Tap Into City Tap House

Penn students are no stranger to City Tap House, the popular food-and-beer establishment perched on the Radian Balcony at 40th and Walnut. What they may not know is that the restaurant recently welcomed Chad Vetter as its newest Executive Chef. Vetter brings his own cultural experiences to the menu, with dishes inspired by American regional cuisines and his time in his wife’s home country of Costa Rica.

Divided into seven sections, Tap House’s menu has something to whet all appetites. Multiple beer-infused dishes stud the menu to complement over 60 beers on tap (as curated by Beer Steward Andy Farrell).

When the Pulled Pork Nachos arrived at the table, I was blown away by the sheer quantity of food. The thin, crisp tortilla chips were generously layered with moist pulled pork and smothered with Walt Wit cheddar sauce and Love Stout BBQ sauce. We nearly asked if the BBQ sauce was available for sale, as we could easily see slathering ribs, sausages, and other barbecue bites with the sweet and tangy sauce. Fresno chiles, coriander, and red onion added light heat to the dish.

The assortment gracing the Mezze Platter change weekly with no two selections the same. We had the pleasure of digging into lemon hummus, falafel, roasted vegetables, eggplant and feta, marinated cucumbers, roasted tomato tapenade, and flatbread. The tomato tapenade–pleasantly acidic–and eggplant and feta–rich in flavor with tangy notes from the feta–were standouts. We were disappointed that neither the falafel nor the flatbread were warm, which would have made both much more appetizing.

One of our favorite dishes of the night, the Jersey Sweet Corn and Crab Hushpuppies were reminiscent of miniature fried crab cakes. Shatteringly crisp with a piping hot interior (this is what the falafel from the Mezze Platter should have been like), the fritters were excellent dipped in honey-thyme butter and citrus remoulade and gobbled up in moments.

The Pan-Seared Striped Bass made for quite the pretty presentation. The contrasting colors of the bass, roasted fingerlings, English pea puree, Jersey sweet corn relish, and citrus caramel were visually stunning, but the wide range of vibrant flavors was nearly overwhelming and contrasted each other too much. While the ingredients tasted true to their roots (for example, the corn relish was as sweet as if it had just been cut off the cob at summer’s peak), a smoother amalgamation of ingredients would do the overall dish well.

Tap House’s version of Chicken and Waffles turned out to be another crowd-pleaser. The pan-fried chicken was meaty and incredibly moist with a just-crisp crust. We were even bigger fans of the buttermilk waffles, the quadrants topped with honey-thyme butter and coffee stout syrup. (I would love to see the brunch rendition on the weekends.) The portion was enormous; more waffles would have helped balance the chicken-to-waffle ratio.

We were too stuffed to dig into dessert, but the ice cream options (including a sweet corn flavor!) on hand sounded decadent.

The next time you’re craving great sips and satisfying food in the heart of campus, drop by Tap House.

— Nicole Woon