Foothill Flavors

Liverwurst: a new taste in Plymouth

By Antoinette May Herndon

Remember liverwurst? I did, just barely. My mother used to tuck liverwurst sandwiches into my lunch pail when I was in grammar school. It was thaaaaaat long ago.

I didn’t think they even made liverwurst anymore, much less serve it in a restaurant. What a surprise to spot a liverwurst sandwich on the menu the other night at the Plymouth Hotel.

Charles and I were enjoying a cocktail before dining at Taste. The word, “dining,” just goes with Taste, don’t you think? We love Taste. It’s a great place to visit; but, unfortunately, we can’t afford to live there. Dinner at Taste is so special that it usually centers around a birthday, his, mine or somebody’s. This special event was our anniversary.

Though Taste has a fantastic wine and beer list, they don’t serve drink drinks. This being a celebration and all, we wanted it all. If Taste didn’t serve cocktails, why not check out the Plymouth a few doors down Main Street? The red neon cocktail sign just told me that we would not be disappointed.

The bar’s lively old west atmosphere drew us in immediately. Housed in the lower floor of a historic hotel, the bar is a mellow mix of old bottles, scarred mahogany and cowboy mementos. Unquestionably, this tavern has seen plenty of action in the past 130 years.

Our drinks were good, the bar crowd friendly, and just beyond, the dining room with its clusters of neatly set

tables, looked inviting. We were tempted to linger, but there was that table with our name on it waiting at Taste.

Charles and I resolved to go back. As it turned out our good friend, Ginger Griffin, also has childhood memories of liverwurst. She was a willing candidate and enticed her husband, Barry, to bite the bullet. So to speak.

Entering the Plymouth Hotel is a time trip. Imagine stepping into the Long Branch Saloon in old Dodge City. We didn’t see Matt Dillon, Chester or Doc. But the Plymouth’s chef-owner, Dianne Walton, does look a bit like Miss Kitty.

The bar itself is—in my opinion, anyway—the most old westy in the whole Mother Lode. It could easily be the set piece of a cowboy film. Admittedly, you can’t drink atmosphere; but happily, Jen Bell, the bar tender—tendress?—knows how to fix a mean martini. $4.50)

OK, so it was liverwurst that I came for and liverwurst I intended to have. Dianne’s sandwich went far beyond the remembrance of things past. It was rich and innovative with red onion, tomatoes and spicy brown mustard served open face on Dianne’s house baked French bread. ($9).

Ginger, who’s on a gluten free diet, had the same delicious components wrapped in crisp lettuce for the same price.

Charles’s choice—a happy one for him—was the Italian sausage sandwich ($8.50) with carmelized onions, bell peppers and mozzarella. It looked delicious and must have been because he wasn’t into sharing. Barry found the sauce on his spaghetti and meatballs ($10.75) a tad

too aggressive, but thought the meat tasty and the pasta tender

What wine complements liverwurst and yet doesn’t fight with spaghetti or sausage? Consider. When Dianne suggested vin rose, I thought: “Oh, no, that’s a wimp wine.”

It’s been years since I’ve had vin rose; not as many years as that last liverwurst sandwich, but still a long, longtime. Turned out that the Eaglerock vin rose ($5 a glass) that Dianne brought out was one of those baby bear wines: “just right.”

The Plymouth Hotel has a number of exciting dessert choices. Charles and I had a difficult time narrowing it down to the agreed upon “one dessert, two spoons.” Our final selection—Medjool dates marinated in amoretto and then topped with whipped cream and roasted almonds—was a winner. ($5.)

For most of us, every dinner out can’t be a trip to Taste. So you’ve got to admit that a $9 sandwich is easier on the pocketbook than a $42 rack of lamb. Viewed from that perspective, lunchbox liverwurst is a desirable delicacy. Why not give it a try. At the Plymouth Hotel everything old is new again.

VITALS: Plymouth Hotel, 9356 Main St., Plymouth. Phone: 245-4544. Open Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m., Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m to 8 p.m. Credit cards accepted.

Pictures:

Barry at the bar—Barry Griffin of Mokelumne Hill enjoys a drink at the Plymouth Hotel’s historic bar.

They mix a mean martini at the Plymouth Hotel.

Dianne Walton, left, owner-chef of the Plymouth Hotel, with her bar tender, Jen Bell.