Taverns are establishments that are deeply rooted in American history and culture. In Colonial America, taverns used to serve as gathering spots for travelers to receive nourishment and shelter: food, drink, company and lodging services.

They were essential to the colonists and provided a temporary safe haven – a place in which individuals could recuperate and reenter their travels rejuvenated.

A new addition to the Amherst restaurant scene, Johnny’s Tavern, located behind Bueno Y Sano, possesses an all-American feel – a dimly-lit atmosphere of grays, blues, browns and maroons, all matched with an upscale twist. A full bar with high top chairs lines an entire side of the restaurant, while leather booths, wooden chairs and tables contribute to a traditional dining room setting on the opposite side. Customers, or Amherst colonists, rather, are greeted with friendly service and are led to their choice of location: a table or a bar seat.

The menu consists of appetizers, salads, flatbreads and entrees, each section possessing a satisfying variety of items. The Truffle Fries, an upmarket take on classic greasy bar fries, are generously dusted with five herbs, white truffle oil and Parmesan cheese, and served with a side of sweet tomato jam for dipping. They are sweet and savory, crunchy and soft, and leave a thin layer of oil and scattered Parmesan cheese grains on the fingertips. This $6 appetizer provides consistent, plentiful flavor.

House-made basil pesto, roasted chicken and goat cheese crumbles sit atop an unevenly rolled flatbread to make up what is the Chicken Pesto Flatbread, listed at a reasonable $8. Sliced into four pieces, each possesses an inconsistent crust thickness – some pieces with a doughy texture and others with a rewarding, typical flatbread thinness and crunch. Extra virgin olive oil seeps through the crust, coating the bottom of the plate with basil green-infused slickness, overly lubricating the fingers and changing the color of a frequently used napkin.

If any renowned bar should claim to be just that, it must know how to serve a good burger. The “best burger you’ll ever have” Tavern Burger, priced at $10, is exciting yet intimidating as it is presented as a colossal mountain of everything good. With beer braised onions, Vermont cheddar, lettuce, tomato and an over easy egg costing an additional dollar, one cannot help but admire it before taking the first indulgent bite. Meaty juices and egg yolk spurt from the sides while the lightly toasted bun attempts to absorb the natural abstracts, becoming soggy in all its efforts.

The inevitabilities of eating a good burger are most certainly in play: contents drop from the indulgence with each bite. Juice and grease run down the fingers and from the crease of the mouth, descending all the way to the chin. One might as well disregard maintaining polite and proper mannerisms upon first ordering the Tavern Burger. Served with house-made chips or a side salad, this ground round is worth the mess.

Johnny’s Tavern may very well have a candidate for the “best burger you’ll ever have.” That is, if you have not had many burgers before or do not proclaim yourself a burger snob.

The service is friendly and satisfactory, but almost smothering. The table was visited a few times too many by the waitress and manager to inquire about the quality of the meal. Perhaps they became certain that there was a restaurant reviewer present, or perhaps they were merely aiming to please any newcomers to their establishment. Regardless, the water glass remained attended to and constantly filled, and each part of the complete meal was served with a smile and a jovial “Enjoy!”

Typical tavern food tends to be very conventional and often unoriginal. However, Johnny’s Tavern takes a noticeably upscale approach to many classic tavern dishes and prices them reasonably.

It certainly encircles its customers in a comfortable environment – one that could surely attract a surplus of traveling colonists, whether they were searching for a roof over their heads, some favorable substance to consume or just friendly social interactions. And that’s saying a lot for any tavern – although Colonial American times may be in the past, Johnny’s Tavern revives the tradition of classic American dining.

Andrea Greenberg can be reached at [email protected].