Devin Tavern

Tomorrow, Dylan Prime offspring Devin Tavern opens for dinner, billing itself as "rustic American". Since America's synonymous with excess, you'd figure this tagline's code for "going overboard, rustically". Here's why you'd be right

More is More: Since overweight Americans need space to drink, Devin's equipped with not one, but two formidable bars -- one in the wood-floored upstairs dining room, the other in the brick-walled basement lounge (wood + brick = rustic). The upstairs is perfect for post-work gatherings with your boys, the downstairs for fleeing to alone if your boys won't shut up about work.

There's Cheese in The Booze: Not content to merely strafe your liver, partner/mixologist Michael Waterhouse's cocktails will also clog your heart. Take the "Blue Tomato": a martini garnished with pickled cherry tomatoes, each stuffed with healthful blue cheese.

Double Meat: A tavern's signature dish is its burger, and Devin follows the gastropubs' lead by using gourmet ingredients (gruyere, homemade onion rolls). Then they bulk up the burger's patriotism, first by adding some braised pork belly, then slapping on an extra patty. U-S-A! U-S-A!

In August, Devin's also introducing a Southern-influenced brunch -- Westphalia ham, grits, cornbread, waffles, and giant biscuits. If double-double starch isn't American, nothing is.