Stateside Tap + Tavern — Restaurant in Franklin Township

I love their food! I have been looking forward to going tonight when friends decided last week to go out. Tonight I chose their Tequila fig mule. It was a great drink, the fig was nice and light flavor that worked very well with the ginger beer and Tequila. We shared the Drunken Burrata which elicited an OMG with every bite. Nice crispiness to the outer coating, the vodka sauce is great and a few pieces of bread for dipping. I'm kind of glad they didn't offer more bread with it as we would have cleaned the plate and wouldn't have room for the main meal. For my meal I got my favorite and it is hard not to order it after having it the first time, the braised short ribs. They melt in your mouth and the whole dish is incredibly tasty. I have literally dreamed of this meal and even tried to replicate it at home. It's really, very good. They have several dishes with short ribs in the dish. I try to convince myself that I will try the others, but I haven't yet. We ended our evening with a mini round cheesecake with a Black Cherry drizzle on the plate. This needs to be on the menu all year round. Every day. Please don't take this away. I recall going to this restaurant early on when they opened. It was good but nowhere near as good as it is now. Whatever they did or whoever they brought onboard to elevate the food they offer, bravo and thank you. I'm so happy to have this local place to enjoy I didn't give 5 stars on the service, as someone that has worked in this service industry on and off for decades, without fail, if it isn't busy, the service always seems to be less attentive. Our server was indeed very nice and pleasant. I also didn't give 5 stars on the atmosphere as they desperately need some acoustic tiles to buffer the sound from the bar. We have several local restaurants with this issue and they don't seem to want to do anything about it. It does take away from the experience. If this were a date with a newer couple, it would be hard to carry a conversation in certain parts of the restaurant. You are just competing with so much noise. Thankfully the food makes up for these things, and the ownership can do something about it if...

As someone who’s worked in the restaurant industry, I usually give places the benefit of the doubt. I understand off nights happen, and I rarely post negative reviews. But after multiple visits, it’s clear this bar's issues run deeper than just a bad night—there’s a fundamental lack of care from management.

My first visit was for Seinfeld trivia night—a fun concept, and my friends, who are regulars, convinced me to make the trek from Woodbridge. I was excited, but that quickly faded. The Bloody Marys were honestly some of the worst I’ve ever had. I never send drinks back, but these were undrinkable. I ordered a harvest salad mainly for the fried goat cheese balls, only to be served two tiny ones on a pile of greens. Disappointing, even by casual bar standards.

The service was equally uninspiring. Our server was missing in action most of the night, and the host seemed completely disengaged, like he wasn’t even aware customers were coming in.

Still, I gave it another chance, hoping that trivia would redeem the experience. It didn’t. Things have only gotten worse with each visit. We started making reservations because there never seemed to be a table available when we arrived—yet somehow, even with reservations, the experience remained chaotic and disorganized.

The reservations clearly meant nothing. On three separate occasions we had no table ready, no explanation, just confusion or indifference from the staff. It’s incredibly frustrating to go out of your way, plan ahead, and still be treated like an afterthought.

Trivia may be fun, and that seems to be what keeps people coming back. But the food is subpar, the drinks are worse, and the service is consistently disorganized. At this point, it’s clear they’re not interested in improving. I’m done giving this place second chances—I...

Drinks were really good, service was good, but this seems like a trend. Gluten Free items are cooked in the same fryer as non-gluten free items. They list the wings as being gluten free and grilled, but when they came out they were obviously fried. I asked the server and he says they're fried before they grill them. With no grill marks at all, I suspect they're mostly fried and then placed on the grill for show. When I asked if they cook other non-gluten free items in the fryer he said yes. I returned the wings and then had to sit there and watch my friends eat while I had nothing. It's a shame really. I know it's a little more work to make sure that gluten free items are in fact gluten free, but when you advertise them you really need to make sure. What's even more surprising is I watched the server walk back and forth in front of the manager and not say anything; the manager didn't even know what happened. It's a shame really. I understand the issue and I'm not even upset about it, but the fact that they didn't do anything to rectify the situation is shameful. If those items are not gluten free and you can't verify the other items are, offer a salad, but to not do anything is a shame. Maybe I'll come.back for the drinks, but I definitely will not be back to eat. Follow gluten free people beware!

Follow up to the reply by the owner. Just so you know, I did let the server know. Once when I asked about if there's any gluten free items on tap and then again when I ordered. Despite all of that, they didn't follow through. I only noticed because the 'grilled' wings had no grill marks which prompted me to ask. Imagine the people who trusted the menu labeling items and then trusted the server took their allergy notice, not once but twice, and then...