South Philadelphia Tap Room

Last night I had the pleasure of trying out a neighborhood bar that I had been hearing a lot about. The South Philadelphia Tap Room is about a 15 minute walk from our new apartment, and to quote the Husband, "I think this is my new favorite bar." They had a wide variety of beer on draft, and it was delicious and inexpensive. I started with the Porterhouse Raspberry Reserve. The server kindly pointed out that it wasn't a sweet beer. I reassured her that that would be fine. The pink tinted beer had berry undertones, but it was not sweet, only light and refreshing.

Tim's first beer and my "dessert" beer was the Founders Maple Mountain Brown. To me it tasted chocolatey with a hint of coffee. I could definitely taste the maple, but it wasn't a thick dark beer like a stout. Served over ice, I would have thought it to be an espresso martini.

The food was what put us over the top. While the menu didn't dramatically depart from your typical bar grub, the housemade preparation made it anything but typical. I had a grilled three-cheese sandwich with tomato soup. The toasted bread was thick and buttery, and the cheese oozed over the edges. The soup was flavorful with chunks of yellow and red tomatoes (although I couldn't be certain as it was VERY dark at our table.) My meal came with a choice of pasta salad, green salad or fries. I had the green salad and it was more than just plain greens and a vinagrette--it came tossed with cucumbers, onions, olives and tomatoes.

Tim ordered the cheeseburger, and he was especially impressed with the handcut fries. The pickles were thickly sliced and obviously made in-house as well. For desert we shared the pot brownie. Sans marajuana, the brownie was served warm and topped with chocolate chips, walnuts, vanilla ice cream and caramel syrup.

It was a Monday night, so it's hard to say how crowded it might be on other nights, but we had no problem finding a quiet table in the corner. Our server was kind and attentive without being overbearing.

If I can ever get off work in a timely manner, I'd love to try out their Happy Hour. Monday through Friday from 4 - 6pm, local drafts and appetizers are half price. The South Philadelphia Tap Room did a fantastic job of welcoming us to the neighborhood. We will definitely be back.

Photo credit: Southphiladelphiataproom.com