Mercy Tavern
Just one bite of this burger.
"This is juicy and gooey and a lot messy."
A mere spoonful of this onion soup.
"I will put my French onion soup against anybody's."
Or a taste of this fried chicken.
"Oh, my God, this is the most amazing fried chicken I've ever had."
Will have your waistline begging for mercy.
Located on Derby Street in historic Salem, Mass, The Mercy Tavern is a fun, funky spot serving a full range of comfort food favorites in a cozy atmosphere, according to owner Patrick Schultz.
"It's got loads of character. It's in a great neighborhood just on the outskirts of the tourist area. The first thing that you're going to see is the small bar against the far wall. You're going to see the wood floors, the tin ceilings, the brick walls."
"The lighting's beautiful. It's just very comfortable, but also has this cool, artsy vibe to it. It's totally laid back."
It all comes out of the kitchen of Robert Krajewski. This chef has worked at some of the top restaurants in Boston- and he decided to bring all of that know-how to the North Shore, and apply it to an approachable menu.
"When I say we do a burger, we're doing a really, really good burger. We're doing a really good Cuban sandwich. While the food is casual, it's approachable, it's just done really well."
So there's everything from hearty classics like Spaghetti and Meatballs to this creative New England inspired pork chop.
"The pork gets brined with rum and molasses, and kind of gives you that sweet-salty. And then we serve it with traditional New England baked beans, and instead of doing a slice of brown bread. We do toasted brown bread croutons that go into a baby salad."
Another comforting favorite Chef is known for is called "Bob's Famous Fried Chicken"because over the years, friends, family and staff have requested this crispy, savory recipe.
"Anytime he went to somebody's house, he went to a picnic with friends, they would always say, "You've got to bring your fried chicken." So he brought it here. We pre-roast the chicken. We do a normal flour, buttermilk, flour breading, but the flour has. Madras style curry powder in it and it's golden brown when it goes on the plate. Serve it with a little bit of milk gravy and a side of sweet and sour slaw. It's easy."
When it came to his burger, chef had a checklist of key things he needed for patty perfection. And it's all outlined on the menu.
"Here's how the burger reads on the menu: Double patty burger, house pickles. Check. Bacon onion jam, of course. Potato bun, what else? American cheese and garlic aioli. I want people to know. This is what makes the best burger. I loved a seared burger. Grilled burgers are fine, but not for the best burger. We do a potato bun because it's nice and soft. That gets seared on the flat-top along with the burger. Then for cheese, I choose American. Then, finally, with the bacon, making a bacon jam. So it's kind of this sweet, smoky, meaty, tangy component. After that, it's garlic aioli, so you have richness. You have fatty, you have acid. This burger is not a delicate structure. This is juicy and gooey and a lot messy. It is a burger that you need both hands and several napkins to eat. It's delicious."
And while the burger may be delicious, the onion soup is to die for- no matter what the weather is like outside.
"In the warm summer months, I'm selling out five gallons, ten gallons a week. It's ridiculously popular.”
This sumptuous soup comes in a crock with an addictive broth, sourdough croutons and lots and lots of cheese melted on top.
"This is best French onion soup in Salem. I'll put it up against anybody's. I don't care."
For sandwiches, Mercy Tavern has a Greek inspired grilled cheese featuring melted houlumi stuffed inside a pita with mint dressing and one of the best Cuban sandwiches outside of Havana.
"There's nothing else like it. You want the slow roasted pork. You want the really good sliced ham. You want a sweet, spicy chipotle aioli. It's a really exciting sandwich to eat because there's just so much going on."
If you're looking for some light bites, there's a selection of small plates like hand-cut prosciutto, roasted cauliflower with tahini and dry roasted peppers with lime dressing and grated cheese
"They're small, they're inexpensive. And you can have a little bit of fresh cut prosciutto or olives or hummus. It's just great because you can create your own antipasto platter."
And while you'll feel great biting into a piece of Mercy Tavern's Chocolate Ganache Cake, you'll feel even better when the check comes, because a portion of the bill gets donated to local charities- which is just another reason the customers can't stop coming here.
"They like to know that ¤when they're just coming out to dine and getting everything that they need and want in a place, that you also get this added gift that they, through their purchase, are giving back to their community."
