Volume 4 | Issue 3 - Origlio Beverage

Great Beer & FoodSet the Table for Philadelphia’sVibrant Restaurant SceneBy Jim Wigginsew York does fine dining likeno other city in the world.Los Angeles has set the barvery high for quality streetfood. If New York has thehigh and LA has the low-end covered,where does that leave an aspiring citylike Philadelphia to make its mark?Philadelphia does the middle better thanany other city in the U.S. The middle,in this case, is anything but boring andrepresents the best of both worlds. Itis a blend of the causal and affordable,set in hip spaces that are populated withpeople from all walks of life. Philadelphiasets the standard for restaurantswhere the bar is occupied by lawyers,doctors, college students and electriciansall eating envelope-pushing foodand drinking great beer in a cool settingat a reasonable price.If money and imagination lie at the baseof New York and LA’s contributions toAmerica’s culinary culture, it was beerthat led Philly in that direction. Barsbegan educating Philadelphians on thewide range of flavors and styles of beer.Customers responded and wanted toexplore food in the same way. Thesecustomers did not want to go to a stuffyFrench restaurant and drop a week’spay. Instead, the very places that wereexpanding the concept of what beeris and what it could be, began puttingtogether menus that challenged eatersto get out of their comfort zones andrealize that bar food didn’t have to bechicken wings. Philly’s culinary nichewas created. Some call them gastropubsand others just call them greatbars, but all agree that the trend is welcomeand here to stay.In 1988, Khyber Pass Pub was opened.Owner Stephen Simons made the decisionto separate his place from the packby serving different beers that were notavailable at other bars in Philadelphia.At the time, the American craft revolutionwas still in its infancy and mostof the beers he served were imported.The Khyber’s beer list was heavy withBritish imports like Wells and Young’swith some German brands like Spatenand Paulaner, sprinkled in. Dock Streetwould soon follow and the customersloved it. The Khyber was soon recognized,not only for its music, but alsoas a place to drink beer styles that beforewere rarely seen in this country.Other bars took notice and began to offermore varied selections along with agrowing number of pioneering Belgianimports and upstart American microbreweries.Philadelphia’s reputation asa city with adventurous beer drinkerswas founded.William Reed and Paul Kimportopened Standard Tap in 2000. Manycredit them with inventing the gastropub.Up to this point, bars that werepaying attention to the quality of thebeer they were serving were not puttingthat same focus on their menus.The food was comfortable, but rarelydid it reach the quality of that served in