraged because the financial district location makes it the perfect spot for after work drinks and getting a table can be really challenging. I made reservations about a week in advance and requested seats at the chef's counter because I like to see the action in the kitchen. As expected, there was already a lively bar scene when we arrived. While waiting for our table to be cleared, I got a cocktail called don't say a word. A sweet and pretty strong drink.
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| don't say a word cocktail |
The meal started with my first ever popover. I couldn't get over how perfectly soft and buttery it was, and when spread with a thick layer of the most delicious salted butter, oh my... Every restaurant should do away with the bread basket and go for popovers. We ordered 3 types of oysters recommended by our server. The nootka oyster was large and almost too intense.
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| blue point, kusshi, and nootka oysters |
I was so excited to try the burger "le grand"! I had requested the addition of a sunny side up egg on top of the burger but the server forgot and I didn't bother asking for it at that point because I was just too excited to eat the burger. The meat was cooked perfectly and the brie, roasted onion, and bacon were great toppings to the otherwise simple burger. This is the most expensive burger I've had in my life and while really good, I still can't get over Nopa's burger. After devouring my half of the burger, I dug into the fried chicken. Wayfare Tavern's fried chicken definitely sets the bar for fried chicken. By far it's the best fried chicken I've ever had. It reminded me more of breaded roasted chicken because it was juicy and not at all greasy.
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| fried chicken: buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, lemon; wayfare burger "le grand": grass-fed beef, marin brie, roasted onion, smoked bacon, brioche |
We were both super full but I just couldn't pass up homemade doughnuts for dessert. I was surprised by how large the doughnuts were when they were brought to our table because for some reason I expected doughnut holes? I don't even remember when the last time I ate a doughnut was but these doughnuts were amazing, especially dipped in the caramel sauce. I'm not super keen on the rest of the dishes on the menu but I'd gladly come here again to eat the burger, fried chicken, and doughnuts (or try a different dessert because they all seem tasty).
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| homemade doughnuts with peach jam, strawberry jam, and caramel sauce |
