Hot ‘Bar Rescue’ Host Jon Taffer Baptizes His Namesake Tavern in Penn Quarter

Jon Taffer, the flamboyant reality TV star known for his tough-love, no-nonsense approach to the bar business, is as confident a restaurateur as they come. Speaking recently by phone from North Carolina, where he’s been shooting new episodes of his decade-old Saving the Bar makeover show, Taffer proudly summed up his first DC venture in one surprising word: “mainstream.”

“It’s not a theme. It’s not trendy. It’s not too hip,” he said. It’s also unmistakably his brand, starting with a framed picture of a smiling, whiskey-sipping Taffer above an electric fireplace in the entryway (not to mention the swag and mosaic tiles for sale in floor that spells out a big “T” just beyond the door ). Brick-framed Taffer’s Tavern debuts on Thursday, September 1 (700 6th Street NW). It’s the second in the US, following a 2020 debut in Alpharetta, Georgia, with another opening near Boston next week.

Taffer’s Tavern

“The environment is intimate and warm,” he said. “It’s the kind of place you want to be every day.”

Diving into the hearty menu every day can be a challenge. Highlights of the pub fare include pork belly skewers, tots tots topped with shredded beef, cheese curds, and rich mushroom béchamel sauce, fish and chips, and a huge au jus roast beef sandwich that rivals the size of a pile of fries. Wedge salads and hearty flatbreads lighten the load, and local ingredients like sausages and produce are used whenever possible.

Tierney Plumb/Eater DC

In contrast to the acclaimed eateries and tasting tables around DC, Taffer’s fast-growing casual franchise has entered the comfort food crowd with a tech-savvy edge. The meats are cooked sous-vide, a cooking technique favored by chefs for its consistency and flavor. The short rib entree, for example, goes into a vacuum-sealed bag before spending nearly 70 hours in a hot water bath.

The sous-vide process is managed in partnership with Northern Virginia-based Cuisine Solutions, whose chefs prepare the proteins off-site before delivering them to the Taffer’s Tavern kitchen for final touches such as searing, crisping, and plating. The arrangement is part of a highly-automated kitchen that eschews common equipment like traditional stoves in favor of more efficient methods like infrared ovens.

“We do whatever any kitchen would do,” Taffer said. “We’re just doing it in a higher-tech way.”

Posted in Life Online

Posted in Life Online

Taffer says the innovative setup has reduced his back-of-house labor costs by 50 to 60 percent, eliminating many of the staffing bottlenecks that plague other restaurants.

“We now have the resources to work to make sure the front of the house is well staffed,” he said.

Posted in Life Online

A polished bar looks like one he’s survived in the past, winning points for soft mustard-colored chairs with back support, local beer poured into glasses straight from the freezer, and bartenders which handles attractive copper shakers with ease. The sprawling former residence of Penn Commons gets an old-world tavern makeover with green velvet banquettes, brown plaid patterned walls, and emptied whiskey bottles repurposed into form- chandelier lights.

The catch-all cocktail menu includes lots of dehydrated fruit and unexpected accents. A small mermaid marker dangling from tropical Blue Mist has a frothy ginger spice foam finish, while a small sombrero sits on a smoky Boca Morada mezcal. Naturally, there is “As Seen on Saving the Bar” drinks like the citrusy Rockaway Resilience taken from his rehabbed menu at Queens’s Bungalow Bar.

Taffer’s personal favorite sipper takes tips from the kitchen. Campfire starts with a base of rye whiskey combined in a sous-vide bag with browned butter. The mixture is sealed and boiled for four hours before being removed and cooled, allowing the butter to rise to the surface.

Taffer’s Tavern

Taffer’s Tavern

The energetic hospitality vet, seemingly undeterred by those who doubted her glamorous entry into DC, made a bold (albeit on-brand) statement: “We don’t believe there is a more beautiful, more attractive or better overall cocktail program in the city. .”

He was humbled by the problems of the pandemic that still plagues the entire hospitality industry, however.

“All of us have gone through a life-changing event. And that event left us with different points of view,” he said.

Cleanliness is a priority, with hand sensors that scan for bacteria required for employees along with regular disinfection of surfaces. A curated “Tavern TV” station airs random videos and facts on loop like, “because of Happy Meals, McDonald’s is the largest toy distributor in the world.” Big screens will also broadcast sports, one hopes, with the Capital One Arena next door.

An in-the-works brunch menu will come out once lunch and dinner service is up and running.

Taffer’s opening advice to himself, while boilerplate, is to get back to the basics: offer consistent and professional food, drink, and service.

“When you start putting all the pieces together you have something special — that’s what Taffer’s Tavern is,” he said.

Taffer’s Tavern located at 700 6th Street NW. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 am to 11 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 1 am