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Where else does a restaurant have an etch-a-sketch as part of the children entertainment set?!

Many kudos and thanks to the crew at Liberty Tavern, as they noticed my opentable.com reservation note about onion/garlic sensitivities and recommended (and altered) dishes accordingly. The House Smoked Arctic Char had a really nice flavor, especially paired with the johnnycakes it sat atop of -- sort of like a lox and bagel, but fluffier. Gelittleman heartily gave his approval. Highly recommend this starter.

For $7, the Chicken Tenders with a side of fries yielded a "just like a happy meal," from the little man, but the only flaw was the ware it was served in: an oval bowl that the tenders slid out of every time he tried to spear his dinner. It was really hard to cut into little pieces in the bowl as well. I suppose there is no flaw if you used your fingers, but I was trying to teach him to use his utensils in restaurant dining.... This portion is big enough for two tykes, btw.

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Liberty Tavern had a special snow happy hour yesterday afternoon and was absolutely slammed from 3PM on. I'm consistently impressed by the level of service at this place even yesterday when I'm sure they had to adjust staffing issues with the weather. Food remains delicious. This is an amazing neighborhood restaurant and I am really looking forward to two new places from the same owners. I'm sure they took some chances spending a great deal of money opening this place, but it really made a world of difference in the climate of eating on the Orange Line.

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Wait, what? I mean I do really like this place and have had a lot of great stuff there, but "best pizza?" In America? Shoot not even in the Beltway. Not even in the top 5. Hope I don't offend anyone, but there it is.

I think you have to take the list with a grain of salt, as none of the well known heavyweights (Pizzeria Bianco, Grimaldi's, et al) are mentioned.

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Nice leisurely meal at Liberty Tavern on Sunday night. The duck confit appetizer was nice--the last duck confit I'd had was at Inox, and was otherworldly. This one was good, and a nice way to start the meal. The fall/winter vegetables that it came with were very nicely cooked and seasoned. The "Pittsburghese" sausage platter was a beast, at least for me. Two sausages--a bratwurst and something like a cervelat, I think--with a very nice helping of a fairly mild sauerkraut and really delectable spaetzli. The bratwurst didn't mesh, flavor-wise, with the stone ground mustard, in my opinion, but was nice on its own. The apple jelly was a real winner with the sauerkraut. It was cold on Sunday, and this was a nice dish to warm up with whether in Pittsburgh, Arlington, or Munich. Service was great--friendly and professional.

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Chef Liam needs to work on making that Vermont Pizza freezer friendly. I am addicted to it. It's their best pizza. I am glad to see them get any recognition they get, they work really hard to make that place what it is.

Hard to get the apples on the VP to be freezer friendly :angry:

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Wait, what? I mean I do really like this place and have had a lot of great stuff there, but "best pizza?" In America? Shoot not even in the Beltway. Not even in the top 5. Hope I don't offend anyone, but there it is.

That begs the question, what are the top 5 pizzas in the beltway? I'm always curious about why someone would slight a restaurant but not provide any substantive discourse. I don't agree or disagree with you, just would like to know how you arrived at your conclusion.

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That begs the question, what are the top 5 pizzas in the beltway? I'm always curious about why someone would slight a restaurant but not provide any substantive discourse. I don't agree or disagree with you, just would like to know how you arrived at your conclusion.

Well, just off the top of my head, 2 Amy's Pizzeria Paradiso, Matchbox, and the late Bebo Trattoria (alas) without even digging very hard. This is starting to make me hungry. I think I feel a research project coming on.

I think for me it comes down to the crust for a pizza and I just haven't felt like Liberty ever really nailed it.

Like I said I love a lot of stuff at Liberty (I really dig their teeny tiny gnocchi things and their Amish chicken is very solid just to mention a couple of items.) Their pizza just doesn't do it for me that much. To each their own and all that.

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I think for me it comes down to the crust for a pizza and I just haven't felt like Liberty ever really nailed it.

Could it be too crispy? We had 3 pizzas this weekend, the Winter (clam), Classico, and Vermont. All 3 had cracker-like crust (which isn't necessarily bad, depending on what you like), otherwise the pizzas were terrific. I really loved the toppings on the Winter - whichever clams they used had lots of flavor, were cooked just long enough to open the shells. If they had crusts like 2 Amys or Red Rocks, I'd proclaim this the best pizza in DC.

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Ok, I am late to this party. Went several times for Rest. Week and had another terrific lunch today. They were clearly overwhelmed with the RW TGIF turnout but service was cheerful, knowledgeable and unflustered despite delays.

I agree with the pizza comments - the Winter pie (excellente!) combined the salty brine of clams in their shell atop cheese and greens while with the Vermont pie was novel but, uh, not on my list to retry. Proscuitto was tough and the addition of apple slices did not mix well. That said, really nice crust on both pies from the wood oven. Skirt steak salad, scallops over Isreali cous cous, a bizarre sandwhich comprised of french fries, egg and pastrami were innovative, flavorful and memorable. Several appetizers (as posters above noted) were standouts: grilled octupus and white beans, the fried smelts/calamari/lemon (but parsnip soup was too rich for my tastes).

NoVa lunches can often be same old same old. Liberty was really a pleasant surprise. We plan to return soon.

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Forgot to add LT serves Counter Culture coffee which IMHO is a wonderful coffee. They do a fine French press offering with several choices and the coffee was truly outstanding the two times I had it this week.

I believe only Dean & Deluca carries CC beans in the DC area. Happy to know LT serves CC in hot liquid and pure bean form. As they are taking over the defunct Murky Grounds space (calling it Northshore), that offers another nice option to enjoy Counter Culture beans brewed on site or beans for home use.

Both the Ethiopian and Guatamalean (?) CC coffees were terrific this week.

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Forgot to add LT serves Counter Culture coffee which IMHO is a wonderful coffee. They do a fine French press offering with several choices and the coffee was truly outstanding the two times I had it this week.

I believe only Dean & Deluca carries CC beans in the DC area. Happy to know LT serves CC in hot liquid and pure bean form. As they are taking over the defunct Murky Grounds space (calling it Northshore), that offers another nice option to enjoy Counter Culture beans brewed on site or beans for home use.

Both the Ethiopian and Guatamalean (?) CC coffees were terrific this week.

If you ever see "sun-dried" anything available in their CC selections, procure it, stat. Great to hear a variety of choices are available at LT.

(p.s. curious grape in shirlington)

(mom's organic markets)

(and other places do carry counter culture's life-brightening products)

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During the snowpocalypse I have eaten at Liberty twice, hey it's convenient, close and tasty. My first trip was on Friday when the snow just really started to get serious, I had the stroganoff. Eeeuwlll stroganoff, the noodles were tender, but with texture they were with pieces of steak with a creamy, mustardy sauce. It was a great comfort food dish. I ate every bite.

Next went for dinner with Hubby and Mom who stayed with us for the blizzard- I had the forest mushroom pizza from the bar/lunch menu because the previous trip my friend ordered it and it looked spectacular. And it was. There were a variety of mushrooms with varying textures, mozz and provolone, sage and greens- arugula. It was rich, but very good, I could only eat about half and Mom stole a piece too. But I loved the taste difference between the mushroom and rich cheese then the greens which were light and flavorful and added nice texture.

Had gotten an LT Gin and Tonic at the bar, it isn't much more money then a regular gin and tonic, but it is soo much better, with cucumbers to really make it fresh. This is one of my favorite drinks here.

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The dining room was packed with young families, ours included at 6pm on Thursday night, the first opportunity we had to leave the house since Tuesday. I can't believe we aren't here more often, given entrees like a terrific rendition of Bollito Misto with veal cheeks, veal breast, sausage, and pork belly. We waited a little bit for food because the dining room was so crowded but the generous bread basket came out fast and kept the kids happy until their entrees came. All around a great meal was had by all and a wonderful diversion from the snow.

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Went to Liberty to watch the US Canada Hockey game and most importantly get out of the house - having recently broken my leg it was the only place I could think nearby that has a couch, t.v., and good food. Split the burger and foie gras app - the burger was cooked a perfect medium rare (a compromise - I prefer rare, so I was glad it wasn't over done). The brulee component of the foie gras wasn't doing it for me, too sweet for my tastes, but I throughly enjoyed the seared foie gras.

At the risk of inciting a riot from the Rockwellians with children, I have to bring up the fact that when we first arrived there was a young child's birthday party (3-5 year olds, at the oldest, in attendance) going on in the Lounge section next to the bar. While this may have been planned before the hockey game was known, I still question the idea of holding a young kid's birthday party, with 6 pint sized guests, downstairs next to the bar, especially considering the behavior I saw (i.e. jumping all over the couches like the lounge was a moon bounce, running around the bar, breaking a glass). There were several times I had to quickly move my broken leg to keep it from being knocked by one of the kids. I have no problem with children in restaurants - but this just seemed like a bad idea and a horrible accident waiting to happen.

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Another nice dinner at Liberty last night:

Seated outside on a warm,beautiful evening, I was happy to learn that they are now offering their early spring menu. I also figured it was a perfect time for one of their Fever Tree & Hendricks gin and tonics. Perfect elixir for unwinding after work (though I guess it was only Monday). I still don't love this drink being served in a snifter - it's a bit cumbersome, especially with the big ice cubes. But, I like what's in the glass enough to overlook this small gripe.

Grilled octopus appetizer was pleasantly flavored, though I must admit the texture was a bit odd. The smoky flavor from the grill was there and a nice bit of char but there was some slimy, stringy bits evident as I cut into several pieces that seems odd to me. I am not an octopus expert so maybe this is normal but it did throw me a bit. The flavor was there though and the octopus was tender so I finished the dish regardless. The accompanying salad of peas, carrots, and farro was a simple, refreshing embodiment of spring.

Entree of linguine, mussels, cockles, shrimp tossed with olive oil and mint was fantastic. The seafood was well-cooked, not the least bit rubbery, and amply portioned. Bits of chili spiced up the concoction. I am a big fan of their pasta dishes here. They tend to be seasonal, which appeals to me, and I have yet to try one that missed so their execution is spot on.

Service was prompt, courteous, and unobtrusive.

If these folks use the Liberty formula - well executed, seasonal food with thoughtful wine and cocktail offerings in a lively neighborhood setting - at their new establishments, then they'll be hits as well.

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Another nice dinner at Liberty last night:

Seated outside on a warm,beautiful evening, I was happy to learn that they are now offering their early spring menu. I also figured it was a perfect time for one of their Fever Tree & Hendricks gin and tonics. Perfect elixir for unwinding after work (though I guess it was only Monday). I still don't love this drink being served in a snifter - it's a bit cumbersome, especially with the big ice cubes. But, I like what's in the glass enough to overlook this small gripe.

Grilled octopus appetizer was pleasantly flavored, though I must admit the texture was a bit odd. The smoky flavor from the grill was there and a nice bit of char but there was some slimy, stringy bits evident as I cut into several pieces that seems odd to me. I am not an octopus expert so maybe this is normal but it did throw me a bit. The flavor was there though and the octopus was tender so I finished the dish regardless. The accompanying salad of peas, carrots, and farro was a simple, refreshing embodiment of spring.

Entree of linguine, mussels, cockles, shrimp tossed with olive oil and mint was fantastic. The seafood was well-cooked, not the least bit rubbery, and amply portioned. Bits of chili spiced up the concoction. I am a big fan of their pasta dishes here. They tend to be seasonal, which appeals to me, and I have yet to try one that missed so their execution is spot on.

Service was prompt, courteous, and unobtrusive.

If these folks use the Liberty formula - well executed, seasonal food with thoughtful wine and cocktail offerings in a lively neighborhood setting - at their new establishments, then they'll be hits as well.

Funny enough I had this same exact meal at the bar the other night at Liberty Tavern, minus the octopus. I actually really like their big ice cubes because they don't melt very fast, so you don't have a watery gin and tonic. And eating the cucumbers at the end is nice and refreshing. You are right on the pasta dish it was so fresh and well cooked. It was just the right portion.

I added the Chocolate praline candy bar and that was very good. Chocolate heaven. Chocolate, caramel, rice crispy, devils food sorbet. It had texture and was gooey, in a great way.

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Last night was something of a milestone, as I was able to actually get a seat at Liberty Tavern bar!

I started with what might be my favorite Czech Pilsner in our market right now, the Staropramen ($6). This is a shadow of what Pilsner Urquell was twenty years ago, but today, Pilsner Urquell may as well be Heineken.

Both dishes I ordered were available on the lounge menu and the main menu. How could I not bite on the Medieval-Spiced [yes, medieval-spiced] Duroc Pork Belly ($9) with white and green asparagus salad and warm saffron vinaigrette? An excellent dish that combined the fatty hedonism of pork belly with the seasonality of asparagus, asset number one being its wonderful char. The sauce, nominally a vinaigrette, was remarkable for its balance and restraint.

At the same time I ordered the pork belly, I ordered a plate of American Farmstead Cheeses ($13 for 5 cheeses), saying to my bartender that 'I know they're going to be too cold, so I'll let them sit out while I have the pork belly.' (I was sure they were going to arrive at refrigerator temperature, but I was wrong.) She asked me if I liked really 'way-out cheeses.' "Yep." Blue? "Yep." This was the best cheese plate I've had in awhile, and given what rip-offs cheese plates have become over the past five years (Nectar ... does anyone remember Nectar? Or Komi way back when?), this was a good deal at $13. I don't even know what the cheeses were, but all five were aged just right, with no misses in the bunch. I am so sick of getting these little postage-stamp cheese plates, and this wasn't one of them.

I got a high-quality bread basket with the pork belly (Liberty Tavern's baker is G. David King), and also a separate plate of what initially appeared to be stale slices of baguette with the cheese; there was something of a pain perdu quality to the bread served with the cheese, but it was well-made enough so it didn't much matter, and the "staleness" may have even been by design (whatever the case, it worked).

Assuming that Liberty Tavern's sous chef, Dagoberto Ortiz, was running the kitchen last night ... kudos. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal at Liberty Tavern, but regardless, this Sunday-night dinner exceeded my expectations.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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We tried Liberty To Go for the first time last night and found it quite convenient. I think the whole dinner menu is available for carryout, which is nice, and the side street location of the pickup window makes the whole process very easy. We'll definitely go this route again soon.

Oh yea, the food was great too. Classico and Americano pizzas survived the quick drive home. The crusts were thin, still crispy, and a nice canvas for allowing the toppings do most of the talking. The Amish chicken was outstanding as well. Sauteed greens, mashed potatoes, and chicken - top notch comfort food.

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Liberty Tavern has an awesome Sunday brunch buffet for $18 ($8 for kids). The variety and quality of the food is amazing -- several different salads, smoked salmon, a number of pork products including think cut bacon, sausage, and ham, plus roast pork loin or pork loin stuffed with dried fruit, vegetables, baked goods, desserts, and they bring you pancakes after you are seated. Usually brunch buffets are overpriced and/or the food tastes mass produced , but this was really outstanding. I highly recommend it for the next edition (NoVa) of the brunch guide. Reservations are recommended.

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I highly suggest the Chocolate Banana Mousse Brownie. It's as good as the candy bar was or better!

And the peach/blackberry pie I enjoyed after a late lunch this week was no slouch, either. Individually baked, the delicate-yet-chewy crust nearly knocked me off of my bar stool. Berry ice cream added even more joy to this already delightful dessert. The bartender noted a new pastry chef was to credit. An immensely satisfying finish, especially with the 21st de Septiembre decaf.

Was not as much a fan of the shrimp salad, the too-clingy, creamy dressing lacking umph and drowning out the exquisitely fresh flavor of otherwise-coveted pea shoots. Starter of fried ipswich clams and shrimp charmed with me the inclusion of fennel and seafood freshness. However, it needed a squirt from a lemon (not served alongside; had to ask for one; although thin slices of fried lemon were included, deliciously enough) to get the flavor party started.

Bartender extremely attentive and friendly. Will be back for an all-pie meal ('cuz I'm an adult now!) and welcoming conversation again soon. Lunch service stops at 2:30 on weekdays.

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I hate to say it, BUT I had a disappointing meal at Liberty Tavern last night. Not that I don't think there is plenty of good food still there, I just ordered some off dishes. I had been craving Liberty Tavern so bad lately after reading the current menu so last night we went for Brother in Law's casual birthday dinner. I wanted to get the fried squash blossoms to start but they were out of those. They also were out of the tavern salad which I really like. So I ordered the fry plate to start because, one I thought it would be something everyone would eat and two well quite frankly I had eaten most of the other items on the menu and I knew Sister in law would be giving me part of her market salad. It came and the shrimp were very good, the belly clams very good, but the fried lemon didn't add enough citrus/acidic balance and the sauce just wasn't tangy enough to be a contrast. The market salad however was nicely dressed with simple dressing and was very pleasant.

I had a hard time deciding between the three current pastas and decided to go with the soft shell. While the dish sounded great on paper there was too much breading and pasta and not enough acidic/vegetable balance. The dish felt overwhelmed by the pasta itself. This is funny since one thing I love about their other seafood pasta is that it isn't overwhelming of the seafood and the flavors are so discernible. The crab itself was great, just needed less pasta and more of something else and the sauce needed to be more acid and a bigger punch of flavor.

Ordered the blueberry peach pie to end. The thing is it is really hard to make personal pies without screwing up the crust, I understand that. But they tried anyway and there was way too much crust and it was not flaky, in fact it was hard and lacking the delicacy of pie crust. I would rather have a piece of pie from a whole pie and it look less cute than pie crust that is too thick and over baked. Also the filling was quite watery and the caramel sauce really didn't add anything. I then tried Hubby's chocolate banana brownie dessert. It was ok, but not as good as the candy bar they used to have on the menu. I don't feel the amazing need to have either of them again like I have some of the desserts Liberty has made in the past like the Candy Bar or the pumpkin cheesecake or the sticky toffee pudding.

I am so disappointed that I ordered badly. Hubby got the hanger steak as an entree and it was fantastic, as usual. I don't think they are declining, I think I just ordered wrong and they need to re-work some things in a few of their dishes. They will get it figured out, I just feel like I got jipped from my typical Liberty experience which made me frustrated. I keep thinking if only I had ordered X, X is always great. Or Y, I love Y.

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The Crispy Gulf Shrimp/Ipswich Clams were well fried, but lacked any seasoning, turning what should have been a treat into a rather bland plate, things were not helped by a lack of lemon (they had the fried variety, but this dish really screamed for a shot of acid) and a very boring, nee almost flavorless “roasted garlic-lemon-parsley aioli.” The Tavern Salad was impeccably fresh, and unlike the seafood appetizer was perfectly seasoned.

The star of the night was well made Maccheroni, that was served in a spicy crab sauce and topped with a very well prepared softie. The menu promised orange zest, but I never picked this up, I am sure it would have added a bit of complexity to the dish, but it really was not missed. The Vermont Pizza was good, but not great, more reminiscent of the offerings at American Flatbread which I like, it is just not what really calls to me when I am yearning for a pie.

This was my first stop at Liberty Tavern, and based on last night’s meal it will not be my last.

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Great dinner upstairs at Liberty Tavern. Insanely good mussels in a smoky tomato broth with basil. I wanted to cancel my dinner order and get another bowl of them. 3 out of 4 dining companions want to go back tonight and get them again. Pizzas were good too, as usual. I am finally letting go of my grudge over the demise of Queen Bee and Atami. Liberty can stay. :)

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Tried the Dragon Creek Diver scallops entree here last Friday and was quite pleased. Nice combination of sauteed chard, Polyface egg with runny yolk, potato chunks, and nicely seared scallps. Sounds odd but it wasnt, it was quite good. My wife had the Amish chicken, as usual, and savored every bite. I still really like the fact that they serve Fever Tree tonic here as well. It makes for such a nice, refreshing summertime elixir with none of cloying syrupy mouth-feel of standard tonic water. Also, I am spacing on the name, but they are serving a fantastic Italian white wine here now - it's a blend of three grapes - and is very nice. It will soon be added to their regular wine list I believe and I would suggest trying it while the weather is warm.

One last thing - I think we paid $6 for the mozzarella & tomato pizza from the kid's menu for our daughter. It's a total deal. The pizza is big enough for an adult so there will always be leftovers. And it's not a crappy microwave pizza - it's their normal high quality offering. This kind of small detail makes me happy returning here.

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Liberty To Go today for lunch. The Maine Lobster Roll was excellent. It has been awhile since I had one there, so I am not sure if the housemade poppy seed split top roll is a new addition, but it really put this sandwich over the top. It was firm yet not dried out at all and really flavorful (probably made with ample butter). It came with a "mini" Tavern Salad that was anything but small. All this for a reasonable $15, and the best part is that I did not have to spend 30+ minutes standing in line at Farragut Square. :(

It paired well with a rerun of Adam 12 on RTV. When will Malloy find the right woman and settle down?

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Liberty To Go today for lunch. The Maine Lobster Roll was excellent. It has been awhile since I had one there, so I am not sure if the housemade poppy seed split top roll is a new addition, but it really put this sandwich over the top. It was firm yet not dried out at all and really flavorful (probably made with ample butter). It came with a "mini" Tavern Salad that was anything but small. All this for a reasonable $15, and the best part is that I did not have to spend 30+ minutes standing in line at Farragut Square. :(

It paired well with a rerun of Adam 12 on RTV. When will Malloy find the right woman and settle down?

Wow. All right, I will have to go back soon and get that. A really good lobster roll is one of my favorite summertime treats (that and a really good, non-batter-fried, soft shell crab). I would not have expected to see one in the fall.

We had marvelous takeout from Liberty last week -- oh my God, the forest mushroom pizza had me sighing and gobbling it up. And I didn't even realize that the arugula was there in a separate takeout container until it was halfway eaten - but loved the lightly lemony arugula on top. It was thoughtful of them to package it separately so it didn't make the beautiful crisp crust soggy, I just needed to look at everything we got so I could notice it.

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Wow. All right, I will have to go back soon and get that. A really good lobster roll is one of my favorite summertime treats (that and a really good, non-batter-fried, soft shell crab). I would not have expected to see one in the fall.

(Off-topic, but I had one fairly recently at Et Voila!)

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A little late in reporting , but I had a great brunch at Liberty a few weeks ago. Had the skirt steak burger with a side of greens. The burger was cooked perfectly, and just like I ordered, medimum rare. No cheese ,just the burger and the bun. It was perfectly seasoned, minimally, which allowed the flavor of the meat to come through. There was nothing else needed to make this a great burger.Coupled with their homemade bun it was perfect. Not in my usual rotation, due to crowds generally, but the last meal has put it back on the list. They had a specicial with a beer and I think it was around $11.00 which was a bargin, I might be off on the price , but not by much.

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They had a specicial with a beer and I think it was around $11.00 which was a bargin, I might be off on the price , but not by much.

The "LT Burger and a Pint" special is $10 and is available every day for lunch.

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Great dinner at Liberty last night with some colleagues.

I started with the grilled octopus appetizer and liked it very much. The octopus was cooked well, not chewy, and pleasantly charred a bit in places. Fennel, green olives, mandarin orange, and lightly dressed baby greens made for a wonderful combination.

I typically gravitate toward their pasta entrees because I have never been disappointed and last night's offering was no exception. The tortellini with autumn squash bolognese was fantastic. Handmade tortellini stuffed with a cheese and mushroom filling then draped with a sauce that looked like bolognese but was made with tomatoes, squash, and cheese. Just fantastic. Paired with a nice Spanish rioja and an even better Spanish Barbaresco and this was an excellent meal.

Liberty hit the mark yet again.

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Hate to report this but we had a mediocre lunch at LT the week before Thanksgiving. Seemed the D Team was in. Sausage pizza with a specific mushroom was delivered without that mushroom. Far too heavy a hand piled on cheese which added to the bland flavor and overwhelmed the sausage. Atlantic Char was listed with black rice on the menu (served that way previously) but the dish delivered had bulghur (!) which was, when we questioned, identified as green lentils(uh, nope). Grilled octupus appetizer, usually stellar, had been sitting for a bit. Side of sauteed greens floating in butter and way oversalted.

Ok, ok. Everyone has bad days, this lunch crew was off their game, someone may have had a bad hangover and the Tavern has provided terrific meals to us in the recent past. But this was a big disappointment. We let our server know - no scolding nor hope for a comp. Our feedback was offered to help them know they can and should be reliably great. Told communication between kitchen staff and front of house was not always what it should be. Hoping for better communication on our next visit.

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Hate to report this but we had a mediocre lunch at LT the week before Thanksgiving. Seemed the D Team was in.

The A Team was certainly in place at lunch yesterday. I had a very nice peanut soup with some boiled peanuts and a pickled hot pepper on the side. The soup was not too thick and not too peanutty, if that makes any sense. I ordered it primarily to warm me up on a cold winter day and ended up liking it a lot. I followed it with the cornflake pan fried haddock sandwich on a house made roll (I have always enjoyed the house breads at Liberty) topped with pickles, dill aioli, hot peppers, and lettuce. The hot peppers made this deliciously spicy. The fish was perfectly cooked and the cornflake breading was kept to a minimum. I am always impressed when relatively thin pieces of fish come out succculent, even though that is how it is supposed to be done. I also appreciate how the Liberty Tavern mixes up its menu with the seasons. The menus at some of the other restaurants in the area seem to have ossified.

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Had a really great meal at Liberty Tavern last weekend and just haven't had time to write about it.

Started with the apple/edive salad- I love this salad. It just tastes so good the creamy and tangy and crunchy. Their salads are really nicely plated too. Then I had the branzino with white beans and veggies. This again had a great range of flavors- light fish, butter, white wine, garlic, richer white beans with broccoli and other crunchy veggies. The only thing is they leave the tail on which doesn't bother me, but it does make it harder to scoop up the sauce and white beans on the plate together. But that is a small complaint. Ended with the passionfruit parfait which was good, crunchy, creamy, nice balance again.

Anyway just good food. Oh and I stole a bite of a roll that was just awesome bread perfection. Nice puffy yeast roll.

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Has anyone tried the raviolini with hay-smoked ricotta? We're going there for dinner tonight, and I'm intrigued.

Also, what desserts on the winter menu have been worth ordering? I've seen mixed reviews on dessert, very pro and fairly con. Looking at the sour cherry almond pie.

Thanks!

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Has anyone tried the raviolini with hay-smoked ricotta? We're going there for dinner tonight, and I'm intrigued.

Also, what desserts on the winter menu have been worth ordering? I've seen mixed reviews on dessert, very pro and fairly con. Looking at the sour cherry almond pie.

Thanks!

My Hubby and my table mate had the chocolate caramel cake and finished every single bite, well he did give me a bite of the ice cream that came with it and that was really good, I could have eaten just a little bowl of that.

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Had a nice lunch at Liberty on Sunday. The place was packed- I didn't expect that, but good for them. I had a lobster roll without the roll, a side of tavern salad and fries. I was happy that they were very accommodating about changing the dish around for me. I didn't catch my bartender/servers name but she was really nice, when she saw my plate come out with no fries which I had mentioned she came over immediately and asked me if I wanted the side of fries and got them to me. She was very prompt despite them being quite busy.

Their lobster roll is the lobster salad variety, I really like it, but I am not from a lobster roll area, so I am perhaps not as picky, but I thought there was a good amount of meat with good flavor. I really like their fries. They are boardwalk style, and some aren't as crisp as others, but I really like their flavor and texture. Just something about them makes them really good. Not as good as Central (although theirs were too salty last time), but being a MDer I really like boardwalk fries done well from time to time.

Anyway it was a good place to hang with my ipad and eat so that I didn't have to cook while Hubby is out.

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Yet another wonderful meal at Liberty Tavern. We have an odd assortment of food at the house right now and need to do some light grocery shopping. Last night nothing I told Hubby I could fix in a relatively quick amount of time suited him. He suggested we go out. I was tired of everything within short walking distance so we headed to Clarendon with the pup since it was so nice outside. Lyon Hall had a thirty minute wait for outside so we walked over to Liberty and were seated in about ten minutes.

I just love the management staff at Liberty they are so nice.

I had the line caught mahi mahi with corn and farro, Hubby had the skirt steak. I really liked my mahi, it was cooked perfectly and all the flavors were really fresh and light. Hubby'e skirt steak as normal was fantastic. I really thought about getting this, it is so good.

Service was good and the evening was splendid. Next time I want to try that tamale, has anyone had it?

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Another great dinner at Liberty this evening. I love this place. Great new spring menu recently unveiled.

To start, housemate scamorza cheese. No idea what this was before ordering but it was good. Kinda like Halloumi, grilled with firm texture. Micro greens, some kind of lemon curd that didn't add much. A nice dish though, made by the salty grilled cheese. My wife loved the asparagus salad made with asparagus, shaved fennel, strawberries, and dressed with a creamy yet light dressing made with goat milk. It comes with whipped chèvre too but she did without.

Entrees of asparagus risotto (me) and scottish salmon (her) were both great too. The risotto was spring on a plate: white and green asparagus, fava beans, pea shoots, pecorino, and an herb purée with perfectly al dente rice. Fantastic. The salmon came with sautéed kale, some kind of black rice, and perfectly cooked fish. Nicely Washed down with a glass of Passerini for me and a Pinot Gris for my wife.

Also, I love the thought they put into the kids menu and the fact that they make the effort to serve kids real food. My kids wolfed down a pizza and a beautifully sautéed Branzino (!).

Friendly service on a busy evening made for a nice outing all around.

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