I Am Beer Wise points out that there are a couple of brewery/bar combos to choose from this evening. Kite and Key is offering a firkin of Yards Cocoa Porter and Devil’s Den is showing off Weyerbacher’s new smoked beer, Fireside Ale. A smoked beer next to a roaring fireplace sounds pretty smart. But if you’re more Northern Liberties inclined, the Standard Tap does weekly firking tappings on Wednesdays. Tonight it’ll be Riverhorse.

We admit that our eyebrows raised when we saw that the Standard Tap was pouring Sam Adams Oktoberfest the other week. We wondered if the rationale was that Sam Adams had purchased the old Stroh brewery in Fogelsville. But as we downed some more local beers we admit it slipped our minds. That is until saw Jack Curtin’s blog point out that there was now a conversation about it on the NorthernLiberties.org bulletin board. And being that it is the NorthernLiberties.org message board there was a lot of conjecture and some misinformation. But luckily for all, Standard Tap owner William Reed weighed in on exactly why Sam Adams is on tap at the Tap.

Check out his post after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Esquire Magazine names Pat’s Steaks one of the best steaks in America joining a list of tonier spots like Peter Luger, The Palm and many others. [Esquire]

Imbibe Magazine names Tria, Eulogy, Monk’s Cafe and Standard Tap among the top 100 places in the US to have a beer. [Beer Yard]

Wine Spectator gives major shout-outs to two of our cheese shops, DiBruno Brothers and Chestnut Hill Cheeseshop both make the list. [Wine Spectator] via Phoodie.info

Joey Sweeney has been searching for Philadelphia’s best Bloody Mary for three years. He says he’s finally found it. And it was in his back yard all the time.

Phoodie Editor’s Mind Blown By Finding Best Bloody Mary In The City After Three Years On Its Trail [Phoodie.info]

Craig LaBan takes a look at Philadelphia’s rich beer culture in his Sunday Inquirer writeup.

“Philly really is a great beer town,” says Vinnie Cilurzo of the widely respected Russian River Brewing Co. in Sonoma County, Calif. His much sought-after barrel-aged Belgian-style brews, such as Pliny the Elder, are available only in California and Philadelphia.

“Having our beers available at Monk’s was a really big deal,” he said, putting them in one of the foremost Belgian bars in America.

A toast to a city of brews [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Mobile state stores?! MOBILE STATE STORES? Yes, please! [kyw.1060.com]

NY Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni is reviewing the ten worthiest restaurants in the country outside of New York, none of which are in Philadelphia. If he were reviewing the top 15, Tinto would have made the cut. [NY Times]

Beer, beer, beer with cheese. [Philadelphia Weekly]

Philadelphia Magazine has come up with their first ever list of Philadelphia’s top 50 restaurants. Osteria came up on top but it’s some of the other choices that are sure to create some controversy. For example Le Bec-Fin is 26th and the Standard Tap, 11th. Marc Vetri’s other spot, Vetri was 7th.

But defining what makes a restaurant “best” was the subject of months of debate. We took into account food, atmosphere and service, of course. But we also considered even more amorphous ideas like value, consistency, identity and ambition. And every once in a while, we simply found ourselves charmed, as foodies often are, by bold ideas. After that, we argued, narrowing the region’s 8,000-plus restaurants to a list of 80 contenders and then to our final Philly Mag 50.

Among the other notable selections, brand new Supper is 14th and four Stephen Starr restaurants (Striped Bass (8), Morimoto (10), Barclay Prime (16) and El Vez (35)) make the list.

The Philly Mag 50 [Philadelphia Magazine]

Tonight the Standard Tap will be pouring a firkin of Sly Fox’s rarely seen Poughtown Porter. To make the night even cooler the Tap will also have Sly Fox’s Dunkel, Stout, Pils and Weisse on tap. Plus the In Pursuit of Ale girls will be having their bi-monthly meeting there tonight and guys are even invited to enjoy the beer and company.

In today’s edition of The Bite you’ll learn about two new spots for for fans of Indian food and Philadelphia’s breweries are set to double.

Expanding Palates [Metro Philadelphia]

In what is turning into the real-world equivalent of arguing on the Internet, a Hugs for Puppies foie gras protester was doused with coffee in front of the Standard Tap on Saturday night.

Cops from Civil Affairs, who monitor Puppies’ protests, went into the bar to get his info for a police report; Cooney says employees refused to give him up. It’s believed that he works at Johnny Brenda’s.

Foie gras dust-up [Food & Drinq]
Standard Tap [Official Site]