Khyber Pass Pub Redux

56 South 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 238-5888
Website

I wasn't thrilled with Khyber Pass when it first opened, still too freaked out by the things I had seen at the old Khyber to take them seriously as a restaurant. I heard from a reliable source that they had some excellent food, and I also recently had the opportunity to meet the executive chef, who also encouraged me to check out the food. Hell, I am glad I listened to those guys.

As this was a business lunch (certainly not), I started with a Harvest from the Hood. It's the seasonal wet-hopped amber ale with hops grown at both PBC and Greensgrow. Two of my favorite places in the city can't be wrong. This is a delicious beer, that I highly recommend, but by the time you read this, it may be too late. They make a limited batch.

We started with the fresh popped Benton's bacon grease popcorn I have heard so much about. Dusted with cajun spices and served in a brown paper bag, this was hands down the best popcorn I have ever tasted. To which you are probably thinking either "No Way" or "No Shit." But seriously, believe me this popcorn is rich, porky, smokey, and slightly spicy. Not to mention it is actually quite light, and as you can probably guess, utterly addictive.

Next we rolled with the fried shrimp po' boy and the smoked cheddar fries with debris gravy. This sandwich blew the last one I'd had there out of the water. The sandwich is served on Leidenheimer Baking Company rolls, served with the traditional lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo. The shrimp were PERFECTLY fried, and with a little crystal hot sauce to mix in with the mayo, this was the best I have had in Philadelphia proper.

The fries were also heart-stoppingly delicious. They were crispy and packed with flavor, not to mention smothered in smoked cheddar and debris gravy. I could not stop eating them, even though I was well into my 5,000 calorie lunch by that point.

And finally, just because I shouldn't have, I ordered a small crawfish étouffée. I LOVE crawfish and this did not disappoint. A rich, dark roux served over white rice hosting a variety of ingredients, including the holy trinity (onions, bell peppers, and celery) and scallions, this dish was bursting with deep, rich earthy flavor. Delicate, yet homey, this makes me wish I grew up in Cajun country (just kidding Philly!).

I am incredibly happy I went back to Khyber for another go-round, yet at the same time, I am now forced to judge other bar food against this, and as we all know, there is no way that ANYONE can compete with Benton's bacon grease popcorn. My dining mate suggested it should be THE movie snack to take to the Ritz (they allow outside food and are right around the corner). And I can't disagree. That being said, if I smell that popcorn during a movie, there is a 110% chance I am going to mug you for it.

Khyber Pass Pub

56 South 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 238-5888
Website
(UPDATED with 5)
From the outside, it looks strikingly similar to the old Khyber. The menu, however, looks to be something you would never get at the old Khyber, a menu. A they put out a combination of Cajun food and Southern barbecue, either of which fall into my "favorite things" category. So needless to say (although I am going to say it right now), I was excited to give this revamped Old City landmark a try.

If you remember the old joint, there was a dark room on the right when you walk in, where various medicore bands of various levels of weird would play (occasionally some good shows, but for the most part, meh), which is now an open dining room. Big improvement. You can also see the decor, due to the introduction of...light. It's a pretty nice addition to the bar, nice, but not so nice as to lose the character of the original Khyber.

I decided to give two standard sandwiches a try, as it was lunch, and wanted one from each genre. The North Carolina style barbecue pulled pork sandwich was served with spicy vinegar barbecue sauce, and topped with coleslaw. The pork was good. Not great, but good. It needed a serious kick of dry rub, and was lacking in bark. Bland comes to mind. Also, it was not served with the sauce on the meat, but rather on the side. I was also not a fan of the sauce, quite honestly, and looked to the optional Kansas City style sauce also presented for relief. None granted. I could get over the meat being just okay, as it was actually moist, but the sauces were just lacking that certain something. They had no "pop." The best part of the sandwich platter was undoubtedly the baked mac and cheese. Nothing life changing, but it was a solid rendition, perfectly cheesy with a nice baked topping. I ate both, but really enjoyed the mac.

The other sandwich I decided to try was the roast beef Po' boy with debris gravy. Yum. I was hoping it would stack up to my all time favorite. Well, I know it's not fair to place that burden on every Po' boy I eat, but I must. So overall, the roast beef was quite delicious. Rich, tender chunks of meat, smothered in that beefy gravy really hit the spot pretty well. One problem, however, was the roll. There was so much goodness on this sandwich that it was hard for the bread to keep up. Once again, of course, the absolute best part of the this dish was the smoked cheddar fries. These things were awesome. I would have been quite content eating a huge bowl of them with the beef gravy on top and called it a day. Mostly because I would then have had to retire to a couch to work out my "meat sweats."

This was a sloppy sandwich experience, as can be expected, from this style of food, and although it wasn't the best, it was certainly quite good. If the sauces were a bit sharper, it would be pretty delicious. These are scientific terms, obviously. As the kitchen is open quite late, this is a solid late night option if you get lost and end up in Old City some night.