Sunday, January 17, 2010

memphis taproom

BBQ sandwich with fries

I finally made it over to the Memphis Taproom, arguably Philadelphia's most vegan-friendly gastro pub. Atmosphere: gregarious. Service: super friendly. Beer and wine lists: extensive. And the menu featured plenty of vegan, veg- and veg-possible options. I opted for the BBQ sandwich. The fries were sublime, but to be honest, I've had better BBQ seitan. Although tasty, the BBQ sauce was timid and somewhat watery, and the seitan's texture was one step away from synthetic.


Hold the sauce, and the deep-fried pickles are vegan

The deep-fried pickles were a nice surprise: puckery dills blanketed with a good-n-greasy, perfectly crisped batter.



Onion Rings a-plenty

The onion rings were tasty and, as you can see, plentiful.


Devilishly good Vegan Chocolate Cake

Best of all, they offered a vegan dessert option...gasp!...other than sorbet or liqueur. They titled this super-sized confection "Vegan Chocolate Cake," but with its decadent damp, mustiness, it was more akin to "Devil's Food Cake." A hellishly tasty finish to a fun night in "Port Fishington" [In case you didn't figure it out, that's the intersection of Port Richmond, Fishtown and Kensington. Really, these ever-expanding neighborhood nicknames are getting a bit tiresome].

26 comments:

Jes said...

Vegan onion rings and deep fried pickles are a sight to behold! I'm going to have to add the taproom to my Philly list.

Heather (Where's the Beach) said...

What I wouldn't give to have at least a vegetarian restaurant where I live. I actually prefer the fried dill pickle chips over the spear. YUM.

Eating Consciously said...

Ah! Possible Vegan Drinks Philly location!

The Kuntrageous Vegan said...

i'll be needing some fried pickles now please.
seriously though; i've never seen fried pickles that weren't in "chip" form

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

Good to know about if I ever find myself in that neighborhood. Deep fried pickles! I'm thinking that's either the worst thing ever or totally brilliant.

Jennifer said...

Hello! I have a completely off-topic question for you. I want to make the recipe for pastitsio in your cookbook but I can't tell if the amount of TVP it calls for is before or after being reconstituted. I would really appreciate it if you'd let me know. Thanks!

Virginie said...

The cake looks so delicious. I wouldn't say no, whenever it is in the day.

ciana said...

Next time try the smoked-coconut tofu club! I finally just made it out there myself and couldn't believe I've been missing out on such a veg-friendly pub for so long. I found it better than both sister locations.

Joselle Palacios said...

Last time I went there, I was told the pickles weren't vegan at all--batter made of buttermilk. Maybe things have changed? Or is everyone there not on the same page?

I loved Memphis Taproom when it first opened but later visits have been disappointing--meager portions and higher prices with quality going down. It's always hot and poppin there, though.

I must second the smoked coconut tofu club, though. Really delicious and different.

buffalodick said...

I'd like to try deep fried pickles...

Amanda said...

I've been wanting to make it out to Memphis Taproom after hearing about it recently. Thanks for posting the review! I hope to try it soon.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oh man, onion rings!

Anarchy in the Garden said...

Looks like good ole' greasy bar food!

Carrie™ said...

Aren't deep-fried pickles the best?! The fries look fresh cut. I'm so sick of frozen french fries everywhere. I don't even bother ordering them most times. And that cake! It looks sooooo good.

Eric said...

The fired pickles are vegan, the sauce is not. A friend of use to work there.

I would agree, the BBQ seitan isn't my first choice, but next time you go get the veggie burger and sub in the smoked coconut.

Annie said...

Curious whether they actually have segregated oil for deep frying things.

Vegan in restaurants is mostly a myth I tend to think.

Unknown said...

I'm also not a fan of that pale, rubbery seitan. It is very similar to the stuff I've seen at some other Philly eateries (Belgian Cafe and Sabrina's I think). I'm wary to the point that I will not order the fake meat option anywhere fearing I will run into this stuff.

Charlotte said...

I've only had brunch there (i got the vegan rooster) and I have ot say I was disappointed. Portions were small-- of everything, not just a the vegan dish-- and everything was really bland. The one interesting thing, though, was that they made vegan bacon out of coconut. That was seriously awesome and made the meal worth it.

I'm a fan of the Royal Tavern... not as many beers on tap, but the ones they have are good, and the vegan blt is killer.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I just saw this post about our restaurant, and happy as I am that you like us so much, I wanted to make sure you know that the Pickles, and the Suicide Onion Rings (though mightily delicious) are neither of them Vegan...the Suicide Rings are marinated in buttermilk before being fried, and the batter for the pickles is made with buttermilk. Our full menu is available at www.memphistaproom.com, all of the vegetarian items have single stars and the vegan items have double stars. Our chef offers a pretty seasonal rotation of new items in both categories. (I just wanted to chime in so that no one's dietary particulars were compromised.)

Hope to see you soon!
Leigh Maida,
Memphis Taproom

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elisabeth said...

FYI the "vegan" veggie burgers (and anything else on the menu as veg/vegan that is fried) are deep-fried with all of the meats.

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Anonymous said...

Nothing fried here is vegan, or vegetarian. There is no dedicated fryer (we called and verified before going). Therefore, anything fried has the potential to be cross contaminated with fried meat stuffs.