Several weekends ago, Ray and I decided to treat ourselves to a Sunday night out. After driving many times around many blocks (most of them being cobblestone and very jarring in the car), Ray spied a $5 parking lot a couple blocks away from Triumph Brewing Company, which has one of their locations conveniently in Philly (the other two are in Princeton, NJ and New Hope, PA).

We were early for our reservation, but were seated promptly at a hightop-styled table near the bar (perfect for checking out the beer-pouring action). Our dreadlocked server was slightly soft-spoken and knowledgeable. We started off with a sampler, which included brews such as their Honey Wheat — light and refreshing…you could totally taste the honey in a non-syrupy way — Maibock, Hefeweizen, Irish Dry Stout, Bengal Gold IPA and La Folle Nuit, which I think was some sort of barleywine (There were at least 3-4 other beers, but unfortunately my memory fails me).

I think there was also an underwhelming pale ale… and something else that didn’t impress us very much. Probably why neither of us remembers!

We started with the grilled goat cheese with oven-dried tomatoes and basil with thin, crusty bread slices. The cheese had just the right amount of pungency and kick, and when paired with a piece of tomato, a basil leaf, and bread, your mouth did a little dance. The appetizer’s size was just right…enough to get your taste buds active, but nowhere near the copious amounts of food that many “standard” American-fare restaurants will put before you.

Though we tend to be more interested in trying innovative dishes, we could not pass up Triumph’s burger selection. And hey, why not? If a place can’t make a burger properly, there’s a good chance they’re going to screw up a higher-end entree. We decided to each order a different burger, and when they arrived, we split them down the middle and swapped halves. We selected the bleu cheese burger with tomato marmalade and the cheddar bacon burger with Amish cheddar onion ale fondue and tomato. Both burgers were ordered medium-rare, and came with just the right amount of nicely-seasoned fries, roughly a large handful.

Now, let’s talk about taste explosions! These burgers were DIVINE, and there was NO need to go within 2 feet of either of them with a ketchup bottle — even Ray, a great lover of the red, sugary stuff was able to forgo it. Ray ordered an Irish Dry Stout, while I went with the Bengal Gold IPA. We agreed that both beers went well with the cheddar bacon burger, whereas the Irish Dry Stout was having a tough time standing up to the robust flavor of the bleu cheese burger.

We saved just enough room to share dessert, which was a brownie with vanilla gellato, paired the strong La Folle Nuit with it, and were quite happy with the pairing. We paid the quite affordable bill, and as we walked out, I made the suggestion of going to Nodding Head (warning: link resizes your window), another one of our favorite Philly brewpubs.

Roughly 13 blocks later, we found ourselves upstairs, snagging a table by the wall, and had 2 rounds for the evening. I had one of my favorites, Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse, served with just a splash of woodruff syrup. It’s one of my all-time favorites simply because of the great tart flavor. It also has a low ABV at 3.5% and a light body. Typically I prefer the heavy hitters of the beer world, but the tartness of this beer just seals the deal for me. Ray started with Monkey Knife Fight (Nodding Head likes to keep its names offbeat, which is another great thing), an Asian-influenced blonde lager infused with ginger and lemongrass. You could definitely taste the lemongrass, which I can honestly say I’m not a huge fan of, but I think it’s innovative, so thumbs up.

The next round consisted of The Phunk for me and the Boho Pils for Ray. Once again, I tend to like funky beers, and especially sour ones. The Phunk lives up to its name, and is fermented using multiple yeast strains, lactobacillus and several types of brettanomyces, served unfiltered at 5.5% ABV. This is now one of my new favorites. The Boho is a Czech-Style pilsner, pale gold in color, medium-light body, and aggressively hopped. I do believe Ray enjoyed this greatly.

Most definitely. The weather was getting warm, so I needed refreshment. Boho delivered that nicely… while still providing some good hop complexity!

The night ended with yet another 13-block trek across the city and remorse that it was Sunday night, with a full work-week fast approaching. Nevertheless, the man couldn’t get us down because we had bellies full of great beer and good food.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Restaurants 2 Comments »