Germany is the main influence of our cooking but we also draw from Scandinavian countries due to our sous chef, Henrik Ringbom who is from Sweden.

The menu offers updated dishes from the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia, creating a modern presentation of heirloom recipes and ingredients.

Our food is informed heavily by Drew's and my German and English roots coupled with the Southern influence of my relatives. It isn't that we honed in on these regions-we are those regions. I can't cook any other way-this is from my heart. I could learn to cook Chinese food but the creations would be someone else's-this is mine. Wine is a different story. From 1993-2002 we operated Zinfandel restaurant and had an Ethnic American Cooking menu. We had an all American wine and spirits list and let me tell you, we took tons of grief for it. Now, of course, American spirits and wine are lauded-who knew? Guess we did. However, the beauty of the Tavern's wine list is its value. Drew and Emily comb the world searching for wines to complement my food and also provide a value. They find really exciting wines from all over and have divided our wine list into New World and Old World.

We have a global menu. I have been cooking in ethnic restaurants my whole career.

Chinese can be any region, from the spicy dishes of Sichuan to the homey noodle dishes of Guangzhou. You'll find typical street foods or Thailand as well as classically prepared pad thai. Big Bowl hones in on these regions by simply using authentic ingredients and techniques. Everything starts from scratch -- from roasting peanuts to layering the flavors of a curry.

amsterdam, of course, is the main area of influence followed closely behind by past experiences in different places and countries. :D

Why confine yourself to a region? We source out the best product possible from where ever it may be!