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jaunted.com
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The original Tavern in the Green, in 2009.
The inimitable Florence Fabricant
reported in the
New York Times today that Jeremiah Tower is set to take over the kitchen at NYC’s Tavern on the Green, replacing chef Katy Sparks, who quit in September over poor reviews. Tower is well-known to S.F. diners who are old enough to have had credit cards during the Clinton Administration, as his iconic S.F. restaurant, Stars, was king on the scene. Along with Chez Panisse, where Tower originally trained, it was the home of both California cuisine and, arguably, celebrity chefs.
click to enlarge
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foodrepublic.com
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Jeremiah Green
And Tower, it turns out, approached Tavern on the Green, not the other way around. This is pretty huge, not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is four years younger than the 72-year-old Tower, returning to make one more
Terminator movie. (Oh wait,
he is.)
The 700-seat Tavern on the Green has been troubled for awhile, and not just because Rick Moranis was attacked there by a minion of Gozer in
Ghostbusters. Open in Central Park since 1934, it closed on December 31, 2009 only to re-open, freshly renovated, in 2013. Plagued with lackluster reviews, lawsuits, and other woes, the restaurant's future has never been fully secure. And depending on your comfort level with being perceived as a tourist by actual New Yorkers, it’s either a romantic must or something to be avoided at all costs, so turning it around would be a challenge for anyone.
No doubt the
NYT, which
panned Tavern as recently as this June, is watching with avid interest to see what Tower can do. Another beloved Central Park institution, the carriage horses, are
in limbo. Maybe they’re not the only ones.
