A look at history, a taste that's great

Devour some of The Black Horse Pub's delicious buffalo wings and crab cakes, enjoy its wide assortment of seafood, and daydream about the history of this charming restaurant.

"The Black Horse has been around since 1742," says manager Thomas Coyle.

The Pub, which stands across the courtyard from the award-winning Black Horse Tavern, was initially a stable and a stagecoach stop on the road to Scranton, Pa. There are 20 seats in what is now known as the Olde Pub, and there's another section built in the early 1980s that enlarged the dining area to include a full bar with more seating.

The pub and the tavern are owned by Villa Enterprises Inc. of Morristown.

As interesting as the history and architecture are here, what's even more fascinating is how delectable the food is and also how generous the portions are.

"We serve generous portions of food," Coyle agrees, adding that many people can't even finish some of the meals.

The Pub has an extensive menu. Appetizers include such popular standard fare as buffalo wings, nachos and french-fried zucchini, as well as cheese and wine-bubbly shrimp, which is served in a cheese and wine sauce; homemade potato pancakes, steamed shrimp and vegetable dumplings.

There's a list of hearty pub sandwiches including French dip, Maryland crabcake and North Carolina pulled pork. A broad range of entree salads feature steak, blackened chicken and others.

There also are country-style comfort foods such as chicken pot pie. There's char-broiled burgers with numerous toppings, sirloin steaks, filet mignon, BBQ baby-back ribs, sea scallops, sesame tuna, fresh lemon sole and more.

"We have our famous raw bar, which on Mondays through Thursdays, we have out front," Coyle says, "where you can see a chef shucking clams and oysters."

Desserts include fresh pies that are made on the premises.

The Black Horse Tavern and Pub are obviously very popular, and Coyle attributes this to the tutelage of his general manager, Michael Horty, who has been manning the pub for 15 years and who is always changing the menu and keeping everything fresh.

Having two restaurants on the same property affords their guests choices that most other restaurants don't have. The Black Horse Tavern and Pub allow customers to choose between a casual pub or the upscale fine dining restaurant known as the Tavern, and the motto at both is, "Only the best for our patrons — since 1742."