TAG is a smartly decorated, very hip and urban eatery in Larimer Square. The dishes are modern and edgy and the place fills up by 7 p.m.; the young business/date crowd mixed with older, sophisticated diners.
Chef Troy Guard bills his restaurant as Continental Social Food, which means to me that this is food to be shared and raved over. And rave we did. For starters, we had the kobe beef sliders. Three small burgers came out very rare, topped with gorgonzola aioli on a soft challah bun, and a metal cone stuffed with duck fat fries. The sliders literally melt in your mouth. They are a perfect guilty pleasure of tender beef, salt, gooey cheese and soft bread. And for those who have not had duck fat fries, you must run in and try some. Potatoes fried in duck fat take on a delicate, crispy outside and light puffy inside that is unlike any other fry you’ve tasted. These ones are seasoned to be sweet, salty and spicy all at once.
Next came lemongrass chicken. The chicken was plated beautifully; a large, skin-on chicken breast with a vegetable and rice salad around it and deep red sauce at the outer edge. The first bite was disappointing; the chicken seemed very plain. However, the dish was simply deconstructed; when I blended the chicken with a bit of the jicama-rice salad and Thai red curry sauce on the second bite, I was amazed. The flavors all came together in the most beautiful way. A burst of lemongrass scent with the light nutty taste of the salad, blended with the slow, smooth spice of red curry – I greedily ate every bite on my plate.
I have had bison many times, but never this good. The bison tenderloin filet is served with a sake-cherry compote atop a bed of wilted red chard and surrounded with pearl onions and diced sweet potatoes. Again, the dish is best eaten with all the flavors married together. I have never witnessed such a melt-in-your-mouth meat dish. The meat, cherry and root vegetables literally disintegrate into a swirl of rich, deep flavor. Another plate completely cleaned.
Dessert followed; a toffee cake with burnt sugar ice cream. The small cake came out hot in the center, with crisp toffee and nut pieces and a sweet, melty scoop of ice cream with light caramel notes. The super sweet cake is balanced by a streak of tart raspberry sauce. Scrumptious and beautifully plated, I could have eaten two of these!
The service here is another reason to celebrate. Never is your glass empty; the waiters are extremely efficient, and they never seem to get anything wrong. Their hushed voices and polite manner lends to the feeling that you’re the only one they’re serving. I absolutely adore TAG – I can’t wait to try lunch!
