Bridgewater's Pub

[aliwaks]

Stopped in to meet with thier new Chef Mike Zulli, who is charming and ambitious and eager and cooks things like kangaroo chili & lobster quesadillas out of a teeny tiny galley kitchen in a pub that used to be much more nasty in 30th street station and I said to myself here's a guy us Phillie foodies should get to know.

He's recently taken over what passes for a kitchen (no open flames!!!) and is trying so very hard to make Bridewaters into a place akin to the many lovely train station cafes in other cities. I speak of Grand Central Station ( if only 30th street had such a wonderful food market) and Union Station.

So I call upon you to call upon Chef Zulli when passing through chat him up, sample his food ( there are hits and there are misses as with all young chefs & new menus). Give him some advice some encouragement and very possibly we can all help make our train station bar in to one we'd all like to spend time at sipping a martini before getting on the train, nibbling wonderful things. ( I obviously long for the long lost romance of train stations, I am a Manhattan girl after all and have been madlyinlove with Grand Cental Station forever) The guy is putting alot of heart into the place and could use the encouragement.

Also every Saturday they are serving 3 courses for $21 here's the menu for this weekend

First Course (options)

Hearts of Romaine w. Wisconsin Blue Cheese, Applewood Smoked Bacon & Toasted Almonds in Raspberry Vinaigrette

Gator Bites: Breaded and Fried Alligator with Creamy Sirachi Dipping sauce

( I tried these, had a very hard time getting over the fact that it was Alligator as I am a squeamish eater, if you are not squeamish which many of you are not you may very much enjoy these, the dipping sauce was AWESOME I wanted to dip fries in in and slather it on a burger)

Shrimp Dumplings w. Sesame Scented Wakame Seaweed Salad

Second Course (options)

Soft Shell Crabs with Mango Coconut Rice

Cumin & Curry Rubbed Australian Lamb Loin with Buttermilk Mash

Roasted Sea Scallops over Fettuccini with Proscuittto

Dessert (options)

Chocolate Crème Brulee

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake

Fresh Peach Cobbler w. Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Bridgewater's Pub

30th Street Station

215 387 4787

[mrbigjas]

i've had drinks at bridgewater's several times, and i'm always surprised that the beer isn't phenomenally overpriced. and last time i was there the menu looked intriguing, but i blew it off because after all it's just a smoky bar in the train station. i'll check it out more thoroughly next time!

[VictorFiorillo]

Ali, you beautiful cad. Shouldn't you mention that you are doing PR for them???

[Rich Pawlak]

Ali, you beautiful cad.  Shouldn't you mention that you are doing PR for them???

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Damn, Victor beat me to it!

[aliwaks]

Ali, you beautiful cad.  Shouldn't you mention that you are doing PR for them???

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thanks for the compliment..in reality I hope to be doing PR for them...as of this momnet I did a favor for the chef and am waiting to make my pitch and make them mine...not for nothin' but I also hope to be doing PR for everybody since you know I want to take over the world ;)

[TarteTatin]

A group of 8-10 of us are going to Bridgewater's for "apps" on Tuesday night, before a show at World Cafe Live.

(Pink Martini, great band, opening for David Byrne and Boston Pops in the next month. Check them out at pinkmartini.com)

Anyway, we read Aliwaks review, and we had nibbles from Chef at "The Farmer and the Chef".

We called the Chef up today and told him we would be there from 6-7 on Tuesday, and only had about an hour, but were definitely foodies.....He said his new menu starts next week, with things like, "Cape May Clam Chili" which sounds intriguing...."Lobster Roll", etc.

So this group of foodies and music lovers will be there!

[TarteTatin]

Went there last night for apps before World Cafe.

Called Chef Zulli the day before, to tell him we were a group of 8-10 foodies.

1) There's no air conditioning in the pub. Threre's a big fan in the corner, and probably some in 30th St., but it doesn't waft into the pub. It was hot.

2) No bottles of wine available. None. If he wants to consider himself more an old fashioned train station with good food, then bottles or half bottles, should be available. The Chianti was cooked. The beer was good, however. Yard's Saison was a hit, as was Yuengling.

3) Crab poppers were fried and good, but didn't particularly taste of crab. Hummus was just okay. Grape leaves were from a jar. Wings were basic, although the bleu cheese was good. Pot stickers were doughy. Iceberg salad wedge was basic, but good.

4) The hits: Cape May clam chili, red and full of red beans (didn't taste the clams much), spicy and too hot to eat it, really, chili in the summertime in a non-airconditioned place?...Roast beef sandwich got rave reviews, pressed, with homemade horseradish?...Lobster roll had good, chunky meat, but needed some savor, some sharpness. The roll was whole wheat? It was a good New England roll, but a little strange...Cubano sandwich was good, not sweet pickles, dill pickles...Chicken satay was the hit of the night. Big skewers, tasty and obviously marinated, served over a tasty rice.

5) Overall, he wants to create a nicer pub in 30th St. -give him a chance, but realize it has a long way to go!

[chowfun]

This place is so good, I cant believe no one has written about it for two years.

Their beer selection is excellent.

We just had lunch there today after a free at noon XPN concert. They make the best rendition of snapper soup I have ever had. They should get an award for it. It has a thin broth unlike the more traditional versions that has a rich flavor, spicy, meaty. Perfectly cooked diced veggies, carrots onions with a little crunch, perfectly cooked snapper meat chunks, an island of rice in the middle in a little cup of something like phyllo, and a hard boiled quails egg. Perfect for a miserable rainy day. I was actually dreaming of pho, but we didnt feel like traveling to Chinatown, South Philly or NE philly for it. This was a perfect substitution.

Also notable was the dessert we shared. Pistachio cheescake with a phyllo crust served with pistachio brittle. Very sophisticated flavors. It was like a middle eastern dessert taken up many notches.

[MarketStEl]

Wondered what this post about a "new" place was doing at the top of the list. It got bumped!

Bridgewater's Pub

30th Street Station

215 387 4787

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Nearest SEPTA service: Need you ask?