Royal Tavern

[serpentine]

Mark McKinney is also chef at Cantina Los Caballitos-- seems like he's putting more love and supervision into the menu there, and the food at Royal is suffering.

I don't know who's supervising the kitchen at Royal day-to-day, but it's definitely disorganized -- we've had some scattered food temp issues too. And I've given up on specials lately, as there's been a bunch of weird mis-fires. We ordered the "roast beef au jus" the first night it was on the board, and made sure to tell the bartender that it sure was not a roast beef au jus. At all.

Overall I'm happy to order food there, though. I hope that they work out whatever's going on in the kitchen, though.

Michael G, walk just a little farther south. Have you tried 1601 at 10th and Tasker, the aforementioned Cantina at Passyunk/12th/Morris. Also, Devil's Den is opening at 12th and Ellsworth next month. POPE at Dickinson /10th/Passyunk has some good beers, but the food is so-so and the jam-packed hipster quotient is high. I like outh Philly Tap Room at 15th and Mifflin too, but that's getting pretty far out of your range.

[michael_g]

Michael G, walk just a little farther south. Have you tried 1601 at 10th and Tasker, the aforementioned Cantina at Passyunk/12th/Morris. Also, Devil's Den is opening at 12th and Ellsworth next month. POPE at Dickinson /10th/Passyunk has some good beers, but the food is so-so and the jam-packed hipster quotient is high. I like outh Philly Tap Room at 15th and Mifflin too, but that's getting pretty far out of your range.

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I did try "La Cantina", as I've heard it called, for free margaritas after Thanksgiving. Devil's Den is right by me, and I'll make it to POPE at some point. Thanks for the tips!

[zeffer81]

Michael G, walk just a little farther south. Have you tried 1601 at 10th and Tasker, the aforementioned Cantina at Passyunk/12th/Morris. Also, Devil's Den is opening at 12th and Ellsworth next month. POPE at Dickinson /10th/Passyunk has some good beers, but the food is so-so and the jam-packed hipster quotient is high. I like outh Philly Tap Room at 15th and Mifflin too, but that's getting pretty far out of your range.

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I did try "La Cantina", as I've heard it called, for free margaritas after Thanksgiving. Devil's Den is right by me, and I'll make it to POPE at some point. Thanks for the tips!

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Try the Pope on a weekday; it's really not that bad. Also, I haven't eaten there yet, but I understand that they've recently upgraded their offerings. The menu looks tasty and I hear they have a killer grilled cheese (three cheeses!)

[philadining]

Stopped in last night, and things haven't improved but rather seem even weaker.  Very few specials on the board.  Ordered from the menu instead.  Tried the meatloaf sandwich, which literally had the taste, texture, and consistency of spam.  The standby hummus trio was numbingly cold, aside from the piping hot, brought-in dolmades.    Also sampled a very odd chopped romaine salad, which featured potatoes and brussels sprouts (again cold) and was topped with little rectangles of shaved yellow cheese.  Weird.  That'll be my last visit for food.  The joint was packed to the gills (8 PM Wed. night) with drinking hipsters, though.

e.f. grammar

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We hit the Royal the other night because it was about 100 degrees below zero, and we heard they had hot rum apple cider. Indeed they did, and it saved our lives.

But I couldn't help thinking of the above-quoted post, it was a random sunday night, but the board was full of specials.

Someone in our party wanted the meatloaf sandwich. I grabbed a bite, and I gotta say, I can't see the spam comment... It was a very tasty sandwich, and not at all spammy in taste or texture.

Most of us were there just to grab a warming drink, so we didn't eat much else, but the fries that came with the sandwich were awesome, as they usually are. And the "Thai Meatballs" were pretty good too, a little spicy, in a coconut milk curry sauce. The chocolate layer cake was really delicious, somewhat shocking to me because, despite its seeming buttercreaminess, it was vegan.

So while I'll accept that cinghiale could have had a bad experience, I wouldn't give up on the food yet...

[cinghiale]

That's a nice looking specials board, phil -- the kind that always drew me to the Royal. Maybe I was there on a terrifically off night. The meatloaf that night was rubbery, not meatloaf-y at all. I'll give it another go. Thanks for the update.

[KatieLoeb]

I had a smoked duck BLT sandwich about a week ago that was quite delicious and big enough to share. I've always had great food there. Definitely give it another try.

[David McDuff]

It may not be the most ambitious thing on the menu but, as michael_g suggested a few posts ago, their burger is definitely worth a visit.

[mattohara]

That aioli with the fries is killer. And so is the burger of course.

[philadining]

Alert!

There is Fried Chicken with Waffles on the specials board right now (Easter weekend.) Crispy, herby fried chicken, a fluffy waffle, syrup AND gravy. Should I feel dirty for liking syrup and gravy on it at the same time?

No idea how long this will be up, I'm thinking of going back before the end of the weekend...

Edited March 22, 2008 by philadining (log)

[philadining]

By the time I made it in, the waffles were gone, but they still had that chicken, and the awesome gravy, now served over mashed potatoes.

And no, that's not a little cup of syrup toward the back. Nope, couldn't be. Why you want with syrup without a waffle? I mean, that would be weird.

[Andrew Fenton]

It may not be the most ambitious thing on the menu but, as michael_g suggested a few posts ago, their burger is definitely worth a visit.

The Food Network agrees with your assessment. They have a state-by-state survey of the best burgers in American, and the Royal Tavern burger came out tops in PA.

I've never had a Royal Tavern burger-- and in fact, it's been a while since I've eaten there. Clearly I ought to stop on by!

[mattohara]

Had one last week. Yeah, it's pretty great. I personally can't handle the hot roasted pepper on top but I've tried, unsuccessfully, to mix up my own version of that malt vinegar mayo.

If you're awesome like me you can call your inside man and get him to put in an order to go (nice when you're sick and don't feel like hanging around inside waiting for it).

[philadining]

I think the Food Network magazine writers got a little sloppy with their description: they say it has chili mayo and hot pickled peppers when it's actually malt vinegar mayo and roasted peppers, as Matt said. But I have to agree that it's a delicious burger.

Edited to correct: Matt and I were both thinking of another condiment, it is indeed chile mayo on the burger. And the long-hots are in fact pickled. But I think they're roasted too! Oh and just to be complete, it's also got smoked gouda, caramelized onions and bacon on a really nice roll.

www.foodnetwork.com/50-states-50-burgers/package/index.html

I might be a little biased, I snapped some photos of one for them, and it was sheer torture just looking at it through the viewfinder for so long. When I finally finished, I couldn't resist any longer, and it was still pretty fine even after I'd let it get cold! But I might have a weird obsession with that burger now...

I like the Good Dog burger, but it's kind of a different thing. The blue cheese center is interesting, but not everybody wants that, and I'm not even in the mood for that every time I want a burger. (I prefer the Royal's fries too.) I'm also a big fan of the Standard Tap's burger, and of Cochon's burger at brunch, but I do think my current fave overall is indeed the Royal's.

Edited April 30, 2009 by philadining (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

I might be a little biased, I snapped some photos of one for them, and it was sheer torture just looking at it through the viewfinder for so long.  When I finally finished, I couldn't resist any longer, and it was still pretty fine even after I'd let it get cold!  But I might have a weird obsession with that burger now...

Ha, I hadn't noticed the credit, but there it is: congrats!

The Royal is an interesting choice. I don't remember its burger showing up on "best of" lists in the way that the burger at Good Dog or Rouge does. But the rest of the food is good, so it's not hard to believe the burger is good too. And it's gratifying to see a list like this make a less-obvious choice.

(Though really, In-N-Out is the best burger in California? This I do not believe.)

[Andrew Fenton]

That is indeed a very good burger! Thick, juicy patty, cooked as I asked, just on the rare side of medium rare. I like the pickled peppers, and I liked the smoked Gouda. I wasn't crazy about the bun-- it was a little dry for my taste-- but it's definitely worth ordering.

[Holly Moore]

Burger is good, but agree with Andy on the bun. Whole thing is a tad too tall.

But my major compliant is their bar stools. Had to have been built by a very short carpenter. The rail for resting one's feet is way too high, especially if one is 6'3".

Edited May 1, 2009 by Holly Moore (log)

[mattohara]

6'3"! That's absurd! NOBODY is that tall!

I was talking about the malt vinegar mayo that goes with the fries.

[Mummer]

I've never had to deal with being 6'3", but there was that cold, windy New Years' parade with the top-heavy backpiece... It would have been a treat to be sitting in a warm bar bitchin' cuz my stool was too short.

[Holly Moore]

I can easily change bars for a more comfy stool - you will still be strutting Broad Street struggling not to end up air born.

Maybe a beer or two consumed before the parade will add the ballast needed to fight off the wind, though soaring Mummers would be a memorable sight.

Edited May 2, 2009 by Holly Moore (log)