The LaCenter Tavern would be my regular hang if it weren’t 3,000 miles away. The food menu, featuring homey choices like meatloaf and shepherd’s pie, is short and simple. The beer menu is the opposite, with probably a dozen brands on tap and maybe 100 more in bottles. Close to two-dozen wines are offered, sensibly served in stubby, stemless Riedel O Collection-style glasses. The joint might get rockin’, but the glasses won’t.
The price is right, too. Beers range from $2.50 for mass-produced domestic brands to $6 for oversize bottles of Arrogant Bastard. Sparkling J wine by the bottle is a great deal, listed on the menu for about $10 more than I’ve paid for it at wine stores in Westchester.
During a recent sisters and friends field trip to the LaCenter Tavern, we ordered a Greek salad and a cheese plate to share. The salad included mesclun, feta and black olives, tossed with an herb-y oil-and-vinegar dressing. Tasty. The cheese plate consisted of three kinds of cheese, three kinds of bread, crisp sliced apples, and a balsamic and olive oil dip. Everything was delicious, and there was plenty for everyone to enjoy.
Our overworked waitress charged us half price for the cheese plate, because it didn’t include the specific type of blue cheese mentioned on the menu. Nice touch. None of us had noticed – or even particularly cared – if it was Maytag blue or Kenmore. The noshes were just one aspect in the sisters and friends Saturday night, rockin’ out and dancin’ to the Catillacs.
This rockabilly band, which has monthly gigs scheduled at the tavern through the summer, has a solid, eclectic repertoire from the ’50s and ’60s. They mix in obscure material from JB Hutto and Albert King with more standard fare popularized by Chuck Berry, Wilson Pickett and Johnny Cash. Guitarist Richard Bean played wicked slide on a 1965-vintage Danelectro, and got the packed house on its feet. The audience loved the music, and made it rain money when the jewelry maven passed the tip jar during the band’s breaks.
A good time was had by all.
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