Towne Tavern & Treehouse

We're in Pembroke, Massachusetts at a place called town Tavern and Treehouse, and it's not just a clever name, and in fact, this is the only restaurant I've ever been to where you can dine inside of an actual Treehouse.

David Barry - Owner, Town Tavern & Treehouse: "You know, it's funny when people call or people are on the streets asking about it. And they say, you know, when they said what is Treehouse mean in the in the name? And I say, Well, we have a, you know, 100 plus seat restaurant that's literally up in the trees. It's like a secondary restaurant from our main restaurant that's out of the front of the building. There's literal trees coming out of it. So it looks like a log cabin, basically up in the sky. You have a 360 degree view of a beautiful pond called Furnace Pond here in Pembroke, Mass. It's like you're in paradise. You're up in the trees, like you're on a vacation, sipping some great cocktails, having some amazing food, overlooking a beautiful water with just amazing scenery."

This is the upper deck of the treehouse and it is definitely the place to be in the summertime. It's always rocking. You got the lights overhead you have the view of the pond, you have all these handmade tables with the trees actually coming up from the ground. It's a one of a kind, truly unique dining experience.  If it gets a little chilly they have heaters for you and you can always head right inside to the actual treehouse bar. Yes my ultimate culinary fantasies have come true. I can go into a treehouse and drink a beer and eat some food. Best day ever.

Here's a dish you wouldn't expect to find at a treehouse: the burrata board. This has super creamy burrata cheese, some thin sliced prosciutto, toasted pistachios, some great toasted flatbread for the dip. I mean, this is the kind of dish you would not expect to find. It's classy. It's tasty. Good way to start. Here's a signature appetizer, Carne Asada Fries. This is a combination of poutine and a taco It has everything you could possibly want with a nice cold beer. You have some street corn in there, slow roasted ribeye steak, queso blanco cheese, some cilantro, they throw the pickled red onions on there, right over and some nice crispy fries, a little Tajin seasoning. A lot of layers, a lot of flavors, a lot of textures, a whole lot of deliciousness.

"It's a very eclectic menu of a lot of different offerings. My culinary Director Brian is amazing with his creativity. Our newest menu that just kicked off last week with some lobster rolls... It's a huge portion of some fresh Maine lobster. So it's a nice lemon chive aioli served on a little bed of greens but on a nice buttered brioche roll. It's just it's very mouthwatering. It's beautiful color, extremely flavorful, and definitely hits the spot."

When you're on the South Shore and you're eating pizza, you're going to be eating a South Shore bar pizza. That's how they do it here at the Town Tavern and Treehouse, the typical 10 inch edge to edge pizza that everyone knows and loves. And you can load it up with whatever you want - plain cheese to a spicy version of a Hawaiian to my personal favorite pepperoni with a little hot honey. Crispy, buttery, cheesy, spicy. Tasty. I hope the seagulls don’t try to steal it.

Now if you'd like a good plate of steak tips, this is one restaurant you want to come to. Town Tavern does steak tips right. They are marinated for over a day so they're super tender, cooked on the grill and high heat so you get the nice grill marks right on there, with some mashed potatoes. Little bit of asparagus. This is a plate that is big enough to feed you for two days. This ain't your typical burger. This is a double Western Smashburger - you got two patties cooked on the griddle you have a brioche bun, onion strings, homemade barbecue sauce, Applewood Smoked Bacon, coleslaw, that's a lot going on in the burger. It's a lot to fit into your mouth but I'm going to try it anyways. That's a smashing success right there. Wow!

I think the most unexpected dish and maybe the most delicious this here is actually fried rice. Chef Brian is a master at making fried rice. This is his signature dish. You start with a nice hot pan, throw in some oil, in go the veggies, your carrots your mushrooms, then comes from nice white meat chicken, then comes the garlic soy sauce, then in goes the rice, pour it into the bowl right over the top a perfectly fried egg. So once you get that yolk in there and in emulsifies, it gets soft and sweet and spicy and delicious. This is the ultimate fried rice. I don't know if it's as good as the Kowloon but it's up there.

"It's truly a hidden gem here in Pembroke, Mass. It's off the beaten path. There's no easy route to get to Pembroke you know, it's a few few minutes off the road and off the highway.. and with the views that we have here, it blows away a lot of other areas that are on the water, and you get a lot of atmosphere of any different things that you want at the new bar, up in the Treehouse, or if you'd rather just say out of the sun and sit inside. We have the best of all flavors."

So whether you come by car or by boat, you dine inside or outside, I guarantee you this there is no other place quite like town Tavern and Treehouse.