Editor’s Note: One of Town Dish’s regular contributors, Jim Breslin, shares with us his recent exploration of the drinking culture of Philadelphia’s central neighborhood.
Philadelphia is known as a city of neighborhoods, but is also a city that’s packed with diverse watering holes.
On a recent Saturday in late March, my wife and I set out to check out some of the best bars in Center City by doing an old-fashioned style pub crawl. Our first stop? Reading Terminal Market. We had heard Philadelphia Brewing Company had created a limited-edition beer, Engine 1892 Market Stout, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the market, and we thought we’d test it out.
Molly Malloy’s is a unique Irish pub situated among the bazaar-like maze of produce stands, sushi counters, Amish bakeries, and cheesesteak shops in the crowded Saturday market.
As we took our seats at the bar, the man next to us, with his U.S. Veterans baseball cap resting by his side, was bought a shot of whiskey from a gentleman on the far side–an old friend making an amiable gesture.
It was only 12:30 in the afternoon, and nearly every stool at the bar was taken. One of the two friendly female bartenders barely had time to nibble on her giant cheeseburger between keeping the drafts flowing for the afternoon crowd.
The Engine 1892 Market Stout proved to be a worthy way to kick off our day. My date and I decided to split the pint, and we savored the chocolate and coffee notes before setting out to walk the town.
We had made a list of pubs to try, and placed the list in some sort of geographic order, though we knew we wouldn’t have the time or fortitude to hit them all. After Reading Terminal Market, we walked down to check out a new bar called the Boilermaker, only to realize that it didn’t open until 3 pm. Luckily, we were able to walk around the corner and check out its sister bar, The Farmer’s Cabinet.
Set across from the Walnut Street Theatre, and a few doors down from the Irish Pub, The Farmer’s Cabinet is non-descript from the outside. We walked through the door and were guided by red drapes to our left where we emerged into a dark atmospheric bar and restaurant that resembled a saloon from the Victorian era. Candles and soft lighting illuminated the copper top bar.
The hand-written draft beer list was posted on wooden signs and hung by rope. It was as though we stepped back in a pub crawl time machine; old jazz standards wafted throughout the room. As it was early in the afternoon, the space was not crowded, and a tall thin bearded bartender, Zac, was generous with his time. He wore rectangular glasses, a bow tie and suspenders, and he fit right into his surroundings.
I was a bit overwhelmed by the beer menu, not by the amount of choices, but by the rarity of the beers. The Farmer’s Cabinet carries their own house brand, Cabinet Artisanal Brewhouse, brewed out of Alexandria, Virginia, but they also have a list of European craft beers that are amazing.
After much deliberation, and a little guidance from Zac, I tried De Struise Brouwers’ Black Damnation II – Mocha Bomb, which was a blend of black Albert aged on coffee beans and De Molen’s Hel and Verdoemenis and Cuvée Delphine. It was one of the smoothest drafts I’ve ever had.
During our chat with Zac, we explained our mission for the day. I pulled out my torn yellow sheet with names of watering holes and handed it to him. He reviewed with a wide grin, pointing out some of the bars he liked the most.
“I have some to add to this,” he said excitedly. He grabbed a pen and wrote down two additional bars to check out. “This one,” he said, pointing to Franklin Mortgage, “is a really cool prohibition-style place. It’s easy to miss, it’s in a basement.”
Farmer’s Cabinet in-house cheese expert stopped by the bar and began telling us how local cheese-makers have really developed their craft over the past ten years. By this time, we had received a text to meet up with another couple for a late lunch, so we couldn’t hang around, but he was able to nudge us into having a sample of some artisan bleu cheese he had in stock from Chester County’s own Birchrun Hill Farm. Sublime.
We caught up with my son and his girlfriend at Good Dog Bar & Restaurant to have lunch. This is a casual, old-school place with three floors of tightly packed seating and framed photos of dogs on the walls. While they have a decent assortment on the menu, we were there to put their burgers to the test.
I chose the Good Dog Burger, in which the half-pound burger is infused with Roquefort cheese and comes with fried onions. The french fries are a combination of sweet potatoes and russets. This was a juicy burger and the cheese pulsed down my wrist on the first bite. A very good burger indeed, though my favorite Philly burger continues to be served at Village Whiskey–just a few blocks west.
After bidding adieu to our dining partners, we hiked over to the classic neighborhood bar, Monk’s Cafe. Billed as Belgian Beer Emporium and Restaurant, this is a great casual bar with a beer bible that that could take years to work one’s way through all the choices. We chose to split a draft of Pliny The Elder, a perfect hoppy brew. We stood along the rail sipping away and people watching.
We were in the vicinity of the “speakeasy” Zac had recommended, so we headed up the street in search of Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company. We saw a small sign and a few people standing in line, and we discreetly took our place.
A tall goateed man, dressed in black from his fedora to his duster jacket to his shoes, finally climbed the basement steps. He politely thanked us for waiting and we followed him into the basement. He opened the door and led us down a long narrow room with a long bench and chairs on the right. Down at the far end of the basement, two men stood behind the bar theatrically shaking cocktails. The tall man showed us to our seats. Our waitress wore a flapper and a headband. Across her upper chest, she bore a tattoo showing winter branches of a tree. The waiters were hipsters in plaid shirts and suspenders. Old blues played on the loudspeakers.
We were handed a menu with about six pages of cocktails. From a page of the menu labelled “Easy Going,” I ordered a cocktail called Killer Bees On The Swarm, which consisted of tequila, mezcal, lime juice and grapefruit juice, honey syrup, angostura and pychauds bitters–served up. My date was more aggressive, ordering something from the Rebellious Spirits menu called Brass Tacks Buck. This consisted of tequila, mezcal, lime juice, house pear and ginger syrup, angostura bitters, served tall with soda. We felt as though we had found some clandestine speakeasy during prohibition.
As we emerged from the basement, we decided to head back to the Boilermaker for a night cap. The Boilermaker just opened in March, and is owned by the same folks who created The Farmer’s Cabinet. A boilermaker is the workingman’s term for a shot and a cheap beer, but what they’ve done here is offer more palatable pairings. For instance, I tried a Virginia–which consisted of a shot of Ragged Mt. Rum and a Cabinet No Love Black IPA. The warmth of the rum and the dark IPA worked nicely together. Other boilermakers pair whiskey or gin with beers where they believe the two balance nicely.
Another thing I enjoyed about this bar was their draft list. At the downstairs bar, they have 25 craft beers on tap. All the beers are offered in a choice of a large pour or a small pour. The small pour runs only $3 to $4, which makes this a great spot for sampling multiple craft beers. At the upstairs bar, they feature local craft beers such as Victory and Stoudts.
We had several other bars on our list that we didn’t make it to – but that’s okay. We’re always thrilled to have ample reason to return to the city of brotherly love for another pour.
