Belated Weekend Review

Friday

Checked out Fork & Barrel.

Saturday

Got in some late season wiffle ball on a glorious Saturday afternoon then biked over to Johnny Brendas for their "Wet Hop Rodeo." Had a Weyerbacher Harvest Ale, a Brewworks Harvest Ale and a Troeg's Wet Hop. Then a drunk girl from the craft beer express knocked our outdoor table over (glasses and all). Check please!

Sunday

New Job Celebratory Brunch for the Wife at Amis - Buffala ricotta bruschetta, carbonara, raviolo all'uovo. Washed down with a Victory Yakima Glory (Black Double IPA). Not the best choice for a breakfast beer but tasty nonetheless. Then we accepted a random invitation to Mazowsze at the Kimmel, which was described to me as the Polish version of Riverdance - though that is a little unkind to Mazowsze. It was pretty amazing. The show featured colorful costumes, acrobatic dancing and an impressive 15-piece band that played selections of music representing the different regions of Poland . After that we went home and did laundry and cooked Spaghetti all'Amatriciana (because the pork jowl in the carbonara wasn't enough) with guanciale from La Quercia. Num nums.

An Open Letter to Fork & Barrel

Dear Fork & Barrel,

I want to live behind your handsome bar. I'll find a dark corner (there are so many thanks to your abhorrence of electric light) and I won't bother anyone. I can even scrape the wax drippings from the many candles off your floor and bar. I think all that wax scraping will leave me with a terrible thirst, so naturally I'll have to have some of your amazing and rare draft selections (Grado Plato Strada Felice, IT; Porterhouse Oyster Stout, IR). And I hope you won't mind if I have some salt potatoes while I'm at it. Those whole roast spuds with the bleu cheese mustard dipping sauce are addictive. Anyway, let me know when I can move in.

Awaiting your reply,

Malachy Egan

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Fork & Barrel

4312 Ridge Ave

Philadelphia 19129

Khyber Pass Pub Preview

Last night the brothers Egan were fortunate enough to score an invitation to a preview of the Khyber's newest, most southern-fried incarnation. Walking up 2nd St. we saw the old black and white Khyber signage being removed.

Upon entering the newly re-renamed Khyber Pass Pub it appears as though not much has changed. Still the same old beautiful bar with lots of great craft beer tap handles. It's a little cleaner and the bathrooms have (mercifully) been made over and now feature locks and functioning plumbing.

Really, it's when one turns the corner and enters the old performance space that the work that Steve Simons and co. put into the place becomes apparent. The long narrow room features banquettes on both sides and beadboard wainscotting. The formerly flyer'd over windows have been cleaned and the woodwork repainted. The new wood floors and the roughly finished tables looked fantastic in the dimly lit room. The space still feels a bit raw - the tin ceiling may yet get a paint job, some of the light fixtures were not installed - but overall it's remarkably inviting given its prior state. (Check out Mealticket's pictures from last night as they remembered to bring a camera that is not also a phone. Whoopsie Goldberg)

While perusing menus, we snacked on bacon fat popcorn with cajun spices. The glistening popped kernels packed some heat and were well salted. This brown bag snack might rival the truffled version from chef Mark McKinney's sister kitchen at the Royal Tavern.

We tried a few things from the regular menu as well. The fried chicken was far and away the favorite. The salty, crispy skin concealed some incredibly moist, succulent meat, and the collard greens were a surprise hit with a generous amount of smokey bacon. We also tried the gumbo and the fried oysters, which were solid choices.

Needing something sweet to counter all the fried food, we tried three desserts: chocolate pecan bread pudding (a must-have), bourbon-maple creme brulee (as awesome as it sounds) and vegan red velvet cake (a little dry with overly sweet icing).

Some beer highlights from a really interesting and diverse list of taps:

• Ballast Point "Even Keel" - A generously hopped session ale. Maybe the most memorable beer of the night. Incredible grapefruit/citrus aroma, juicy and herbal (notes of hibiscus) and wonderfully refreshing.
• Two Brothers "Heavy Handed" - A delicious harvest ale. Hoppy, straw colored with a nice foamy head. A nice counterpoint to the spicy bacon-fat popped kernels.
• Dock Street "West of Center" - On hand pump. Due to the malt character of this dark brew we mistook this for a bitter; but according to Dock St. it is a ("Not-So") Pale Ale. Great beer for a blustery, rainy Monday.
• Philadelphia Brewing Co. "Harvest from the Hood" - Neither overly sweet nor hoppy. Well-balanced with a roasted malt character. Possibly the best beer PBC has ever put out.

Overall the Khyber felt like a comfortable extension of the Royal Tavern in appearance, food and vibe. We look forward to trying more of the menu and seeing how the beer program develops.

Thanks to the folks at the Khyber for hosting and treating us.

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The Khyber Pass Pub

56 S. Second St.

Philadelphia, PA

Night Market Fever

Checked out the Night Market at Tasker and Passyunk. It has been written up here and much hyped throughout the philadelphia food blogoverse. I'm not as down on the outcome as some commenters seem to be. While I definitely think there is room for improvement (serving size, price point, lines, running out of booze/charging too much for booze) there was also so much good to take away from it all. Most impressive: the mass of people what came out on a school night for an event that focused on promoting local food businesses. The walk from the BSL to the Sinatra fountain felt a little like the walk from AT&T Station (nee Pattison) to Citizens Bank Park (minus the corporate sponsorship). One final thought: The Food Trust should make this a regular event. Great European cities have outdoor night markets all year - even through the winter months. We can do it too! Philadelphia obviously wants - NO! NEEDS - more night markets.

Intriguing

Is "great southern food" the new concept for the Khyber?

As seen on Craigslist.

baking with beer yeast

Martin Lersch at Khymos.org has a cool post on using hefeweizen yeast for bread-baking. It's inspiring me to get back to baking, now that fall is approaching. Martin found that beer yeast didn't change the flavor of the bread in any appreciable way. I think I'll try substituting some fermented beer for the liquid ratios in my next loaf -- I'm thinking rye bread made with our rye pale ale.

crawl before you walk

My friend Lou (not Barlow, see infra) and I are doing a little beer-focused bar crawl through Philly tomorrow. I may or may not send twitter updates. Keep an eye on the widget to your right. (Prediction: like this blog, updates will start off strong and then become sleepy.)

If all goes according to plan, we will find ourselves at Johnny Brenda's in time to enjoy the last of their Pils Picnic before heading upstairs for Wye Oak (below, covering the Kinks) and Lou Barlow.

Wye Oak covers The Kinks