SPTing Image

Tapping into the Tap Room

by Elisa Ludwig

With the gastropub having eclipsed the BYO as the dominant species of Philly's restaurant kingdom, it's no longer enough to offer customers dozens of obscure microbrews. If you want to appeal to the gastropub snob, you also have to back up the booze with the right snacks.

Having already proved itself in the liquid realm, the South Philadelphia Tap Room decided to up the edible ante this past spring by expanding its dining space at 15th and Mifflin and installing chef Michael Zulli (formerly of Bridgewater's Pub) at the helm.

SPTR builds on the classic model: a casually delivered combination of basic sandwiches, fried items and relatively exotic animal parts, with an emphasis on the latter. Everything — from the boar bacon to the veggie burger — is made in-house. Props to Zulli for this approach, making food a bigger priority. But in the end, execution counts more than ambition, and SPTR might want to consider paring down the kooky stuff for simpler, more consistent fare.

As it stands, there are too many things to avoid on this menu. Ostrich kebabs are paired with a dollop of mild avocado salsa with corn, but the meat itself is tasteless and the condiment allotment is too small to do much good. Pork cheek nuggets, breaded and fried globes served with a spoon each of honey mustard and barbecue sauce, are crumbly on the outside, rubbery and dry on the inside, thus defeating the purpose of employing one of the most luscious, flavorful parts of the pig. The duck wings on special, lacquered with hoisin sauce and sesame seeds, are all sweet, impenetrable surface, unrelentingly tough and ultimately too frustrating to eat.

And the desserts are memorable — particularly for a bar. A thick puck of peanut butter cheesecake has a chocolate pretzel base, and though the crust has an oddly hard texture, the cake itself is creamy and densely flavored. Better still is the house-made funnel cake. Soaked in wheat beer and drizzled with a touch of syrup, it's extra large and not too sweet, alternately crunchy and puffy and utterly addictive.

Perhaps most importantly, the beer selection remains strong: 13 on tap, more than 70 bottles. There're even suggested beer pairings with most menu items, because if nothing else, the gastropub takes the bar experience seriously. And the stakes, at least around here, are getting higher.

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

South Philadelphia Tap Room | 1509 Mifflin St., 215-271-7787, southphiladelphiataproom.com | Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. | Appetizers, $6-$14; Entrées, $7-$17