On Kraftwork's menu

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On Kraftwork's menu

POSTED: Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 5:12 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Menu Time | Openings | Photos

We've been talking about the draft-exclusive beer approach at Kraftwork for a bit now, but haven't had much on the food. Last night, Meal Ticket popped by a dry run of the Fishtown bar (541 E. Girard Avenue; Girard and Montgomery), which Adam Ritter will open Friday, May 7, at 5 p.m. — to find out a bit more. (We had a super-early peek back in January.)

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First off, this space is insane and our photos don't do it the best justice. There's nothing like it in this neighborhood or anywhere in the city, really. Andrew Jevremovic (of Octo Studio) was responsible for putting it all together; the U-shaped tiger maple bar is the focal point, with sleek picnic-table seating and high-tops of equally beautiful wood scattered throughout. The walls are stripped down in spots to expose layer after layer of the building's structural past; industrial touches appear in unexpected places, like oversize screws for door handles and monkey-wrench railings scattered throughout. You can't really miss that hand saw, complete with etched-out hop buds, hanging behind the bar. Chef Michael Thomas (ex Bar Ferdinand) is offering a taut menu laid out like project blueprints, in keeping with the working-man theme — "Pre-Project Plan" is small stuff (raw oysters, terrines, ricotta dumplings), "Design Team Agenda" features shareable starters (veggie, charcuterie and cheese boards; mussels/fries), "Production Schedule" is sandwiches and "Side Notes" and "Finishes" are sides and desserts. This part of the menu (check it out below) won't waver much — where Thomas really gets to play is the entrÃ©e/large-plate section ("Project Plan Addendum"!), which will change daily based on what's in season. Last night, for example, Thomas rocked a spring veggie soup with royal trumpet mushrooms, asparagus, haricot vert and potato; fiddlehead ferns with extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and nutritional yeast; and a killer bacon-wrapped rabbit terrine. One note about the "pork krispy treats" for dessert — someone dared Thomas to create a pork-based dessert, and he took them up on it. Swap out snap, crackle and pop for marshmallow-binded pork rinds (!) topped with bacon and melted chocolate here. The 24-tap (and one cask) beer lineup is broken down on the back of Kraftwork's menu by brewery, beer style, ABV, price, pour (8-ounce, 10.5-ounce, 16-ounce, etc.) and so forth. Growlers will cost $10 to purchase, then anywhere from $10 to $17 to fill up, depending on the beer. A six-drink cocktail list has been developed by Christian Gaal of Noble, who'll also be putting some time in behind the bar here; there's also a tight wine list featuring some pretty cool selections (see below).

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Foobooz » Tale of the Tape: Kraftwork

Posted 2010-05-06 16:00:34

[...] in Fishtown: Pub or art gallery? [The Insider] On Kraftwork’s menu [Meal [...]

It Must Be Fishtown Friday: Kraftwork Opens on Girard Avenue « The Somers Team Blog

Posted 2010-05-07 11:40:19

[...] Bar Ferdinand chef Michael Thomas, tonight's 5 pm reveal is a big thing for the neighborhood. Meal Ticket has the menu if you want to plan ahead, and we particularly love the layout of the beer list itself, which [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 5:12 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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