SPTR

I've been to the South Philly Taproom a few times. I don't think I need to write an extensive review. I believe that most people who are likely go there already know what I'm about to write: It has some of the best beer and food under one roof in all of Philadelphia. And a cool vibe on top of that. On one of the quite snowy nights this last week, I went out with my friend Danny for dinner.

The beer list was great, as usual. I believe it was all American craft beer. There was a good selection of different styles, ABVs and regions in the country, which was awesome. I started with the Java Head stout from Troegs. This well made coffee stout paired well with the snowy evening. I had another drink, and tried a pair of Danny's, but I don't remember all of them. The beer list changes so often, that I don't really need to comment on what they were, because they're long gone.

One annoying factor was how dark and loud this place can get. Granted, it was a Friday night, but we had trouble reading the menu and hearing each other. Partly that was due to the incredibly drunk table next to us, which went from funny to annoying a few moments. This place is cozy but not cramped, and I usually love it here, but on this evening the atmosphere could have been a bit better. Our server did a good job despite the fact that the place was pretty busy.

The menu is a little small, but it's always accompanied with a nice amount of specials. We both ordered cheeseburgers for dinner. Before coming here, I've had the burger, and remember it being good. But it's more than that. It's excellent. Although paying $1 for the two small strips of bacon was a waste. Overall, it's one of my favorite burgers in the city. The bun and cheese are great, topped with lettuce, tomato and onion and special sauce. The meat is well seasoned and cooked. Overall, it's a great execution from every aspect. To boot, it's served with fries and pickled veggies. They serve it with a special "ketchup" which I didn't like, but you can get the real stuff by just asking.

Bottom Line:

I like this place for brunch, dinner, or just drinks. It has a great happy hour from 4 to 6. It's one of the best bars in the city. I just wish it was closer to my house. It's not getting the most outrageous lineup of beer, but I'd rather have a solid place that I can always count on. And that's exactly what SPTR is.

Essentials:

1509 Mifflin St

215-271-7787

Hours: 11am-2am

Avg Ent:9-14

Cash Only: No

Ants Pants Cafe

Lana and I used to love going here. It was a nice little place that no one seemed to know about, great coffee, and opens at 7am on the weekdays. It had been over a year since my last visit, so I was excited to go. I met with my friends Quinn and Nicole before we were going to head to a Penguins/Flyers game. This little cafe has a cool Australian theme.

It is really crazy on weekends. A space that is cute during the week quickly becomes cramped and uncomfortable. It was very busy, but that's not an excuse for the terrible service we received. I had to flag down our server even to get a refill of coffee, and we were never checked on after we got our food. I also remember the food being really good, and the breakfast potatoes (chips) blowing me away. The chips were a complete waste. Don't order them. They have a good range of specials, and the menu is varied enough to please almost anyone.

Bottom Line: The food was good, but not great. It's doubtful you'll even remember what you ate within a few days. However, there are several positive aspects of Ants Pants: The coffee here is great. They have decent grab and go breakfast foods, so it would definitely be a regular stop for me if I lived closer by. I'd like this place to be in my neighborhood, but it's too far away for me to justify the trip.

Essentials:

2212 South St

215-875-8002

Hours: M-F 7-4, S&S 8-3

Avg Ent: 5-10

Cash Only: Yes

Reservations: No

BYOB: No

Amada: Restaurant Week

As soon as I found out the dates for Restaurant week, I was on the phone making reservations at Amada within minutes. I met up with Quinn for drinks at Eulogy, and we then headed over for our 8pm reservations. We only waited a few minutes before we were seated. Amada is a huge, sprawling restaurant. The decor in the front in like a classy general store with a nice long open bar, while the back turns into a normal dining room after the open air kitchen.

Quinn had done a good bit of research (and I hadn't) and picked out everything that we ordered. Amada, like Chifa, is tapas inspired. Small dishes, meant for sharing, populate the table during the whole meal. For our first course, we started with an aged Manchego cheese. It was served with honey and apple slices, and the combination of these three were heavenly. We also ordered Serrano Ham, a thinly sliced antipasta style dish. This was good, but lacked the flavor to carry itself. The texture was more impressive than the taste. We followed up with goat cheese and roasted veggies on bread; nothing memorable here. We also had an order of garlic shrimp, and this tasted great.

The second course started with seasoned wild mushroom. I can't stress enough: These were amazing. That dish was one of the best things I've tasted in months. Excellent mushrooms in an even better marinade. We rounded out the second course with grilled chorizo, which was very good. We also had lima bean salad. It was okay. It had a weird texture and there were many menu ideas I would have rather tried. Lastly, we had grilled calamari, and that was great, too.

We had each of one of the desserts. I'm not a huge dessert person, and neither of these were that good. The best part was a complimentary almond wafer, which was basically a larger delicious fortune cookie.

For drinks, I usually don't expect much from nice restaurants. Amada, however, has a good, small selection. They have one representative from several styles: pilsner, IPA, lager, red ale, and stout. And they're all solid selections and normally priced. I had two Founders' Centennial IPA. Quinn stuck with the sangria and enjoyed that a lot. Amada has an extensive wine list, but I ignored it.

Bottom Line: It's easy to see why this spot is wildly popular. I've heard that it's even better off restaurant week. The atmosphere is cool and the service was great (Thanks Shelly!). Overall, the menu contains some hit or miss items, which is unfortunate. I was pleased with my meal, but this isn't at the top of my list for places to eat in the city. With the exception of the lima beans, everything was very good at the least, and spectacular at best.

Essentials:

217 Chestnut St

215-625-2450

Hours: Weekdays, 11:30-2:30, 5-10; weekend 11:30-2:30, 4-12

Avg meal: 40-60

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Required

The Pop Shop, Famous Grilled Cheese?

Last weekend Jonny and I were in the suburban sprawl of New Jersey and pretty hungry. I had heard about a place with a mean grilled cheese, so we made our way over to The Pop Shop in Collingswood. The place was kind of wild inside; I can only assume that at 4pm on each Saturday every seven year old girl in the tri-county area is having their birthday party at the Pop Shop. The place was pretty packed and crazy, like an elementary cafeteria with moms. The decor/theme they're going for is a 1950s diner, and by looks alone, they do an okay job. We didn't have to wait at all for a table, which was a plus.

The host and our server were both really nice, but seemed overworked. I don't fault them; the Pop Shop seems to suffer from poor management. The menu is another problem. We were given mock newspapers made for the restaurant that were the menus. It's a cool idea, it's just a shame that it's about as long as the Inquirer. There are hundreds of items on the menu, and it's overwhelming. The grilled cheese menu alone offers more than thirty choices.

Jonny and I ordered a two sandwiches, the 5 Bs: Brie, goat cheese, applewood smoked bacon and tomato. The other was the East Zane: brie with grilled asparagus and pesto mayo on a baguette. Both sandwiches were disappointing. The goat cheese of the 5 Bs overpowered everything else, which was sad because it sounds so good. For the East Zane, the bread was too hard and the pesto mayo was the only good part. A condiment should not be the best you have to offer. He had a root beer float, which was sadly made with soft serve. I had a malted milkshake which was good, but nothing special.

Bottom Line: The Pop Shop doesn't seem to try at all. They are offering the very lowest quality food that won't cause people to complain. The food could be better made in my own kitchen, and the prices aren't great either. I have no idea why this place has a good reputation.