Highland Tap: User Reviews

20 Years and Standing For Good Reason
By rondapenrice from Grant Park, July 29, 2009

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I popped by Highland Tap Monday and I'm ashamed to say that I had never been before. When you pride yourself on getting out and knowing a city like I do, a spot that's been serving it up for 20 years should have long been on the radar. It won't be off again, especially if you, like me, need something to ease your pocketbooks. It's in Virginia Highlands and there is a parking lot in the back but sometimes you can find street parking. From the parking lot, you will walk up and then walk down to the restaurant. Now it's not shiny and new. Instead, Highland Tap is full of tradition. The dark wood, flashes of deep red on the walls, are reminiscent of a lodge but the kind that generation after generation enjoys. And, to make it easy to follow in the tradition, Highland Tap has some hard to beat incentives. From Sunday thru Thursday, between 5-6:30pm, the half-off appetizers include the delicious jumbo lump crabcake, the blue ribbon onion rings that are definitely super-sized and the ultra delicious shrimp with tasso cornbread. There are also nightly summer specials like the fried chicken with mac and cheese and veggie du jour for $18 on Mondays and the foie gras with Georgia peaches and brioche on Saturdays for $15. It's the recession-proof entrees that got me buzzing. I had the mini-steak oscar with mashed potatoes and it was a divine dish for only $15. Maybe it was mini to others but I had enough left over for breakfast. My friend had the 8 oz NY strip with salad and a side for just $12. To drink, the beer is the best bet and, even for a none beer lover like me, Fat Tire, one of the specialty beers on tap, got my tastebuds humming. According to Gary who was so super-nice to me, the beer is named for the fat tire of the bicycle the beer's founder rode through Belgium. Although I shouldn't have, I couldn't resist the Bailey Irish Cream Cheesecake, which was every bit as good as it sounds. Super-rich, served with some whip cream, the slice is gigantic enough for sharing; they say two but I say four but I'm a woman. Becky our server was the best and Chef Bert Chapman, who comes from Bacchanalia, dropped by to say hi. Chefs are getting more fit and handsomer by the minute. I'm told that the weekends are super-packed at Highland Tap and, also, that brunch is the perfect cure for hangovers. I'm not well-versed in that but I do know that Highland Tap is one spot where you will actually leave full without spending a fortune. That certainly bucks the trend of paying more for less. I say it's about time you got a true bang for your buck.

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