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.

Pierogie Week at Green Rock Tavern

I was quite excited when I heard about Pierogie Week at the nearby Green Rock Tavern. Jonny and I visited for dinner on Tuesday night. Green Rock Tavern is a little corner bar on Lehigh Ave in Port Richmond. The bar is a quant little hang out. They have an old school dart board, and the place seemed to be filled with regulars. The draft list is nothing special, and there is no happy hour. The prices seem average, and the bottle list is halfway decent.

This week, they were offering different pierogie dishes matched with a PBC beer for $10. They were out of two different kinds of pierogie's, which I get it: They didn't expect to have the kind of demand they received. We ordered and received our dishes in a timely manner. Jonny had bacon, chive and potato, while I had "Farmer's cheese." We both had decent food, but six peirogies and a small side of kraut just isn't a meal. I wasn't about to order a second dish, either. The beer pairings seemed to be completely arbitrary, but to be fair, there isn't really a science to match those PBC beers with the food offered.

The service was fine and the bartender was nice. When we got our check, it said "Two dude under the highlife sign" on it. That was kind of funny.

Bottom Line: There's not much to say. Pierogie's weren't enough for me. The bar is nice, and if it was around the corner I could see myself going there more often. But it's not, so I won't.

Chifa

Chifa was my first stop for restaurant week. I was excited for my first stop at a Jose Garces restaurant, as the man has quickly become Steven Starr's main competitor over the last few years. Restaurant week is when over a hundred restaurants over the city offer a three course, prix fix meal for $35. However, portions and quality vary greatly.

I met with my friend Bryana and we were seated quickly, right on time for our reservations. The atmosphere is weird here. Low lights, modern/trendy decorations, terrible but trying to be

cool and in the background music. Overall, it just wasn't my thing. This doesn't make a huge difference though. Our server was excellent. Attentive and friendly, she made the dining experience better.

The menu is Peruvian/Asian fusion food, which sounded random until our server explained. You should ask during your visit. The menu

is set up for sharing, and between the two of us we ordered four different first courses, four seconds, and two desserts. I also opted for the wine pairing which offered a glass of red and white wine. While not amazing, they were modestly prices and matched well with a majority of the food. I also opted for the wine because the beer list was average and overpriced: Flying Fish, Dogfish Head, PBC, ect for $6 or $7.

Dishes are brought out in the order they are prepared, which was a bit faster than I wanted to eat them. We started of with civiche, which was deliciously well prepared. Our pork belly bun came out next, which is a star of the menu. The meat was delicious, but I thought the bun was bland and in poor ratio to the rest of the dish. Despite my complaint, Bryana declared it her favorite dish. We had spring rolls next, which were my favorite. They were flaky and perfectly seasoned. The BBQ ribs were the last of the first courses. It was good, but if you want ribs, go to a place that does ribs, because I wasn't impressed. The meat wasn't memorably tender, and the sauce was average.

Pho started our second course. This dish was poorly made. The spiciness from the jalapenos

overpowered any other taste it might have had. Further it was made from noodles only a few inches long, making it almost impossible to eat with a fork or the provided chop sticks. We were served mussels next, which were great. The sauce was thick and flavorful, the best mussels I've had outside a Belgian joint. Another fantastic dish came out next, seasoned rice mixed with scallops. Chifa did the best job with the seafood dishes. Our last dish before dessert were mushrooms, and they come out in a dish that looked like a pot pie. The crust was unnecessary, but the mushrooms were cooked in a great sauce and were excellent wild mushrooms.

We had hit and miss dishes for both courses. We sampled both desserts from the menu. The first was coconut and passionfruit sorbet dish. This was nice and tangy, but not the way I love to end my meal. I was much more into the other dessert, chocolate ganache with hazelnut brittle.

Bottom Line: With the offerings of a lot of different dishes, the portions are small, but the meal ends up being adequate. Our server told me that the restaurant week menu was a good representation of the regular menu. The whole night was good, but hit or miss. I would have been disappointed if I paid full price, and I honestly can't see myself going back again. If you do have a strong urge to try this place out, opt for the small $18 lunch special. It's almost exactly half of the restaurant week dinner offering. Chifa cooks up interesting fusion dishes, but doesn't quite hit the nail on the head.

Essentials:

707 Chestnut St

215-925-5555

Avg dinner: 35-55

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Required

Varga Bar

Dan and I stopped by Varga for a nice weekday lunch. I knew they started a new "speed lunch" menu. Also, I hadn't been here since summer. During lunch, this spot is pretty slow. Still, the city is in sore need of good bars that serve weekday lunch, so I'm really happy this is open.

The beer list, as always, in incredible. They also standardized the beer list: 3.5 for half pints, 6 for goblets or pints, and $25 growler fill. Between us we tried Bell's Hopslam, Great Divide St. Brigid's Porter, Slyfox Odyssey, Great Divide Old Ruffian barleywine, and St. Victorious Doppelbock. They have so many choices that I really love the new offering of half pints. Varga also keeps their beermenus page and twitter meticulously up to date.

Dan and I were both craving burger, so we skipped the lunch menu. The burger was good; well topped with bacon, aged cheddar, lettuce and tomato. The burger was also served with fries and house made ketchup and mustard. I enjoyed my meal, but it's not my favorite burger in the city, and the $14 price tag is steep despite the Kobe label.

We also split a bowl of spicy gumbo with chirzo and shrimp. This was a good idea because neither of us ate all of our food, and the bowl of soup was $8. Considering the speed lunch includes a bowl of soup and half a sandwich for $9, you almost can't pass up this deal.

Bottom Line: I still like Varga a lot. It's a great choice for good lunch and beer in the neighborhood. When the weather gets nice and you can sit outside, that just another reason to love this place.

Essentials:

10th and Spruce

(215) 627-5200

Reservations: No

Cash Only: No

Avg Ent: 10-16