46968994
Joe Varalli has been in the restaurant business for 20 years. Located at Broad and Locust, loyal patrons would flock to Upstares at Varalli before a concert at the Academy of Music or show at the Wilma or Merriam theaters. The tall windows offered lovely views of the Academy and I clearly recall experiencing a number of beautiful sunsets while dining on roast duck.
Varalli recently had a change of culinary heart. He gutted the upstairs dining rooms and turned them into a casual American pub called Perch Pub. I have to emphasize that this is an American idea of a pub because the menu is all over the map. You can get fish and chips, but you also can tuck into tacos, Caesar salad, nachos, mussels, fried mozzarella and wings.
There are several dining rooms and one includes a pool table. The bar is fashioned from dark wood with a TV above for your sports viewing pleasure. A long row of cute wooden birdhouses perch atop the bar. A tin ceiling adds authenticity to the casual atmosphere.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Edward and I enjoyed a matinee performance of three modern works expertly and beautifully danced by the Pennsylvania Ballet. We noticed Perch Pub was open at 3 p.m. so when the performance let out, we were hungry and ready for an early dinner.
I sipped a Rob Roy ($9) while Edward enjoyed his martini ($11). Perch Pub offers bar snacks so we needed a little nibble before dinner. Bird seed ($1.50) were really spicy fried black-eyed peas which I had never tasted. The spicy peanuts ($2) were roasted in-house and were a good combo of slightly salty and spicy. Crispy malanga sticks ($3), potato-like root vegetables that belong to the same family as taro root, were shoestring thin, crispy and free of grease, and came with an aioli dip redolent with garlic.
Salads were most generous. Edward and I shared the pub chopped salad ($8.50) which was split in the kitchen. They arrived on cool plate and was fashioned with assorted greens, ripe avocado, bits of apple smoked bacon for a crisp and slightly salty flavor, chopped sweet onion, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, chic peas and feta. Chopped salads are Middle Eastern in origin, but I liked the culinary license the cooks took here. We dabbed on blue cheese dressing and cleaned our plates.
The snacks and salad filled me up, but I wanted to try a burger ($9). You build your own, so we ordered it medium-rare with sautéed onions and it came out perfect. I took a few bites and then dove into the pile of crisp french fries and homemade bread and butter pickles which were sweet. I sipped a Walt Wit draft ($5).
Several nights later, I brought along a book for company and enjoyed a program on Phillies spring training. The barkeep on duty asked if I wanted a perfect Rob Roy, which is blended with equal parts of sweet and dry vermouth. I had never tried one and I prefer it to the original version of Scotch and sweet vermouth.
Skillet Blue Bay mussels ($11) was a mountain of squeaky clean, totally free of grit beauties nestled in a fragrant sauce made with Victory lager, fennel, chilies, strips of orange peel and a dab of orange aioli. The sauce was Mediterranean with a twist. Instead of white wine, lager was a fine liquid of choice. Slices of grilled bread, spread with olive oil, were used to sop up every inch of sauce in the bowl.
As I stated, Perch Pub is all over the map. I arrived in France with a croque monsieur which I have eaten all over Paris. This version ($9) was made with Black Forest ham, Comte cheese, which melts beautifully, spicy baby arugula leaves and a schmear of aioli. All melted sandwiches at Perch Pub are prepared on country white bread. House made chips, which I thought were french fries, turned out to be multi-colored ones you find in Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and other specialty grocers. They were OK, but I would have preferred french fries.
Service was a little slow on my second visit. I think the barkeep was a bit preoccupied. But he did introduce me to a perfect Rob Roy.
Two-and-a half tips of the toque to Perch Pub. SPR
Perch Pub
Broad and Locust streets
215-546-4090
http://perchpub.com
46968829
46968989
