New York's Gramercy Tavern Sails Through Two Decades with Grace and Good Taste

HuffPost -  05/16/2014  - John Mariani - Food and travel columnist, Esquire

After the huge success of Union Square Café as both a beacon of good taste in that New York neighborhood and as a standard for a new form of American genial hospitality when it opened in 1985, owner Danny Meyer bided his time before opening another restaurant. Nine years went by and Meyer took the plunge with a nearby space whose name, Gramercy Tavern, aptly described a large restaurant with an upfront bar serving engaging small plates and a multi-room dining area where then Chef Tom Colicchio expanded people's idea of modern American cuisine. 
Added to this were a superb wine list and the same warm hospitality that Meyer had been continually refining. The accolades came fast: It was one of my Best New Restaurants that year in Esquire.
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