Gastropubs

[barryg]

I recently had meals at Standard Tap, South Philly Tap Room, and Royal Tavern. Standard Tap was easily the worst of the bunch, and the service wasn't too great, either. Granted we only had sandwiches and a side of brussel sprouts at ST--no entrees or apps. It's also a lot more crowded than the other places, but that doesn't explain why RT has a busser/runner refilling water glasses and at ST we only got water after reminding the waitress 3 or 4 times to bring it.

SPTR tap room really impressed me with absolutely amazing roasted brussel sprouts with bacon--best I've had at a restaurant--and wild boar tacos loaded with flavor. They also had "Shola's House Made Duck Proscuitto" as a special which was good. The waitress didn't know who Shola was; anyone know if he is consulting at SPTR now or what the deal is? The meal was an incredible value given the quality of the preparation. None of the dishes would have been a disappointment at a higher end small plates restaurant.

The mussels at Royal Tavern are as good as ever. Probably my favorite bar mussels. And they have great specials like the chorizo-potato empanadas we had. The burger has always been much better than ST's "famous" burger (as our waitress reminded us there).

Is Standard Tap slipping? I get to the South Philly spots more often than NoLibs so I have more recent experiences at those places.

[jaba]

Just went to Standard Tap for the first time today. Terribly annoying "menu" only on inconveniently placed chalkboards written in small print (when people need to get up from their tables to figure out what they want to eat, there may be a better way to do things...). Food took forever. Had a bland pork sandwich. Only redeeming quality was the fantastic Sly Fox bitter on cask.

[sadiefox]

Might not count as a gastropub and I am ready to get slammed *********

But i had a delightful meal at Triumph in Old City last Friday... went to First Friday with some friends and wound up there... I had the mussels w/ chipotle and they were supremely tender and delicious, fries were very good... we started with buffalo wings as an app and they were not huge but they were DELISH... crisp and sweet and vinegary although not overly hot. I had the Belgian quadruple on tap and thought it was perfectly respectable. Seems their menu here is more interesting and varied compared to the New Hope location.... Overall a satisfying meal....

[gina]

I agree, Triumph has good grub. Those chicken wings and fries are tasty indeed, as are the lamb sliders. I'd really enjoyed the pumpkin ale they had on tap last fall, although I'm usually more of a wine drinker.

I used to avoid going to Triumph when I was in the mood to sip wine, because their wine pours by the glass were so incredibly skimpy. But lately that's changed, thank goodness.

[sadiefox]

I'm a big fan of the Memphis Tap Room up in Fishtown. The beer list is usually diverse and interesting, both on tap and in bottles. The food is solid. I have enjoyed the Welsh Rarebit and the Kensington Platter. I haven't been there for several months but may go tomorrow :)

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Tap Room
201 Bohemia Ave, Chesapeake City, MD 21915

[Philly Ray]

Hmmm...something about the words "Kensington Platter" makes me want to know more about it.

[barryg]

Sounds like some weird bedroom act I'd rather not know about.

[Bigley9]

It's the Port Richmond platter - Keilbasa, peirogies, potato pancakes and kraut! gotta love it! Also, as an aside, I was takling to my 89 year old mom yesterday about the Memphis taproom. She remembers it as a corner bar - the back room where we eat now was for the ladies since god forbid they were in the front room at the bar! (entered into that room too!)

[sadiefox]

I know, Bigley, I am such a dork. I was just coming back to post that I MEANT the Port RIchmond platter! It just came to me in an epiphany that I wrote the wrong thing earlier. Duh :)

[Bigley9]

In the old days folks from the neighborhood would have been ticked! Now that it's all "Port Fishington" I don't think anyone would slap you around!

[Philly Ray]

Ok then, so what would be in a Kensington Platter?

[Bob Loblaw]

if ya gotta ask, ya don't wanna know.
;-)

[Philly Ray]

I figure it's going to be like a cheesesteak. Everyone has their favorites.

[Bigley9]

Same thing but with a little bit more attitude

[Buckethead]

I've never understood all the praise for the Standard Tap, I've had some decent food there but nothing spectacular, and the service has never been great. Last time I had a burger there it was sub-rare in the middle, well-done elsewhere. Yuck. I do like the fried smelts.

Royal's burger is better but I don't get the praise for that one either, frankly. The burger patty itself is not that good, they just load it up with condiments and bacon.

My favorite is SPTR, their grass-fed burger is great, and everything else I've had there has been close behind. Those boar tacos are delicious as well. I have no idea if Shola is consulting there or maybe the chef learned to cure duck from him, or maybe is just a fan and named the dish after him? Shola hasn't mentioned it on his blog but that doesn't mean anything one way or the other really. Collin Flatt at Phoodie is a big fan of Shola's, I think he would have known if he was consulting at a gastropub. I also prefer the beer list at SPTR to Standard and Royal.

You should check out Pub and Kitchen as well, the food there is at least as good as SPTR (though I haven't been to P&K in a while). It's a little more expensive though. The $3 bar snacks menu has some great items on it.

Ladder 15 is another place you may want to try now that David Ansill's in the kitchen. Get the lamb empanadas.

[barryg]

I've had some great meals at ST. The one that stands out the most is their "mixed grill" which was venison sausage, elk steak,and antelope steak. Of course I haven't had either of those steaks more than a couple times so I am not comparing it to much. But it was a great dish.

I've been to P&K to eat I think 4 times. Once only for the burger on a Sunday afternoon. It was good but I'm not a big burger person so I rarely love a burger. So no real opinion on that. The other times, one meal was terrible--bad service, cold soup, mediocre to poor food all around; no one liked anything they had except the bread pudding. The other times the food was decent and some of it very good, but I didn't love any of it, including things I really wanted to like such as the roll mops and duck paté. And I can't stand the crowds there in the evening. In fairness, I have only had the bar snacks and sandwiches, none of the large entrees. But the one terrible experience really turned me off and it's expensive compared to other gastropubs; Meritage is priced similarly and much better.

I do need to get to Ladder 15. I should add that I have been enjoying Resurrection Ale House. Some of the dishes are definitely mediocre, but it has a great vibe, good service, and low prices.

Re: beer list, I actually don't care for the SPTR's as much as others because it's more heavy on stouts and porters and the IPAs are always really extreme. But objectively it is a very good beer list. Out of that bunch, I've most enjoyed Resurrection's beer list. But they all have good beer lists and it comes down to personal taste, I think. P&K is actually weak in this area, though I haven't been there recently, either.