Beer Week 2010 Super Blog, Pt 10

Day Nine


It’s the USA vs. England World Cup match. We planned on watching the game with fellow football (the one which they play with their feet kicking the ball, not the other one which they run around holding the ball with their hands and stop every few seconds) lovers at the block party on giant screens with a few brews in the hands, until we arrived.

As we were approaching the block where MisConduct and Fado are located, we could see the street was already jam packed with people. There were just heads and bodies as far as the eyes could see and it was so packed that nobody was even moving within the crowd. We noticed the long line of people still trying hoping to get in and decided that there would be no game for Aiiyah and Tourist Tree at this block party. I was surprised to see so many in Philly were into watching a non-traditional spectator sport in the US. May be soccer is finally getting a foot hold in this country; now all we need are the hooligans!

Plan B called for Good Dog but it was also so packed that it would not even let people in. Of all those years we have been going to Good Dog, this was the first time that we ever encountered this place having to shut the door because of over-crowding.

Varga Bar

Quick thinking down the list of places with good brews and big TV led us double-timing to Varga Bar as the kick off time was approaching fast. The bar was holding the Beer of Legend's Clone Brew Wars with home brewers trying to clone some of the famous beers like Duval, Pliny the Elder, etc. The actual beers were available on tap for comparison so patrons could vote for their favorite.

 

 

 
 

There was a nice relaxingly happy crowd at the bar for the Clone event. While some had not even a slight knowledge about soccer, a good number of people had their eyes glued to the TV as soon as the game started.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We celebrated USA’s play at the World Cup with Avery Collaboration but Not Litigation. We were introduced to this 8.72% dark Belgium ale during the Beer Week a few years ago. The beer is a collaborated blend of the Avery Salvation and the Russian River Salvation. This Salvation2 made us very happy this afternoon cheering our Team USA.

I shouldn’t but I did it. I noticed the Southern Tier Mokah still on tap. After already have drunk an ample amount of this liquid gold a few nights ago, I shouldn’t but I couldn’t refuse the temptation. You just don’t see Mokah on tap that often. When you see it, you just gotta have it!

A lot of interesting kegs went in and out of the Varga storage basement.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

As the game was winding up, a parade of people supporting LGBT rights marched past Varga.

It lasted a few blocks and was holding up the traffic but nobody seemed to mind.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

It didn’t stop people from celebrating drinking even though the game had been over for a few hours.

We walked past The Coffee Bar at the Warwick Hotel and went in for a peek. Besides the usual fares that one can expect at a coffee place, The Coffee Bar lives up to the “Bar” part of its name with a nice offering of craft beer. It even has happy hour!

Making a stop at the Rittenhouse Square Park to enjoy the fine weather with people practicing tango entertained us.

Miga

Miga bills itself as an upscale Korean restaurant with affordable and non-intimidating food.

We started with a bowl of Yuk Gae Jang, a spicy shredded beef and vegetable soup. The bowl consisted mainly of zucchini, onion, and some beef. It had good consistency with a flavorful broth but was lacking in spiciness that would make this dish stand out. It might be a good introduction to Korean food for the plain food crowd but definitely a disappointment when it came to authenticity.



 

Bibimbop
 
Assortment of vegetables over rice with a sprinkle of seaweed and several strips of “fried egg” which were basically strips of thin omelet. It tasted OK after some gochujang (hot bean paste) was added to it.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dol Sot Bibimbop

It was pretty much the above dish except served with eel and in a hot sizzling stone bowl. The dol sot bibimbop is one of Tourist Tree’s favorite Korean dishes. The trick of a good dol sot bibimbop is the super hot sizzling stone bowl which cooks the raw egg and crisps the rice when you mix everything together in the bowl. Miga got the hot sizzling part right but putting strips of cooked egg in the bowl instead of a raw egg was like putting ketchup on a pizza. On the plus side, the finely diced eel pieces were tender and tasty even they were very much lacking in quantity.

We visited Miga shortly after it opened last year and again a few months later. After both visits, we came back with the same impression that the place was still a work in progress. At least something is consistent. We still found the staff unfocused, not well-informed, and the service was amateur at best. We once asked our waitress what a particular dish on the menu was like. She replied, “I don’t know.., we don’t get to taste the food here…” (At least she was honest!) I welcome a restaurant serving ethnic food in a more upscale environment; however, I have a problem with a place “dumbing down” the food thinking that it will appeal to more people. We found the food during our initial visits acceptable and were looking forward to the kitchen getting its grove to start cranking out tasty Korean treats. Unfortunately, the owner has decided to dial down its food (and its spiciness) and has gone the opposite direction. Dumbing down doesn’t make your food approachable, cooking with quality and from the heart does. The best Miga had to offer was still the banchen (side dishes) which I would consider as more interesting than some of the more authentic places in the Korean neighbor by 5th Street.

Dumbing down the food and not hiring good help or giving your staff good training (a table away from us was not bused promptly after the party had left leaving empty dishes and glasses on the table for over 20 minutes or a hostess asking us if we were there for the BBQ then took us to a table without a BBQ grill after we had told her yes) was just … dumb!



Day Ten Beer Tally:
 
Avery Collaboration but not litigation
Southern Tier Mokah