Pour Your Own Beer: City Tavern Opens April 4

By Elina Shatkin Mon., Mar. 21 2011 at 3:43 PM

When it opens on April 4th, City Tavern will boast 22 beer taps stocked solely with California microbrews like Port Brewing Co, Bear Republic, Eagle Rock Brewery, Craftsman, Telegraph and Iron Fist.

The strangest element in the 2,400 square-foot bar may be the three Table Tap booths, equipped with a computerized draft beer system so patrons can pour their own beer from handles at each table. It's like an enomatic wine system -- for beer. (A nearby monitor displays how much beer each person has consumed.) There's also a large patio with rustic wood tables, a handmade cocktail menu and a small list of California wines.

The impresarios are Brian McKeaney, Ken Kaufman and Dave Northrup of nearby Rush Street. The ambiance is calculatedly gritty, with distressed brick walls and exposed wooden beams. The food is small plates by chef de cuisine Jessica Christensen (Ritz-Carlton - Laguna Niguel/Studio at Montage/Tracht's): chicken panini with manchego, grilled artichokes, peppers and olives, tomato tarte tatin, halibut crudo, stout-poached hangar steak.

City Tavern: 9739 Culver Blvd., Culver City. (310) 838-9739, www.citytavernculvercity.com.

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City Tavern

9739 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA

Category: Music

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Bar, Beer, Brian McKeaney, City Tavern, Culver City, Dave Northrup, Elina Shatkin, Jessica Christensen, Ken Kaufman, Rush Street

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Matt Mcroskey

I'm not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination but the burgers were really bad. They looked so good coming to our table and sitting right in front of us, but looks aren't everything. The meat to bun ratio was way off here, way too much bun - especially on the "brew burger" with the pretzel bun. The pretzel bun was really dense and probably had 4 times the volume of the meat. The patties were small and both overcooked even though I ordered mine M/R, on the rare side. The salt roasted baby carrots were not good either. Whatever they were cooked in overshadowed the taste of the carrots themselves. The toasted garlic fries were not great either, although my girlfriend liked them. There were rice sized chunks of garlic that tasted burnt, and a lot of them. As an appetizer, the meatballs were really good though and the mild (they say spicy) dipping sauce that is served with them is really good as well. The couple at the table next to us ordered the scallops and those looked amazing - slightly golden brown, perfectly cooked and just looked really delish. I feel bad slamming the restaurant because I'm sure that there are some great items on the menu, I was just super bummed at how bad the burgers were. The waitress recommended some great beers to me after I told her what I like to drink, clearly a well educated staff.

foodgps

I didn't know there was a need for built-in taps at booths, but it sounds like City Tavern is about to fill it. Could be fun, as long as the beer's good. It's bound to get people drinking more, since customers won't have to get up to order again, or even flag down a server.