Photos by Albert YeeMeeting up at a neighborhood pub for eats and drinks doesn’t mean wings and burgers are your only option. Brendan Hartranft and Leigh Maida are the duo behind four of our favorite beer drinkeries, each boasting bar menus beyond the expected. In addition to Memphis Taproom in Kensington, Local 44 in West Philly and the recently opened Strangelove’s in Center City, the pair owns Resurrection Ale House, a charming pub in Grays Ferry, where they strive to keep the menu innovative yet approachable. “The rule,” Maida says, “is that Brendan’s dad has to be able to walk in and order comfortably off the menu.”
Resurrection’s cozy interior
Alongside the more expected veggie options of falafel with beets and jalapeño are some real standouts that don’t include a shred of bacon to keep them appealing and beer-appropriate. Custardy shirred eggs with roasted chanterelle mushrooms are perfect cold weather food, but the bed of tomato confit and slow-cooked greens that they conceal is the star, packing an amazingly savory umami punch. Roasted carrots with chermoula and pine nuts are as appealing a finger food as a plate of disco fries, and even a kale salad—glossed with maple sherry vinaigrette and served atop a bed of sweet kabocha squash purée—is crunchy and satisfying. It’s true the puffed quinoa that’s mixed into the purée is fried—but after all, this is still a bar.
Custardy Shirred Eggs with Roasted Chantarelle Mushrooms
Shirred eggs might sound fancy, but the term just means “baked in a flat-bottomed dish.” Resurrection’s version is vegetarian, but takes meaty flavor from slow cooked greens, tomato, Parmigiano-Reggiano and roasted chanterelle mushrooms.
An alumna of Fair Food, Philabundance and Greener Partners, Emily Teel is a food freelancer dedicated to sustainable, delicious food in Philadelphia. See more of her work at emilyteel.com.
