Memphis Taproom

[philadining]

The Memphis Taproom

2331 E. Cumberland St (at Memphis)

www.memphistaproom.com

This place got some buzz on the local blogs as it was about to open, much of the chat focused on its marking yet a further outpost of the northward spread of young homesteaders.

And indeed, the neighborhood at the border of Fishtown and Port Richmond, "Port Fishington" as they're jokingly calling it, is a bit further north of where most would be used to venturing for a good beer and some interesting food, but I'm glad I made the trek.

It's a taproom. They've got great beer in bottles and on tap, including one hand-pump.

Beer list>>

But they also have good food, and they take good advantage of their proximity to the Polish stores in Port Richmond by offering a "Port Richmond Platter" centered around Kielbasy from Czerw's.

I'll bet you can believe that the sausage was absolutely delicious, and the pierogies, potato pancakes and saurkraut were just as good. It's really perfect beer food.

And speaking of perfect beer food, they also have what might be my fave bar snack of the moment: a variation on a Cornish Pasty.

The light, crispy pastry is filled with beer-braised beef, and dressed with a horseradish sauce. Crunchy, juicy, beefy... what could be bad about that?

And just when you thought it was all hearty artery-clogging food, they ran this special:

Imported Bufala Mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, pesto. Cheese was creamier than I thought possible, the tomatoes actually tasted like something, and luckily that something was tomatoes. OK, maybe the cheese wasn't that great for the arteries either, but it felt healthy...

For the veggie and vegan among us, there were a surprisingly large number of options on the menu.

All around, we liked both our beer and food. I hand a hand-pumped Troeg's Hop Back that was pretty rocking.

A few more pix here.

Edited June 2, 2008 by philadining (log)