Crouching Tiger, "Hidden" Gem

There are few things more satisfying--or therapeutic-- to The PubScout than riding great roads in great weather on two wheels. Though my rides are 99.9% solo, there's that .1% of the time when the missus deigns to hop on the back.

While she was once an ardent pillion-rider (even riding when she was eight months pregnant with our first son), the years have altered her appreciation for shadow-mottled, two-lane blacktop and twisties.

In much the same way, I was a beach bum for decades, but now the thought of sitting or walking on a beach--especially one where you can't smoke a cigar--is anathema to me. Bottom line: when she agrees to go for a ride, we saddle up before she has a chance to change her mind.

We headed for Canal Road in Franklin, with the idea of stopping in at the Rocky Hill Inn in Rocky Hill for lunch. But construction across the canal on the western side of 518 precluded an easy visit. So we cut across the canal at the Griggstown Causeway. And by the time we came to the Tiger's Tale on Rt. 206, she was ready for a lunch break. Having been there before, I swung the big cruiser into the parking lot.

Ironically, my last visit to the place was after a tropical storm event in NJ called Joaquin that produced a lot more funky, anti-motorcycle weather than Hermine did. But I knew that both the food and the beer list at The Tiger's Tale would be good, regardless.

They were. The missus ordered a Dogfish Head Namaste--and loved it. I ordered a Flying Fish Exit 16, a Wild Rice Double IPA, that was both wild and delicious. The missus, a crab connoisseur, asked for a TT Crab Melt Away. It was an appetizer portion, but even Tony the Tiger might not have been able to finish it. It was, in the Missus' words, delicious. And she LOVED her Namaste.

I had a Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich with my Exit 16, and it was a match made in heaven. It, too, was large and I had to leave a mouthful or so on the plate much to my chagrin.

On my last visit, I sat at the bar, but this time we opted for a seat in the packed--at 3 PM-- dining room. Our server, Erin, was as pleasant and accommodating as could be, and manager Samuel was as well.

Since I ride in that area often, I'm going to stop in and give The Tiger's Tale a P.A.P. Seal, the coveted sticker that marks any chosen establishment as a PubScout Approved Pub. Of course, that will require that I actually stop in, which should allow me some time for a beer and that Sautéed Calves Liver I missed on my first--and second-- visit.

And another shot at that incredible Shrimp and Corn Chowder Soup.

And despite the proximity of Princeton University just four miles down the road, this is NOT a college kids' hangout. As the guys (all well over forty-five) I met at the bar last time said, "We come here because the food is phenomenal." That's the Crab Melt Away to the right.

The PubScout and the missus would concur about the phenomenal food.

But we'd add, "So is the beer."