City Tap House in pictures

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City Tap House in pictures

POSTED: Friday, May 7, 2010, 10:30 PM

Filed Under: Menu Time | Openings | Photos

We've been following City Tap House, the behemoth beer bar in the Radian (3925 Walnut St.) owned by the Public House folks, for some time now. The handsome 120-seat space, on the floor above fellow Radian residents Chipotle, Capogiro and Bobby's Burger Palace, will officially open to the public this coming Monday, May 10. Meal Ticket stopped by earlier today to talk brew with beer baron Andy Farrell and food with exec chef Al Paris. Info and photo smorgasbord after the jump. On the beer: Farrell talked to Meal Ticket recently about his approach — he's rocking 60 taps. Yes, he's pouring a selection of what he calls "pay the mortgage" beers (Coors Light, Bud Light, Blue Moon, etc.), but the lineup is aggressively craft-centric, featuring brews sourced locally (Dogfish Head, Flying Fish, Victory, Troegs), domestically (Bell's, Brooklyn, Terrapin, Bear Republic, Stone) and internationally (St. Feuillien, Duvel, Schlenkerla). Here's the full opening beer list in PDF format. There'll be flights ranging in price from $9 to $13; another cool feature are the tasting-notes cards at every table, designed to help you remember a the name of a good brew (a challenge after you've downed a few). The keg cooler, instead of doubling as a terrifying subterranean cave like some bars, is situated on the main floor, in a sort of temp-controlled, metal-door-protected boozy Fortress of Solitude.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

On the food: The ever-energetic Paris (Rococo, Mantra, Pat Bombino's, etc. times infinity), who came on board for this project from the chef gig at Public House, has constructed a pub-influenced American menu that covers plenty of bases. (Full menu below.) Brick-oven pizzas, "craftwiches," large plates, mussel preparations, veggie-friendly stuff ... there are also "daily supper" selections Monday through Saturday, which include dishes like pan-seared grouper, suckling pig and a New England lobster bake. Farrell says the Tap House's staff is sharp in regards to pairing beer with food, so don't hesitate to ask for recos. On the space: Crazy big! Like we said, room for 120 seats, but the double-sided bar can accommodate a sieable standing crowd, as well. In addition to the bar scene and the dining room scene augmented by an open kitchen, there's a big outdoor area with fire pits and a green roof. You can get in to the space either by walking up the big Radian staircase off Walnut Street or by hopping the elevator, accessible via a marked entrance to the left of Capogiro.

Click to enlarge

no counterspace Â» Blog Archive » City Tap House

Posted 2010-11-11 16:17:18

[...] been looking for an excuse to try City Tap House since Meal Ticket released pictures of the [...]

nick

Posted 2010-05-07 17:43:53

holy hell, that keg cooler is gorgeous.

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-05-07 17:45:18

It's bigger than my apartment, Nick.

David G

Posted 2010-05-07 17:52:01

Is there some way we can stop Penn kids from going there?

lilacs

Posted 2010-05-08 20:51:13

david g's comment for the win.

James

Posted 2010-05-09 13:20:19

Is there any way we can stop Philly trash/hipsters from going there?

- Penn kid

adam

Posted 2010-05-09 13:37:11

Most impressive thing about this post is Drew's photo skillz. Burger shot is Saveur-worthy.

poncho

Posted 2010-05-09 19:01:04

Adam:

Totes agree, those pics are so good!

Penn kid:

I was going to ask if Penn kids can stop acting like entitled douchebags, but I guess you answered my question.

PhillySon

Posted 2010-05-09 19:15:27

Haha!

Dan

Posted 2010-05-09 21:49:48

Poncho and David,
Now we all know you don't have to go to Penn to be a snob.

Foobooz » Tale of the Tape: City Tap House

Posted 2010-05-10 13:08:50

[...] City Tap House in pictures [Meal Ticket] (Finally) opening: City Tap House [The Insider] Multi-tap experiment in Philly [Seen Through a Glass] geopress_addEvent(window,"load", function() { geopress_makemap(157051,"City Tap House",39.954332,-75.201935,"google",Mapstraction.ROAD, { pan: true, zoom: 'small', overview: false, scale: false, map_type: false },15) }); [...]

Posted 2010-05-10 13:53:43

Yeah.  So we've heard.

Drummond

Posted 2010-05-11 08:17:32

The space was conceived by a local design firm Partridge Architects, who also designed Chickies & Petes, Public House NH, Mikeys...etc.  

The goal was to create a modern interpretation of a rustic timber framed lodge using reclaimed timbers, planks and siding salvaged from old barns and warehouses in a variety of wood species. Hand-hammered copper accent panels add color and vibrancy throughout the space.

philly trash/hipster

Posted 2010-05-19 20:26:14

Where's the hammered copper? I see the bar top that's smooth and looks great.Oh Yeah, stripper pole?

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 10:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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