I find often as I read through everyone's reviews and comments about LTT here on the DIS that people either love it or hate it. I've read a number of comments that belittle the restaurant for serving what tastes to them like frozen dinners or something from the frozen food aisle at the grocery store. I, for one, am on the completely opposite scale. Liberty Tree Tavern has been a longtime favorite of ours and has never failed to offer us a good meal with it's filling "homemade" classics. We typically eat dinner here but have done lunch on occasion...which is just as good.
I do miss the characters that were once here. They were so cute in their colonial costumes. It'd be cool if they brought them back. The decor within the restaurant really does fit the bill. I think the imagineers created something as authentic as they could with modern construction materials. The large fireplace reminds me very much of the fireplace in my own home (built in 1780). The best touch IMO are the rippley and distorted window panes. Genius!
OK...on to the meal experience! I remember that our ADR was at about 6:30 PM. When we arrived there were quite a few people waiting in the lobby area. There are a number of wooden benches for seating. There is also a wooden table with smaller benches set up for kids to color on while they wait. The restaurant provides crayons and coloring sheets. I noticed that these were replenished frequently as most kids took their crayons and paper in to the dining table. Another great idea!
The "H" Family from Massachusetts was soon called to be seated. We were guided into what I think was the John Paul Jones room....I could be way off on that! It's the first room on the left side of the restaurant. We were seated at a nice 2-top alongside those lovely windows.
Our server visited us right away. She was very pleasant and attentive. We placed our drink orders...Pomegranate Lemonade for Jim and ice water for me. She soon brought our drinks and quickly followed with the Declaration Salad. This salad is very light with what I would guess is an oil and vinegar of some sort. The only thing I would change about this salad is to throw a few croutons in there! I love croutons! Maybe I'll bring my own next time!
Quickly after the salad was delivered out came the rolls with an awesome honey butter. I love these rolls. They are delicious! I would pay the price of the meal and happily sit there and eat a basket of them for my whole meal. So many carbs, so little time! And I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them...too busy stuffing them into my mug I suppose!!
Our server gave us plenty of time to eat our salad and rolls. After the salad had vanished she took the empty dish away and came back with the Patriot's Platter! It's really more than just a platter. It's more like a platter and 4 more bowls along with it.
The platter itself includes turkey, beef, and pork roast. Underneath the meat is a mountain of delicious stuffing! Now here come the bowls! First up is Mac & Cheese...I'm not a fan of this one, it's a little too Velveeta for me...but Jim loves it. Green beans tossed in garlic and olive oil...I love these! Jim hates green beans so I get to have all of them. Fair swap, right? Rounding out the roster are mashed potatoes, gravy, and roasted sweet potatoes. Normally the sweet potatoes are roasted root vegetables...I prefer the root veg. The sweet potatoes were "meh" for me. Gimme the turnips and carrots anyday!
The meats were all moist and tender...fork tender actually. All three were also seasoned very well. I think my favorite was the turkey this time. It's rare to find moist turkey, I took advantage of it! The mashed potatoes are also very tasty, they are definitely of the cream cheese variety which is alright by me. Some folks might be turned off by that flavor so I thought I'd put it out there. The gravy is, well, gravy...no lumps though...extra points for that!!
Dessert was the Johnny Appleseed Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I will be completely honest here and say that I HATE craisins. I think they are gross. So I sort of pick around them and eat the cake. I apparently dislike craisins so much I didn't even snap a pic!! I wish they'd go back to apple cobbler...it was so yummy.
This was an all around satisfying meal. It filled our tummies and left us with smiles on our faces. Oh, I also wanted to mention that you can of course request more of any item. At one point Jim thought he might want another couple pieces of meat. Really, like 2...our server brought him a sizeable plate of all the meats. He was sad thinking that this meat might go to waste...but that ship had already sailed and he owned it. He did eat some but totally couldn't finish the whole plate.
We both give LTT 2 thumbs up and it remains one of our steadfast favorites! If you've never tried it, I highly recommend!
ETA: I found the rolls!!! I love you, rolls!!