Here’s good news for old heads. Dock Street is bringing back its Illuminator Bock. The 7.5% beer was referred to in Michael Jackson’s 1998 book Classic Brews and was always a cult favorite.

It’s back as of tomorrow and from 6 to 8pm, complimentary tastings will be available at the 50th and Baltimore brew pub. It’s draft only but will be available beyond the pub.

Dock Street Brewery [Official Site]

Dock Street Great Pumpkin is now on tap at the 50th and Baltimore Brew Pub as is the celiac friendly Dock Street Sudan Grass.

There is also now a rotisserie cooked Lancaster chicken marinated and hand rubbed with special herbs and spices on the menu.

Dock Street Brewery [Official Site]

When Slate opened it was classified as a gastropub. But with praise from Craig LaBan and here by Philly Food and Drink, maybe neighborhood bistro is more appropriate? [Philly Food and Drink]

Phoodie calls Bridgewater’s Pub the “gem of 30th Street Station.” [Phoodie]

It’s a “small plates binge” at Pub and Kitchen. [Veggicurious]

Mmmmm, Boudin Blanc Sausage and Cajun blackened green beans at Grace Tavern. [Unbreaded]

A cold one in the fresh air? Joe Sixpack names 9 of his favorite outdoor drinking spots. [Beer Radar]

Dock Street Brewery has African-style Sudan Grass Sorghum Ale on tap and it’s gluten-free. [Gluten Free Philly]

Smiths offers sophisticated sandwiches at a sports friendly bar. [Unbreaded]

Tiffin’s pizza operation is aiming for a July opening at 710 W Girard Avenue. The spot will concentrate on delivery but will also have room for a 24-seat dining room. Oh and good news to the E-P’yunkers, Michael Klein says Tiffin’s owner Munish Narula would be open to our commenters’ suggestion of a Passyunk Avenue location. [Restaurant Club and The Insider]

Capogiro named a top-ten ice cream shop by Bon Appetit. [Bon Appetit via MenuPages]

Snackbar’s management takes over Shouk and the meat is gone really veg-friendly! [Meal Ticket]

Dock Street Brewery & Restaurant has added weekday lunch to their hours starting yesterday. [Meal Ticket]

Phoodie.info is reporting that Swallow seems to be closed again, perhaps for good. [Phoodie.info]

This weekend, the New York Times discovered that THERE IS A MAGNIFICENT CRAFT BEER CULTURE IN PHILADELPHIA! Of course, we have known this all along, but getting a shout-out in the Times makes it more likely that our out-of-town friends will actually believe us when we tell them about it.:

Much of the upswing can be attributed to Philadelphia’s bubbling night life. The new breweries, said Don Russell, who as Joe Sixpack writes a weekly column about beer for The Philadelphia Daily News, “are filling a need that’s out there being created by the local bar scene. Every single bar that has been opening up has a multitap system and is featuring microbrews.”

Combine that robust tavern scene with cheap real estate in emerging neighborhoods, and you’ve got the ingredients for a beer blast. In recent years, a half-dozen breweries and specialty pubs have opened in Philadelphia, ranging from boutique breweries that make micro batches to green-powered plants looking to become the city’s next biggest thing.

We knew that cheap real estate was good for something. EBB, Yards, and Dock Street are all name-checked in the article.

Breweries of Brotherly Love [NYT]

Rx in West Philadelphia has soft shell crabs on the menu tonight. Complete your meal with a growler of beer from Dock Street. They bend the rules like Beckham, Rx stocks growlers on site and then you call Dock Street and buy the beer with your credit card. Score!

When we first visited Dock Street for pizza and beer at their grand opening event we felt we had found Philadelphia’s best pizza that doesn’t require dough reservations. But subsequent reports have hinted there are some serious consistency issues.

Read four different opinions after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Philadelphia Magazine has a audio tour of “nine spots to become scene staples.”

• Dock Street Brewery
• Davio’s
• Chill
• Molly Maguire’s
• Puck
• Belgian Cafe
• Beneluxx Tasting Room
• Blue Pear Bistro
• Flip & Bailey’s

Bars On Tap [Philadelphia Magazine]

Elisa Ludwig visits Dock Street Brewery & Restaurant on Baltimore Avenue and the fish and chips, beers and some of the pizzas to be the most worth trying.

It should be noted that Dock Street’s pizza is not a thin-crust affair — the house dough is golden brown, puffy and nearly pillowy in texture with a nice toothsome pull. The Flammenkuche, an Alsatian dream of layered gruyere, crème fraîche, applewood smoked bacon slivers and caramelized onion is pure decadence on a peel. Another winner is the Barbecued Chicken, which substitutes tangy sauce for tomato while blanketing its red onion slivers and wood-grilled slices of chicken with familiar, comforting melted mozzarella. Less convincing is the brie, pear and walnut pizza, which would be better on a flatbread with judicious amounts of cheese. Here, the brie ends up drowning out the crunchier elements in a molten mass of bland greasiness.

Two-Way Street [City Paper]
Dock Street Brewery & Restaurant [Official Site]

Living On The Vedge heads out to West Philadelphia to the Dock Street Brewery & Restaurant to try some of the vegan options on the menu. Oh and of course to try out some of the beer too.

Veg Out: Dock Street Brew Pub [Living On The Vedge]