Plus 44
Local 44
Age may be a high price to pay for maturity, as Tom Stoppard put it, but then he probably never had to wrestle through a scrum of drunk undergrads to order a pint. That's a memory that surfaces with some regularity at Local 44, which supplanted Kelliann's at 44th and Spruce — and the people who voice it seem plenty pleased that the replacement is pitched at the older selves they've become.
Brendan Hartranft and Leigh Maida, part of the team behind Memphis Taproom, overhauled this spot from floor studs to pressed-tin ceiling. Out went the cigarette vending machine, in came 18 taps plus two spouts for cask ales. Out went the frat-boy vibe, in came local moms who sip lunchtime suds at the "Baby/Momma Happy Hour" the first Monday of the month.
The crowd can get thick come evening, and it's easy to see why. My pub loyalties lie on the other side of the Schuylkill, but Local 44's beer service is bound to test them. There's little point in running down a list of names that will change from month to month. Suffice it to say that Local 44 scored one of the first of a half-dozen kegs of Sinebrychoff Porter ever to leave Finland for the U.S. And talk about a well-rounded, adventurous list: At the moment, there's a schwarzbier on tap, an English bitter, a dunkel weisse and an ale made from sorghum and millet. Add the cask ales — a little warmer, and packed with flavors that aren't always evident in other containers — and 44 is in a league of its own.
The food doesn't achieve the same heights, but the kitchen's reach is also more modest. Enrique Oliva, who used to brew at Nodding Head, does best with the simplest dishes. Perfectly respectable burgers come with options ranging from double-smoked bacon to cabbage and jicama slaw. Hand-cut potato chips, dusted with big grains of salt and served with a horseradish-spiked dip, are close to perfection.
Oliva makes his own corn tortillas, which is a welcome touch, but the fried hunk of mahi mahi on top was a little too McDonald's-hash-brown, and seemed like a fish taco cop-out. The mustardy innards of Reuben fritters were a luscious blend of pastrami and sauerkraut, but the rye-flour batter lacked that crucial crunch. Oh well — nothing a half-glass of IPA can't fix. The menu leans a bit too heavily on the deep fryer overall, but a decent roster of vegetarian dishes helps to make up for it. The "Oyster (Mushroom) Po' Boy" is next on my list.
That sounds like something a grown-up might eat.
Local 44 | 4333 Spruce St., 215-222-BEER, local44beerbar.com
Hours: Daily, 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m.
Appetizers, $4-$7 Sandwiches, $8-$9
Also In This Week's Food Section
Feeding Frenzy
more inventive than "momma happy hours" to not avoid becoming a total too loud to converse pennhole. Seriously, what food category (besides pizza) is a total magnet for drawing gaggles of college students, answer: fried (esp. finger) foods - which seems to be where this kitchen excels. I am no anti-fryer crusader (those reuben morsels were great as was the po'boy) but in a neighborhood with a first-rate year round farmer's market and lots of locals who embrace it you'd think the menu could be a touch more expansive.
I will likely come back here because the tap list is the liveliest west of the river...but perhaps not if I can't hear myself or my partner over the din of tables full of kids with backwards baseball caps getting a kick out of getting sloshed while exclaiming "dude, this was made by monks!" - as was the case on my last visit.
Is this snotty? I mean I suppose everyone has to learn to crave real ales sometime - and if 21 yr olds penn kids can do it on dad's dollar more power to them. But is it to much to ask for a pub to drink affordable craft beer in west philly that has decent, comforting but inventive fare but isn't flooded with college kids?