Beer - The Hungry Nomad

Bar, Beer, Food, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Blogs, pub food, USA, Vegan

Dinner at Khyber Pass Pub (Philadelphia, PA)

September 15, 2013 No Comments

Since I am still relatively new to being of legal drinking age in the U.S. and most of my friends are broke college students, we usually go out to eat at bars in the city. One of my good friends and I have decided to implement Thurs-dates for the foreseeable future in order to try out some new places.

The biggest problem with our plan is that she’s a vegan, but thankfully Philly has a fairly large vegan population, so we haven’t had too much trouble finding places that both of us like. This past Thursday, we kicked off our dates at the Khyber Pass Pub, a bar with an emphasis on beer and New Orleans-style food that seems to fit right in with the Old City atmosphere that surrounds it.

For drinks, we had a large draft list to choose from, but since it was still happy hour and they had $5 Mint Juleps, my friend and I wanted to try that. Unfortunately, I should have done my research beforehand. Here I was expecting some minty, sweet cocktail, and instead, a couple of shots of whiskey on the rocks came out. The only minty part of my Mint Julep was the one mint leaf in my drink. Luckily, my friend is a whiskey girl, so she finished off mine, and I quickly switched to a much more appetizing, refreshing pint of Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale.

Although I failed a bit on my first drink choice, I was excited to try my dinner. I opted for the Fried Green Tomato BLT, and I was really happy with my choice. The fried green tomatoes on this sandwich were fantastic as the breading on the tomatoes was just enough to make it crispy without being soggy or overpowering the tomato.

However, my favorite part of the sandwich was the tabasco peppers remoulade that it came with. This remoulade was full of flavor and packed a hot punch. It took the classic BLT to another, more complex level. I just wish they bottled the stuff so I could go back and buy some to add to my own sandwiches.

My friend enjoyed her Vegan BBQ Pulled Pork as well, but she wasn’t as impressed with her sandwich as I was with mine. Even though some of the finer points of veganism are lost on me, I’m pretty sure this didn’t include any pork. It did, however, come topped with a big spoonful of creamy coleslaw to balance out the smokey BBQ flavors of the sandwich. While she claimed that the sandwich wasn’t bad, she did feel that some other bars in Philly offer better vegan options.

Overall, we weren’t disappointed with the Khyber Pass Pub, although we did agree that we like it’s sister bar, Royal Tavern, better. That being said, if we’re in Old City and looking for a quick, reliable bite, I’m sure we’ll end up at this bar and we won’t be leaving disappointed. This spot is definitely not to be missed by those who enjoy bar food, especially if they are beer enthusiasts since there is a wide-range of beers on tap to choose from. I’m glad that our first Thurs-date took place here, and I hope that they will only get better as they go on!

Beer, Belgian, Philadelphia, USA

Belgian Cafe- Fairmout/Art Musuem (Philadelphia, USA)

August 11, 2012 2 Comments

While walking around the Fairmount/Spring Garden area admiring the beautiful homes, and deciding whether we should live in a brownstone with all of it’s inconveniences (i.e.- lack of parking space), we stumbled upon the Belgian Cafe. A cornerbistro/pub in the neighborhood, it would be hard to find if we hadn’t literally walked into it. We decided to stop in for a beer and would later return for a proper meal.

We were both happy to see that our favorite Belgian beer was on the menu. We returned on the 4th of July wanting something other than street food stands at the parade on Benjamin Franklin. The restaurant was busy but we were seated right away. The server was very nice and attentive and immediately took our order. The Count ordered a tomato and chevre cheese flatbread as an appetizer and the portabello mushroom sandwich as his entree. I ordered the mussels and fries. After all, that is what the Belgians are famous for.

The flatbread was quite literally a flat piece of bread sprinkled with cheese and tomatoes and drizzled with caramelized onions and balsamic vinaigrette. I didn’t like it, nor did the Count. It was too sweet and the flavors did not blend properly.

My mussels arrived next. A huge portion with a pot covering it to be used for the empty shells. It was served with a side of crispy fries. The broth was what ruined it. It was too salty to the point that I had to drain each shell before taking out the insides. Usually the broth is the best part made to dip your bread into after the mussels are gone. But not this broth. This broth tasted like liquid salt.

The Count craved something on the healthier side. But the sandwich he ordered oozed with oil. The bread was most likely fried in butter. Each bite was oily. After a few bites he gave up. He moved on to the side salad, at least that wasn’t covered in oil.

I expected this place to be a traditional Belgian Cafe serving authentic Belgian food. Besides the mussels and fries most other items on the menu were typical of most continental restaurants (ie. hamburgers, sandwiches and salads). The quality of the food was lower than I expected.

It seems to be a great place for drinks and snacks since they have a large variety of beers and good greasy snacks. But don’t count on having an amazing dining experience. Go here for the beer not the food.

New Orleans, USA, Wine Bar

Delachaise (New Orleans, USA)

April 30, 2012 No Comments

Delachaise is a lovely little wine bar tucked away on Saint Charles street close to Touro hospital and my favorite sandwich shop, Milk Bar. We usually go here for drinks and appetizers (more specifically, the Lambic framboise beer and goose fat fries for me). On this particular day I was craving steak (poor attempt at vegetarianism preceded my cravings). It was a bit early- many restaurants were still not open for dinner and as we drove by Delachaise I checked the menu online to see if they offered your typical french Steak/Frites dish. Once we discovered that they did we quickly made our way over.

Delachaise is a really lovely place and many of their dishes are delicious. The place is usually packed in the evenings- offering a cozy patio overlooking Saint Charles Avenue and the passing streetcars.

I have never had a bad experience at Delachaise; however, I’ve never had a meal and stuck to the fries and other small appetizers. Craving steak I predictably ordered the Steak/Frites while the Count ordered the special for the day- a Peruvian stir fry served on basmati rice.Once the food arrived I was delighted to see the beautiful presentation and the resemblance of a typical steak/frites dish I frequently had in France. However, as soon as I dug my knife in the meat I was quickly disappointed. The meat consisted of 80% fat. I left the entire thing untouched..and the count had to dissect it to find some small pieces of meat. The worst part…it was not cheap. I was expecting a good quality meat given what they were charging which added to my disappointment. On the bright side, the fries were delicious- as they always are.

On the other hand, the Peruvian steak stir fry was an amazing blend of flavors and sauces.

I don’t usually post these sort of photos as shown below but I wanted to show what remained at the end of our meal: Below: steak dissection…

…and to be fair, our Peruvian stir fry was polished clean.

Since I love this place, my bad steak experience will not stop me from going since everything else is amazing, I guess all I can recommend is: stick to the what they know best: appetizers and amazing wine.