It’s rather dark inside Tavern United in Grand Forks’ new Canad Inn, and there are small, skinny hanging lamps here and there. You can settle in wherever you feel comfortable. So, three of us found a table and looked over the menu recently on a Saturday evening. We wanted to try some of the English pub fare offered in one of three separate restaurants in the big Canad Inn of Grand Forks.
Our waitress, who was wearing a skirt that looked like a kilt, was very helpful. She answered our questions about the English Toasties (toasted sandwiches) and English Classic entrees on the menu and gave us plenty of time to make up our minds.
I toyed with the idea of ordering the Yorkshire Pudding Bowl, but I tried that once on a trip to England and didn’t care much for it. So, I figured it might be too English. There also was Molly Malone’s Meatloaf and O’Malley’s Beef Stew.
I ended up ordering Bailey’s Bangers and Mash. This got me a couple of banger sausages on a bed of garlic red-skinned smashed potatoes with a brown onion gravy and the chef’s vegetable of the day. That turned out to be a nice serving of broccoli that was done just right. All of this was $8, and it was an ample meal.
My friends tried Beer Battered Halibut and Chips and a Classic Reuben sandwich from the English Toasties section of the menu. The halibut was reminiscent of that served years ago by Mrs. Oliver in the downtown Golden Hour Cafe. The English cut chips that came with it would be called french fries by most of us; but these had a slightly different, wide cut. The halibut was $14, but as suggested on the menu, we got a half-order for $10, and that was a large serving.
The corned beef was piled high, as the menu promised, on the Classic Reuben sandwich, and the marble rye bread was toasted to a golden crisp. It came with English cut chips and a tossed salad ($9).
Tavern United goes an extra step in its presentation of food. My plate of bangers and mashed potatoes was decorated with a sprig of rosemary and a few thin slices of red cabbage to make it more inviting. The chips and halibut came in a basket with a lining of waxed paper that had a newspaper pattern on it, thus carrying out the British tradition of serving fish and chips wrapped in a newspaper.
Dining is informal, and items from the pub snacks menu seem to be popular. Choices on the long list include baby calamari, mini-burger stacks, bite-sized morsels of halibut and mussels in a spicy chipotle sauce.
Tavern United is large, with seating around the bar as well as in an area where there are dart and pool games going on in the evening. Background music is classic rock, played through a satellite radio system.
And since it’s a pub, the ales and beers are important. Tavern United serves Guinness, Smithwick’s and Samuel Adams ales and others in schooners and pints. The establishment also boasts the coldest beer in North Dakota, which was a pilot project of Coors in Canada.
Since its opening last year, the Pub has become a well-known gathering place. In good weather, many customers prefer sitting out in front on the patio area. Along with Tavern United, the Canad Inn also houses Aaltos Family Garden Buffet and ’l Bistro Mediterranean eatery.
Tavern United, a small chain based in Canada, continues to operate in Grand Forks.