Category Archives: bar food
A Trio Of Burgers
There are few things I love more then a good burger. The more combos the better. Recently, I have had some interesting burgers and, while it took me awhile, I am gonna show you them now.
Burger at The Grey Lodge
The Grey Lodge had, in the past, really disappointed me with a really nasty cheesesteak. Well, with their new chef Eric, they seem to be turning this around. They now make almost everything in-house, which is refreshing. It is so easy to trot down to Jetro in South Philly and load up on frozen burgers, fries and munchie food. It takes balls to step out of that shadow and stretch the boundaries of bar food, especially in Mayfair, where people are used to Chickie’s and Pete’s frozen crinkle fries.
They have some neat stuff on the menu, including a tasty Cuban sandwich I had one day. But the burgers are pretty good. You first figure out if you want the burger, then pick what kind of cheese from about 6 and then go to town customizing it. The burger you see above has mayo, cheddar cheese, a fried egg and pickles. The pickles are sliced deli pickles, which is a nice touch and added a nice crunch to the whole package. The bun was fresh and the egg was, well, an egg on a burger is always a great touch.
The fries were fresh, hot and overflowing. I hate it when they skimp on fries. I ordered the spicy mayo to dip in and it did not disappoint. It was spicy without your face on fire and I even found myself trying to dip my burger in it too. Overall, the burger was about 12 bucks, which might seem pricey but the base burger is 8 bucks. So, that’s about reasonable.
I am super excited about the food at The Grey Lodge on the upswing. They have fantastic beers and now they have food that’s catching up. Go check it out!
Jack Daniels Burger @ PYT
PYT is a burger bar joint in the Piazza. They have a burger of the week and this was one awhile back. It’s a burger with cheese and bacon that is basted in a Jack Daniels sauce. Also on this thing are fried pickles.
You would think the bacon would make this burger but the fried pickles actually sneak in and steal the show! Also stealing my heart is the dill mayo dipping sauce for the fries. It is subtle and dances in your mouth when it mixes with the fries and the grease. If I could, I would have swam in a vat of it. Yes, I have no shame.
Peanut Butter & Bacon Burger @ Urban Saloon
This burger here I almost did not order. I originally ordered a chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat bread but the chef came out and told me they were out of it. So, I ordered this. Wow.
This, from Urban Saloon in Fairmount, is a burger with Peanut Butter and Bacon on Texas toast. While the fries were typical Jetro coated fries, the burger was pretty great! It was done exactly how I ordered it, medium, and the peanut butter was melted just enough to cover the burger but it wasn’t dripping down my arm. They are not skimpy with the bacon either, so extra mega points for that. The patty is a bit small but it does the job.
The only thing I did not like was the texas toast. I am not a fan of texas toast at all, and I think if this was on a nice potato roll, it would be a grand slam. As of now, it’s a home run 🙂
Finally, I did enjoy a Yards Pale Ale with the burger, altho I prefer the Philly Brewing Co’s “Philadelphia Pale Ale”, but they don’t carry the PBC stuff there. Let’s get with the program Urban Saloon!
G&M Crabcakes
This past summer I took a short roadtrip to D.C. On the way back, I was persuaded to stop at this place called G&M Restaurant outside Baltimore. I was told tales of this ridiculous crabcake they had there and rolled my eyes. I know Maryland is known for crab, yeah. I know they are known for crabcakes. Yeah, again. However, I have had some shitty crabcakes over the years, where the crab seemingly strolled through the mix.
And then I had this crabcake. Wow.
G&M Crabcake
It kinda looks like meringue, right? That’s because they cook them under these crazy broilers and thats ALL CRAB MEAT. A little baking soda makes them fluffy, and the rest? Allllll crab. I was almost out of cash, so I couldn’t get the double plate. I figured, before I saw it, that one would be good, I shouldn’t be a glutton. I don’t think I could have been more wrong.
When I was done, I kept thinking I might have more change in the car for another. Maybe under the seats…yeah! That’s the ticket! But I had to drive back to Philly so that was the end of that.
From what I understand, the place used to look kind of like an old man lodge with animals on the walls and stuff. They remodeled and it looks nice, like a place you could go on a date but also take your family to celebrate something (“Yay! Gramma got new teeth!”). The staff was super nice, and the bartender even put the Phillies game on the television for us, which gets high marks in my book. He didn’t even give us any guff for it. Very friendly, very accommodating and quick with the drinks. The staff gets great marks for service.
Lately, I have been dreaming about that crabcake. Light, fluffy, crab-tastic. Even the cocktail sauce was delicious, not too bland with just enough pop. Maybe a road trip. Maybe, maybe.
If you find yourself outside Baltimore, by the BWI airport, please, for the love of god, GO TO THIS PLACE. You will not be disappointed.
PYT Cheesesteak Pretzel Roll Burger
Being from Philly, I love many local foods but 2 of them are Cheesesteaks and Pretzels. When you combine the two of them, the result is….fantasticness!
I give you…the Cheesesteak Pretzel Roll Burger at PYT! A burger, with cheesesteak, cheese, onions on a specially made by Philly Pretzel Factory Pretzel bun.
Holy mother of god, this thing is delicious. I had dropped by PYT to drop off some pierogies (disclaimer: I make an exclusive pierogie for them: the Bacon Cheeseburger. They also sell my Pumpkin Cheesecake pierogie!) with my friend Mary Kate from Ida Mae’s Bruncherie, a breakfast and lunch place in Fishtown.
Cheesesteak Pretzel Roll Burger
Here is the top of the roll:
Cheesesteak Pretzel Roll
So. Good. You go now.
Mary Kate also got an order of these teeny, perfectly cooked little sliders with cheese fries!
PYT Sliders
And! we split an order of thier batter dipped onion rings. Ooo yeah!
PYT Onion Rings
They used black pepper either in the batter or right when they come out. I don’t know which, but we were stabbing each other to get the last one. I hate Onion rings that, when you bite them, the onion comes right out. These do not! Deeeeeee-licious!! The only thing I can think of to change is to maybe have some kinda dipping sauce.
As you can probably tell, I am working my way thru their menu. It is a bit of work, but delicious work nonetheless!
PYT’S Big Mic
I had to pop on by the Piazza today and stopped in at my favorite burger joint, PYT. I’ve not had anything on their menu except the Reuben Burger, so I decided to try a standard. Well, a standard on steroids. I had the Big Mic: 3 patties, cheddar, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and thier special sauce on a Martin’s Potato roll.
I ordered it to go because I am housesitting and had to go check on the cats. To Go containers make me angry because, for the most part, your food gets soggy by the time you get it home. So, I figured I would take a pic in the car, since it was about a half hour drive back to the house.
PYT'S Big Mic
I got onion rings instead of the chips, and I should have specified a full order of rings because I only got 4. They are batter dipped, as opposed to breaded and have cracked pepper on them, which I thought was awesome. Yes, I did eat one in the car.
The burger is so tall, they put the top off to the side, which let me check out the thick cut bacon they use, not that cheap crap. As someone who works with food for a living, lemme tell ya, bacon is expensive. It’s nice to see someone using good bacon. The special sauce is a mayo mix, which always works nicely with burger grease.
Big Mic Assembled
While the patties aren’t wide, they are thick, not overly seasoned or overly dry, and with the special sauce, it was A-ok! Nitpicking? I liked the thinly sliced onion and tomato and I also liked what I think was butter lettuce. It kept the sauce right in place, for the most part.
They also offer this burger in normal single and double patty sizes, so go on over and check it out!
Reuben Burger at PYT
Before I was to attend what would turn out to be only the second No Hitter in the history of playoff baseball, I had a meeting at PYT in the Piazza. The Piazza is a big apartment complex where the bottom floor is a collection of shops, bars, restaurants and whatnot with a big courtyard (or, a Piazza!…ah-ha!) for bands to play, games to project and markets to peruse.
PYT is a burger bar in there. I had not been there, and had only been to the Piazza once to visit my friend Doctor Satan, who was one of the first people to sign a lease there. So, I checked out the website and drove on over. It is a cute place, bright and happy, has a super clean (a pet peeve of mine) bar and friendly staff. They do burgers of the week, and while I had some time to kill, I decided to order it….The Reuben Burger!
I had read about this thing on facebook, and frankly, I was a little giddy to try it. No disappointment here. (please click pics to embiggen)
Reuben Burger @ PYT
They start with bread from one of my favorite bakeries, Kaplan’s, at 3rd and Brown. My grandpop used to get bread from there for the holidays and I love their challah and rye. The rye makes an appearance here, all buttery toasty and delicious. What I loved about it is this: the bread is toasty and buttery but not toasted to the point where it rips your mouth apart like a bowl of Captain Crunch. Underneath the thick burger patty is a nice pile of corned beef, and on top is kraut (made with one of my favorite beers, Kenzinger!)and I think some cole slaw. It’s the kind of burger that makes you not want to engage in conversation. Quiet deliciousness.
Peeking inside the Reuben Burger
I dig the fries too. Thin fries are easily overfried, overdone to the point where they turn into potato straws, which I hate with the exploding burn of a thousand exploding suns. Coming with the fries is a zippy dipping sauce that I kept dipping my burger in after I hoovered up the fries. It’s a nice spin on the russian dressing you’d get on a reuben in a deli.
Inside the Reuben Burger
I am not sure how long this Reuben burger will be on the menu at PYT, so get your collective butts over there and buy one! They have a nice beer selection, and since it’s the Halloween season, why not get a Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale, one of my faves! You will not be disappointed with this burger or this place. Nine thumbs up!
The Grey Lodge
I really want to like the Grey Lodge. Super, super badly. I hate going downtown to drink and I am not particularly in love with the jackass hipsters in Fishtown either. I also do not mind the northeast too much, so it is a decent change of scenery sometimes. So, when I had heard of this place a long time ago, and realized it is next to my dentist (oddly enough), I was kind of excited.
This place is a bar on Frankford Ave in Mayfair that stocks, what can only be described as, a shit ton of beers. In the cooler they have your regular array of Boddington and other recognizable overseas beers (for those who pay attention to this sort of thing). But they have, on tap, a great rotating selection of beers that range from local PBC to California microbrews to everything in between. They also offer them in different sizes so you can just have a smaller glass of a beer and then have a few different ones as opposed to one giant beer. They have done their homework and it shows. They even have a nice selection on their second floor, which could have gotten the shaft and had the usual Coors, Bud, whatever sucks crap.
I had arranged with one of the managers to reserve some space upstairs for a reunion, and the guy I talked to (Patrick) was super awesome, incredibly accommodating and professional. When we all showed up, everything was exactly like he had promised, and everyone had a really good time.
My problem is the staff behind the bar and the food. First off, this was not my first time at the bar. I had been there before, in the middle of the afternoon. The place had 4 people in it and a very short, young looking girl. She wasn’t too interested in taking my beer or food order, which annoyed me. Then when the cheese fries came out, they were limp and not fried very well. Mushy, would be a good word to describe them. But! It was the middle of the afternoon, so I cut the kitchen some slack. But if you don’t want to be at work in a service job in the middle of the afternoon, please do not take it out on the customers.
The second time I was there, I strolled in around 6:30 on a saturday. It was dead, but there was a lineup at the bar watching the ballgame. When I popped up on the barstool, the bartender literally sneered at me from behind his bushy beard and took my order like I was asking him to pick fleas off my cat. Again, I was annoyed. When I paid the fellow and he got his tip, he seemed relieved, which I thought was bizarre.
Later on, I moved upstairs and there were 2 women behind the bar that were nice, quick with the beers and food orders and tidy with the bar. I ordered my food and it arrived quickly.
The Lodge Steak
I got the Lodge Steak (Fresh-sliced ribeye with cheese sauce, roasted pepper mayo, and Genoa salami). I wanted to get the Surf and Turf Cheesesteak (fresh-sliced ribeye with cheese sauce and marinated shrimp) but honestly, it sounded a little too good and I didn’t want to slop myself up in front of people I had not seen in forever (that can wait for next time).
Anyway, it came in a basket and I was a little bit excited. I love cheese sauce (I have said many times, as my friends can tell ya). The meat was kind of chewy, the mayo was nonexistant and the salami felt like it was right out of the prep area and onto the sandwich with no grill action or anything (it was cooked, as you can see in the pic by the black marks on the edges but I think not long enough for the thickness of the meat).
The Lodge Steak Insides
It was the most disappointing thing I have eaten all summer. I had such high hopes, that maybe I ruined it for myself, that no one could meet my expectations? I don’t know. Perhaps.
I want to love the Grey Lodge. I love the beers. I even like the decor (they had a cool Okocim metal sign upstairs!) and it is a very clean bar with ample room for darts. The bathrooms have glass collages in them! The management are very nice people! But the food…I just can’t get with it. I’ll be back Grey Lodge, maybe we can make it work then!
A Trip To Kraftwork
After a long and kind of boring day at the farmer’s market, I enlisted my friend Mary Kate (of Ida Mae’s Bruncherie) to go get some food at this new bar/restaurant Kraftwork on Girard Ave. I was expecting this place to be huge, but in actuality, it is the size of a regular corner bar, which, honestly, surprised me a bit. Even tho it was a Saturday early evening, the place was full, but we managed to score some seats at the bar. We had two people (one girl who I assume was the hostess/waitress and the bartender) both ask us where we would like to sit and thier attitudes were great. It irks me when you walk into a crowded place and the hostess gives you attitude.
The decor is interesting. The tables surround the perimeter and you sit with others. Besides that, there are seats at the bar, with sturdy, not crappy bar stools (also a pet peeve of mine). While the hipsters were aplenty, the staff was nice (even if super busy), but we never had to wait to get drinks, food or anything else. It is, however, super loud, I am guessing from the acoustics. The place is barebones, plenty of room for voices to bounce around.
There are landscape printed excel sheets on the bar for you when you sit down, with all 25 beers on tap mapped out for you. What is really awesome, is that there are two columns, the regular list, and then a corresponding column with the beers that will replace them right away when they kick the keg. Talk about planning! Most places would either just replace the line with another keg of the same or have to wait for something to come in and replace it with. Very cool. Even funnier is that they have a ton of neat beers, but they also have PBR on tap. A nice nod to the hipsters in the area.
We were both starving so we started with the Cheese plate.
Cheese Plate
While it was super loud, and we couldn’t really hear the guy who brought it out, the cheese plate was pretty kick ass. In the middle was some kind of creamy parmesan. The one with the candied almonds I think was a sort of soft stilton and the one with the thinly sliced apples and honey was a very, very blue cheese. We didn’t catch the others except for that the one had some sort of soaked cherries (which were great) and the other had finely chopped olives (also awesome). The cheese is served with sliced garlicy flatbread:
flatbread
Mary Kate said that she thought they used the same flatbread to make a delicous Flatbread Pizza Margherita. It went perfectly with the assortment of cheeses, and we hoovered it down quickly.
While we ate the cheeses, our appetizer came out, the Ricotta Dumplings:
Ricotta Dumplings
Please note that they come with 4, but we both speared one before I managed to dig out the IPhone 4 to snap a pic. They were creamy, with that parmesan nuttiness, and sitting on a nice roasted red pepper Harissa sauce. It was semi-spicy and a little kick to the dumplings. The greens were a wilted swiss chard, and had a great almost olive oil taste.
I ordered the Beer Can Chicken. It came with fried long hots and onions with sharp provolone. The star of that plate tho, was the red cabbage and apple slaw!
beercan chicken
The slaw, of which I kind of thought would just be a vinegary slaw, was spicy in a slow burn kind of way, and we both thought it was great. The beer can chicken was good, chopped pretty small and it congealed with the provolone pretty quickly. It was on a brioche bun that was just big enough, so that you did not feel like you were getting a bun that happened to have some meat on it. It had a lovely aged provolone, but it could have used a sauce. I ended up putting a big forkful of the slaw on my sandwich, which made it tad bit juicier.
MaryKate really dug her burger.
burger
It came with  2 year old Grafton cheddar, butter lettuce, carmelized onions and a bacon onion jam. She was pleasantly surprised that you could really taste the bacon all the way thru it. The fries were slightly garlicky but not overwhelming. The dipping sauce tasted like a stone ground mustard with some mayo and another secret ingredient we couldn’t place, but I am guessing is sugar. Overall, another winning dish.
They had a bunch of great sounding desserts (I hear the chocolate tureen is fantastic), but we were both too stuffed to order.
From the easy going and friendly staff, to the great (but not overwhelming!) food selections, to the wide variety of beers (and a few very cool looking cocktails!), to the reasonable prices for what you get, I’d say Kraftwork has their proverbial shit together, and I would definitely go back.
DidjaEat? 