Gastropub for lunch?

[Hungryin theBurbs]

I'm entertaining a guest-speaker from out of town, and thought a gastropub might strike just the right tone, so I'm looking for a recommendation for one that 1) is open for a late-ish lunch and 2) either has convenient parking or is close to the Broad St. line. Any ideas?

[Bacchus101]

HB Did I miss it? So where did you end up dining? Lots of great suggestions. Any comments on your choice?

[Hungryin theBurbs]

This will be Monday. We've decided to play it by ear, depending on what kind of food the guest is in the mood for and the weather/travel conditions. My vote is for SPTR, but I'm going to put Dandelion in the mix too. I'll report back.

[RC51Mike]

I really dislike the term gastropub. Sounds more like a condition than a place but I suppose the idea is good beer and non-typical bar food? My son's recent visit to SPTR- Good beer? check. non-typical bar food? Head cheese tacos. If that doesn't say gastro pub, I don't know what will. Reported to be good and relatively cheap by the way.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Dandelion sounds good, Starr English Pub in Rittenhouse Sq, with many beers, Welsh Rarebit, Shephard's pie, etc.

[InSearchOfTacos]

+1

heres a recent review: http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-27...

[barryg]

tacos, have you been? No comment on the food, I only tried one thing, but the beer/drink prices are very high--hard for me to believe Farmer's Cabinet is more expensive. They do have some British stuff on cask you won't find elsewhere, but you'll pay $10 a pint for it. The other beers aren't special and are priced high.

[Buckethead]

I like the Dandelion a lot, it's not as good as SPTR in the food department but the atmosphere is really great, the beer list is interesting, and there are some excellent dishes to be had.

[InSearchOfTacos]

nope i have not been but ill report back if i try it. honestly i love tria so much, its hard to convince me not to go there. esp as its across the street from dandelion...

[caganer]

In fairness to the Dandelion and their beer prices you should factor in the fact that they're serving 20oz imperial pints rather than 16oz US pints. Doesnt mean it's cheap but, for example, $7 for an imperial pint of Stout's Pils equates to $5.25 for a US pint. Most bars are charging about $5 for 16oz local craft beers these days.
Edit: man, their bottle/can prices do look high though. $7 for a can of Guinness?

[InSearchOfTacos]

fair. $7 for an imperial pint is ok. but farmers cabinet serves "small" and "large" pours and i think the "large" ones are just regular pints...i could be wrong here (they might be imperial pints) but $11 for a beer is absurd. and theyd be serving belgians in smaller pours anyways.

[caganer]

agreed. At least they aren't following the lead of a couple bars in town that are serving 12oz and charging standard pint prices (pub & kitchen...)

[InSearchOfTacos]

eesh, thanks for the heads up about p+k- i go there all the time and have never noticed the smaller pints

who else does this??

[caganer]

Village Whiskey does as well (at least I'm 99% sure they do, haven't been in a while.
I go to p+k all the time too. I think it's great. I just wish the beers were a better deal. That's what happy hour is for, I guess. The love stout is an imperial pint for $7.

[cwdonald]

I have not been to farmers but have spent a good number of evenings at the fork and barrel in East Falls. They really are sourcing a whole lot of beers that are hard to get and that you rarely see elsewhere, especially on tap, and the prices are reasonably jusitifiable given the scarcity.

My biggest concerns are their prices for food. Again my only basis for comparison is fork and barrel as I have not been to Farmers yet. And their mains seem more in the range of a high end BYO or a fine dining restaurant, and at least in Fork and Barrel the execution was spotty...

[Bob Loblaw]

Ladder 15 might be a good option.
Given the frat-boy clientele, might actually be better for lunch than dinner.

[phillylunchjamie]

there is a new gastropub that just opened up- Farmer's Cabinet on 11th and Walnut, its really beautiful and the beer selection is amazing

[urbanfabric]

Everything I've read about the Farmer's Cabinet seemed to point to fancier than a gastropub... I'll be really excited about it if it's more gastropub than nice restaurant with good beer! Have you eaten there?

[InSearchOfTacos]

farmer's cabinet is wayy way overpriced- a lot of beer bars in philly have better selections for less. the food looked good but again, so expensive.

i love sidecar- easy parking but sptr or resurrection are also other good suggestions. yea dont go to farmers cabinet- pretty yes, but if youre in that area just go to tria on 12th and spruce

[InSearchOfTacos]

sorry jamie i did not mean to slam your suggestion!! i just wasnt a fan of farmers cabinet. id go back for a date maybe. its big inside. i have yet to try their cocktails. the bear skin on the piano really freaked me out

[barryg]

South Philly Tap Room and Resurrection are open for lunch. The former is near the BSL, but both have pretty easy street parking. Good Dog downtown is also open for lunch but I think the food and vibe is overall better at the other two.

[Hungryin theBurbs]

Thanks, that's exactly the info I was looking for. I knew about Good Dog, but it isn't my favorite. I really wanted to go to No. Libs for convenience (coming from Temple), but there aren't any good lunch options there (that I know of). I've never been to SPTR or Resurrection, but have heard good things. Would you recommend one over the other?

[Buckethead]

SPTR is much better than Resurrection in my experience.

[barryg]

I agree, and I haven't been to Resurrection in a while. A caveat, the menu at SPTR for lunch is more limited than dinner as there are no specials.

[Buckethead]

If you go some of my favorites on the menu include the wild boar tacos, the ribeye sliders (though they're not sliders, they're nearly full-on cheeseburgers), and the grass-fed burger.

[Philly Ray]

I have to recommend the grilled cheese sandwich served with lager spiked tomato soup. Great on a damp day like today.

Another surprise was the grilled caesar salad. Grilled romaine along with polenta cubes.

[barryg]

The beet salad is really good, too--mostly everything is better than it sounds. About the only things I would say to avoid (not because they are bad, just underwhelming compared to the rest of the menu) are the southern-fried chicken wings and the bbq chicken sandwich (though I think they may have tweaked that dish on the latest menu revision).

Although I don't like their fried chicken wings, the half fried chicken special, when they have it, is about as good as it gets.

[cwdonald]

Its funny the one "gastropub" that wasn't mentioned was Monks. For me the only time I would go to Monks is during lunch.. in the hope that you could get a seat. Of course in everyone's opinion (mine included) the food has slipped, but it is certainly one of the beer bars that put Philadelphia on the map. And you wouldnt have to take the Broad Street Line to get there.

[nwinkler]

I haven't been to SPTR, but I was really impressed by a recent dinner at Resurrection. Desserts were forgettable, but we ate our way through much of the menu and liked pretty much everything. Fish was perfectly cooked, pork loin cooked just rare of medium (in a good way), everything was seasoned well. It was just one visit, but I'm thinking this place is almost better than it needs to be as a neighborhood pub, and almost priced too fairly.