Mud Haven Tavern: Blandness is its Biggest Enemy, Has Good Service

I wasn't a fan of Street by Susan Feniger, which housed the former Mud Haven Tavern space. The chef is the same with more of a gastropub focus and once again, it disappointed. The burger that had gotten some rave reviews on message boards was the biggest culprit but overall, my biggest beef with her cooking is the same as it was before -- it's downright bland.

Let's start with the burger, which I always deconstruct only because I love them so much. The brioche bun was fine and held up to the patty and the works. The patty. Oh the patty. First it was overcooked but the second time around it was cooked medium rare as I had requested. The patty was oversalted and paired with the aioli smothered on top, it was sodium overload. I could barely taste the grass-fed beef and appreciate the texture. The works included tomatoes, lettuce and aged cheddar that I could hardly taste because of the overpowering salt and the over-vinegared pickles. The "homemade" pickles had been pickled in way too much vinegar and the reason I usually like homemade as opposed to commercially bought is precisely this vinegar and salt content they pour in the commercial ones. But alas, these homemade ones tasted almost as sour as ones off the shelf.

Don't get me started on the fries. First time around, they were so burnt they tasted bitter. They weren't crispy either and the dipping sauce that was supposed to be spicy didn't have any heat. The second time around, the fries were still a bit over-fried although not burnt and certainly not crispy. I longed for the twice-or-thrice-fried-in-duck-fat kind of fries from the bistros in New York. It wasn't to be.

The maple whiskey barbecue brisket sounded so promising and while my companion liked it, I wasn't impressed and found it far too bland. I couldn't taste the maple and it had a horseradish-like sauce that didn't add to much. The au gratin potatoes on the side came out cold although nice and browned on the outside. The cumin potatoes didn't have a hint of cumin in them. Bland, bland, bland.

We got a blood orange salad in a pomegranate dressing as a starter to balance out the meatiness but it, too, was a downer. The blood oranges were sweet and juicy enough but the greens were overdressed and dripping in the dressing and the accompanying bread with goat cheese and pomegranate sprinkled on top looked pretty but didn't work for me. I didn't think the combination of those ingredients in the salad worked too well.

The green eggs and ham were deviled eggs topped with a semi-spicy salsa and bacon bits. I like it when whatever addition like curry or salsa is incorporated into the yolk and made creamier but it wasn't a bad appetizer. The bacon was solid. The green salsa had some green chiles and cilantro for sure.

The lemon meringue custard was interesting but not to my liking. Again, this could be a matter of taste since my companion loved the mixture of textures and flavors. It was like a tiered cake with the bottom being meringue followed by a layer of lemon custard and this concoction is then sprinkled (more like poured on) with some brown sugar and fresh raspberries. Too sweet for my taste and I found the meringue too chewy.