Falls Taproom

3749 Midvale Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19129
(215) 849-1222
Website

On my way back from a Valley Forge bike ride, I tried to grab a beer at In Riva, but they were closed until 5. Side note - if I own a place, and the staff is all there, I have a great Thursday afternoon, and two customers want to sit on the porch and have a beer, we are never going to be closed. I understand that the employees need to prep between shifts, I have significant restaurant experience, but I also would never turn people away who are trying to give me money. So we pedaled up the block (thanks to Yelp!) and hit the Falls Taproom. I am glad we did.

The Falls Taproom has a pretty classy menu, full of tempting menu items. As I still had to ride another four miles home, I didn't want anything too heavy.

The smoked gouda triangles were not an option, but rather a necessity. I am slightly obsessed with gouda, and have never had it in deep fried form. This was hands-down the best fried cheese I have ever had. Smoky, gooey, and rich, the pale ale marinade and panko crumbs were the perfect complements to the indulgent cheese.

Served with a fresh, tangy marinara sauce, they were surprisingly not as heavy as you would imagine.

I also gave the Mediterranean plate a try. While it may not look like much, this was a delicious and fresh (and reasonably priced) appetizer that blew away the other version I recently tasted in Manayunk. Roasted peppers, hummus, olives, goat cheese, and some warm pita bread made for a fresh and light snack.

The hummus is made fresh in-house daily (as well it should be) and the roasted peppers were still steaming from their flame kiss moments earlier. This fresh preparation was precisely what I was in the mood for after the haul out to Valley Forge.

All in all, the Falls Taproom is a great spot for a casual snack and a beer or two. The service is good, the food is great, and the beer selection is perfect.

The Tomato Bistro

102 Rector Street
Philadelphia (Manayunk), PA 19127
(215) 483-2233
Website

I have a lot of love for The Couch Tomato Cafe, so I was interested to try their newish addition, the more upscale Tomato Bistro.

Its kind of confusing to figure out where to go. There are also a couple of tables outside reserved just for bistro customers.

The menu looked pretty good, with pizza, sliders, and small plates.

They brought out complimentary tomato soup and garlic bread, which was delicious. Unfortunately it was by far the best item of the meal. I was constantly bombarded by an overly assertive server blatantly trying to up-sell just about everything. We were also the only other people in the place for the first half of the meal. It was early (about 6), but this led to more uncomfortable interactions with the pusher. Another questionable practice is making customers give first and last names to get a table. I would simply have withheld, but my dining partner gave theirs. For a walk in meal, in an empty restaurant, first AND last name is overkill. Let's face it, it's NEVER necessary.

The chicken and waffles had potential, but they were lacking a critical component, fried chicken. They contained lager braised chicken, apple butter, bacon and maple syrup on a Belgian waffle. There was also some wilted greens on top. This would have been pretty good as a sandwich, and if there were some type of crunch, a la fried chicken. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't quite right.

After the chicken and waffles, things went downhill. The Mediterranean plate sounded great, but was pretty awful. Which is kind of hard to pull off. The olives were fine, the grilled vegetables, however, tasted pickled and grilled. They were mushy and acidic, I was not a fan. the caper berries (with stems below) were a new one for me, and were pleasantly delicious. They were like a cross between an olive and a fig. The hummus was bland, the cucumber salad was terrible (old soft cucumber and WAY too heavy on the Greek oregano), and the ricotta salatta (or feta?) was inedible. It was supposed to have orange zest in it, but there was so much zest that it tasted like what I imagine Orange Glo would taste like. Me not finishing cheese is unheard of – I could not shake the chemical taste, and left it alone. Also, the house foccaia, which has always been terrific down stairs, was too sparingly dealt, and less than fresh.

The sliders were the last order of business. Now, I know that sliders suck. I am pretty sure it is common knowledge (think to yourself the last time you had a truly good slider, ever?) but I wanted to give them a chance.

The lamb slider was adorned with cucumber and tzatziki. Despite what looks like an abundance of sauce in the first picture, this was quite dry. Possibly because the meat to wheat ratio was way askew. Typical of sliders. This entire offering dripped of mediocrity.

The Kobe beef slider was another let down.

The meat was over cooked, in stark contrast to the medium rare lamb on the last mini burger. Much like the lamb, it looked really good from the side, but the cut away showed its true nature. There was not even a hint of truffle on this one, and the "fondue" served with it was not enough to make the dry bites enjoyable. Look at the bread!

The house made potato chips served with the sliders were pretty good, along with the balsamic drizzle, but unfortunately were not enough to make up for the variety of mishaps.

I wished this place was as good as their pizza shop downstairs, but I would never venture back up those stairs, given the choice between the two.

Cafe Olé

147 N 3rd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 627-2140

If you are looking for a healthy and reasonably priced lunch or breakfast (or both) in the Old City area, Cafe Olé has you covered. I have been inside quite a few times to get coffee and chai (both are excellent), and when I would look at all of the people eating, I made a mental note to come back and try it. And then, I forgot. Well this time I remembered, and the little coffee shop/cafe did not disappoint.

You order at the counter, and they either bring it out to you or they call your order out. I got a hybrid approach.

I was looking for something healthy(ish) so I tried the Mediterranean platter, which came with a generous portion of tomato cucumber salad, a mix of green and kalamata olives, seasoned feta, hummus with a delicious pool of olive oil in the middle, and two dolmathes, as well as two freshly grilled pieces of pita. A generous portion for the $8 price tag, even by my standards. All of the components were fresh and savory. I managed to turn a healthy lunch into a borderline gorge-fest by eating everything on the plate, in addition to the two pieces of pita. No surprise there.

 

I also had to try the whitefish salad platter, as whitefish salad is a new favorite of mine after being introduced to it by this guy. This whitefish platter, which they mistakenly put in a to-go container (probably because they thought I shouldn't eat any of it after having ordered my first platter), was delicious. The salad itself was fresh and creamy, while the briny capers really tied it all together. They were out of everything bagels (it was in the afternoon), so I just threw these things on a toasted plain, and had at it. I would definitely go back for this one as well.

 

 

Cafe Olé fills a gap in fresh, affordable, lunches without having to go to a sit-down place and be at the whims of an often aloof Old City server. I really think I will be eating here quite a bit, especially because I have not tried the Shaksuka yet.