** 1/2 (out of four stars)

Like an old friend, I can always rely on the Tabard to be there for me. In fall and winter, its comfortably worn, fireplace-lit lounge is one of the first places I head for a warm-me-up; in spring and summer, I can count on the brick-walled garden to impress any visitors. A talented parade of chefs has marched through the kitchen over the decades, and the latest, Paul Pelt, follows the inn's long-standing recipe for fresh and contemporary American fare. Pelt's croquettes, sweet with shrimp and nutty with Manchego cheese, whisk me to Spain, though their cayenne-shocked tomato jam is very New World. And his twin barbecue duck sandwiches are both adorable and scrumptious, refreshingly paired with a light slaw of thread-thin shredded jicama, mango and cilantro. There's something to appeal to every hankering on the daily-changing script: short ribs bedded on polenta and ringed with chimichurri, grilled quail that evokes the Caribbean with its peppery jerk spices, a crab cake here and a hanger steak (with bernaise sauce) there. Huw Griffiths's desserts - cappuccino pots de creme, lemon meringue pudding cake, carrot cake lavished with coconut - bring up the rear, and you need to know going in that they are very, very hard to resist. So save space. And bring some cotton balls for your ears, because this decades-old charmer is as clattery as it is cozy.