Philadelphia is one of the best beer towns in the US, especially if you like Belgian beers. With top beers bars such as Monk’s Café, Eulogy Belgian Tavern, and the Belgian Café, there are plenty of locations to get a Belgian beer on draft along with succulent mussels. 
And with the encouragement of some loving spouses, I had the opportunity to take my friends Chris and Christopher into the city.
We started out at the Grey Lodge Pub, which I had confirmed opened at 10AM. The guys couldn’t believe that we were starting so early, but the guys were up and ready to go. I explained that the Grey Lodge Pub was noted for hosting Friday the Firkinteenth, and we made tentative plans for next February. I tried the Erie Fallenbock, a sweet bock with a notable taste of alcohol that I thought would prepare me well for the next stop.
We went to Geno’s for cheesesteaks, and we practiced ordering a “Whiz Wit” so that we wouldn’t be mocked. Geno’s has the reputation of being sorta like the Soup Nazi, and even though I consider myself from South Jersey, I had never been to this Philadelphia classic. The guys thought the bread made the sandwich, but for me it was the Cheez Whiz, a favorite of my youth. Pat’s Steaks (http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/) was across the way, so I went to get a sandwich to split so that we could have our own taste test. Pat’s had more meat, and offered options to add such as mayo and hot peppers. And while we all agreed that Pat’s was better than Geno’s, 
I’d have to agree with Bruce Willis in preferring the sandwich from the Roman Pantry in Penn’s Grove, NJ. With our bellies full, we moved on to our next location to get something to drink.
The Standard Tap (http://www.standardtap.com/) has been noted as a Gastro-pub, a place that specializes in serving more than pub food with their beer. Draft magazine recently had an article on Standard Tap, and it was the reason I put it on the itinerary. They had a brunch on Saturday that looked awesome, and they generally had only local beers on tap. I tried the Climax Cream Ale, and it was excellent. However, there were no TVs and college football was coming on so we decided to get rolling to the next location.
The Belgian Café is the sister bar to Monk’s, and they have a similar menu that only differs in the sauces for their mussels. Christopher is a mussels fan, and they had a TV for the Red River shootout, so we settled down for a third lunch. We tried the Herge, which were their mussels in Hoegaarden and jalapenos. I had a Sly Fox O’Reilly Stout on draft, and was able to get a bottle of Unibroue Quatre-Centieme to go. I think I like Monk’s better for their draft selection, but the Belgian Café had some tables outside which would be nice to go and hang out at. 
After a while we headed downtown.
Our next stop is a family favorite, the Nodding Head brewpub. I like it since it is located in the center of downtown, right across from a parking garage that is easy to find. The guys split a sampler (6 different 8 oz. beers), while I had a 700 Level lager. This beer was in tribute to the old Vet Stadium, and we shared stories of the friendly Philly fans that we’ve met there. Next we went to Fergie’s pub (http://www.fergies.com/), and we met an excellent bar maid who knew her beer. I had the Nodding Head Grog on cask (remember, always ask for cask). Finally we went to McGillin’s Olde Ale House to watch the end of the football game. We all were surprised that it was already 3PM, and even though it wasn’t dark yet, we knew we had to cut the itinerary a bit short.
We decided to head over to a new brewery that Tom Baker, former head brewer at Heavyweight, had opened in the Mt. Airy section of Philly. We had to wait until it opened (remember, we changed the itinerary), so we went to McMenamin’s Tavern and I got to try a Yards ESB on cask. The brewpub, Earth, Bread, and Brewery (http://earthbreadbrewery.com/), had good beers and specialized in flat bread pizza. We got to meet the brewer, and they had a wonderful Rauchbier called Terra Fume on tap. Tom explained that it was a mistake that came out pretty well, accidentally roasting the malt a little too long. We tried a few others and then headed for dinner.
Our final stop for the evening was the General Lafayette Inn (http://www.generallafayetteinn.com/), a brewpub with a good menu on Germantown Pike. At this point we decided that we needed to split a sampler amongst ourselves, and Christopher had volunteered to chauffer us home. The food was excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the Raspberry Mead and the Biere d’Framboise. We watched UNC beat Notre Dame (always a good day), and then headed back to Chris’ to watch the Red Sox play (and unfortunately lose in extra innings).
It was great gift from our wives to let us have a weekend, but we’ll have to return the favor. Throughout the day we talked sports, about our kids, politics (Obama!), and religion. I can’t wait until we can do it again. - 4795
“You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.” – Slogan for Max’s Taphouse
And with the encouragement of some loving spouses, I had the opportunity to take my friends Chris and Christopher into the city.We started out at the Grey Lodge Pub, which I had confirmed opened at 10AM. The guys couldn’t believe that we were starting so early, but the guys were up and ready to go. I explained that the Grey Lodge Pub was noted for hosting Friday the Firkinteenth, and we made tentative plans for next February. I tried the Erie Fallenbock, a sweet bock with a notable taste of alcohol that I thought would prepare me well for the next stop.
We went to Geno’s for cheesesteaks, and we practiced ordering a “Whiz Wit” so that we wouldn’t be mocked. Geno’s has the reputation of being sorta like the Soup Nazi, and even though I consider myself from South Jersey, I had never been to this Philadelphia classic. The guys thought the bread made the sandwich, but for me it was the Cheez Whiz, a favorite of my youth. Pat’s Steaks (http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/) was across the way, so I went to get a sandwich to split so that we could have our own taste test. Pat’s had more meat, and offered options to add such as mayo and hot peppers. And while we all agreed that Pat’s was better than Geno’s, 
I’d have to agree with Bruce Willis in preferring the sandwich from the Roman Pantry in Penn’s Grove, NJ. With our bellies full, we moved on to our next location to get something to drink.The Standard Tap (http://www.standardtap.com/) has been noted as a Gastro-pub, a place that specializes in serving more than pub food with their beer. Draft magazine recently had an article on Standard Tap, and it was the reason I put it on the itinerary. They had a brunch on Saturday that looked awesome, and they generally had only local beers on tap. I tried the Climax Cream Ale, and it was excellent. However, there were no TVs and college football was coming on so we decided to get rolling to the next location.
The Belgian Café is the sister bar to Monk’s, and they have a similar menu that only differs in the sauces for their mussels. Christopher is a mussels fan, and they had a TV for the Red River shootout, so we settled down for a third lunch. We tried the Herge, which were their mussels in Hoegaarden and jalapenos. I had a Sly Fox O’Reilly Stout on draft, and was able to get a bottle of Unibroue Quatre-Centieme to go. I think I like Monk’s better for their draft selection, but the Belgian Café had some tables outside which would be nice to go and hang out at. 
After a while we headed downtown.Our next stop is a family favorite, the Nodding Head brewpub. I like it since it is located in the center of downtown, right across from a parking garage that is easy to find. The guys split a sampler (6 different 8 oz. beers), while I had a 700 Level lager. This beer was in tribute to the old Vet Stadium, and we shared stories of the friendly Philly fans that we’ve met there. Next we went to Fergie’s pub (http://www.fergies.com/), and we met an excellent bar maid who knew her beer. I had the Nodding Head Grog on cask (remember, always ask for cask). Finally we went to McGillin’s Olde Ale House to watch the end of the football game. We all were surprised that it was already 3PM, and even though it wasn’t dark yet, we knew we had to cut the itinerary a bit short.
We decided to head over to a new brewery that Tom Baker, former head brewer at Heavyweight, had opened in the Mt. Airy section of Philly. We had to wait until it opened (remember, we changed the itinerary), so we went to McMenamin’s Tavern and I got to try a Yards ESB on cask. The brewpub, Earth, Bread, and Brewery (http://earthbreadbrewery.com/), had good beers and specialized in flat bread pizza. We got to meet the brewer, and they had a wonderful Rauchbier called Terra Fume on tap. Tom explained that it was a mistake that came out pretty well, accidentally roasting the malt a little too long. We tried a few others and then headed for dinner.
Our final stop for the evening was the General Lafayette Inn (http://www.generallafayetteinn.com/), a brewpub with a good menu on Germantown Pike. At this point we decided that we needed to split a sampler amongst ourselves, and Christopher had volunteered to chauffer us home. The food was excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the Raspberry Mead and the Biere d’Framboise. We watched UNC beat Notre Dame (always a good day), and then headed back to Chris’ to watch the Red Sox play (and unfortunately lose in extra innings).
It was great gift from our wives to let us have a weekend, but we’ll have to return the favor. Throughout the day we talked sports, about our kids, politics (Obama!), and religion. I can’t wait until we can do it again. - 4795
“You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.” – Slogan for Max’s Taphouse
2 comments:
i feel famous wow can't wait for next time
chris
Strongly agree that the cheesesteaks at the Roman Pantry (http://romanpantry.wordpress.com) in Penns Grove far surpass those found at Geno's in Philadelphia. Worth the trip south just to meet the owner, Marianni Di Marco....
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