RESURRECTION

It's Philly Beer Week! I'm not that hip so while I have been following the beer happenings about town, I haven't actually visited too many of them events. Last Friday, though, as Beer Week events were kicking off all over this great city, Soopah and I finally made our way to Resurrection Ale House near the Naval Square condo complex.

Resurrection Ale House may (RAH!) be somewhat out of the way for those that don't live that Grays Ferry neighborhood, but other than the fact that they are a locally well-recognized craft beer bar, RAH recently got national acclaim for its Twice-Fried Chicken from Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appétit!!! Kudos of Bon Appetit caliber? YAY! Fried Chicken DOUBLE YAY!! Green Flash Brewing Company Beer Week Specials YAYAYAY!!!

And HELL YES, it was worth it. Worth schlepping to Grays Ferry AND worth walking from the parked car in 100% humidity.

:: Resurrection Ale House ::
address: 2425 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philly
what we ate: IPAs, tomato bread, pork belly sandwich, fried chicken
First of all, I really loved the decor at RAH! I would guess that they converted one of the larger corner homes and it is split level on the first floor, with dark wood and pale green color detailing.

BEERS
This girl loves me some beers - especially IPAs - and the hoppier the better. I found that the Green Flash beers were quite enjoyable. After tasting both the Imperial and West Coast IPAs, we loooooved the West Coast. The Imperial, while hoppy and intense, had aromas from the Summit and Nugget hops that were maybe too strong for us (being the amateur IPA quaffers that we are). The West Coast was apparently a winner of Gold and Silver medals for the Best American-Style Amber/Red in 2008 and 2007. According to the website, it includes "Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma" and it is AWESOME. Dogfish and Flying Dog are still my brewers of choice, but this was great.

Pan con Tomate: grilled homemade bread + tomato + manchego + sweet chorizo
We started with the very rustic bruschetta-like pan con tomate. Yummers. Pizza-like! Sort of. For me, the shredded manchego cheese was the best part. I don't know what it is about manchego, but it makes every dish taste so much better. I'm pretty sure this grilled bread and tomato concoction would have been pretty forgettable without it.

The sweet chorizo was definitely an interesting addition and added a yummy contrast to the tart tomatoes and greens. Not a tastebud blower, but tasty and well executed.

Hoisin Braised Pork Belly: ginger + radish + spring onion
The thick cut of pork belly came resting on top of a soft delicious ciabatta bread, topped with thin slices of radish and spring onions. Everything was so soft and tender and juicy delicious. I did wish there was a teeny bit more hoisin sauce to add that tangy-ness to the sandwich, but overall it was wonderful.

The hand cut fries were just okay. Unfortunately, they lacked the crispy crunchiness that makes fries so addicting and delectable. They did come with a very cool dipping sauce, though - it was a mix of ketchup, mayo and curry powder.... very memorable, very interesting and I liked it so much that I kept eating more of the "just-okay" fries to keep tasting the flavor. I don't think that it went particularly well with the Pork Belly sandwich itself, but it didn't detract from it.

and........... for the STAR......

Twice Fried Chicken: drizzled with spiced honey + served with warm German-style potato salad
Aside from the obvious raving about the flavors and textures that will commence, I want to say that at $11, for 2 pieces of fried chicken thighs, this is really a great deal. The skin is soooo unbelievably crispy, but very thin and not overwhelming at all. It's like the perfect ratio of batter to meat and because it's dark meat, it's super flavorful on the inside as well as out.

Man, I really wish the picture did this dish better justice, for this I apologize. The spicy drizzled honey added a little sweet kick that worked so well with the chicken.

The German-style potato salad was really like chunky mashed potatoes that had a very tart flavor to them. Our friend  Chau had said he really enjoyed them, and I think maybe the next time I try, I could have a different opinion about them. The reason is, I think we weren't really ready or expecting the flavor to be quite what it was. German style potatoes apparently include tart apples and cider vinegar, which as you can imagine, adds a substantial amount of sour/tartness to them. It was so different than any other mashed potatoes I have had and even further from the more conventional idea of potato salad we had in our minds. You certainly can't say it's boring though. The pickled okra resting on top complements the flavors of the potatoes. Haha, we did not finish the potatoes or the okra, but that might have been partly due to the fact that we had filled up on an appetizer and 2 IPAs each!

I can't wait to go back to Resurrection for the Fried Chicken. I think I'd definitely try something new the next time, rather than get the Pork Belly again, but only because the menu does have several other items that look very compelling (like the Pan Roasted Duck breast with Quinoa)!

COST breakdown
As a final note, we decided that whenever possible, we'd add a copy of our tab as well. This seemed like a great place to start since it was a relatively affordable dinner. 2 entrees, 1 appetizer and 4 beers left us with a sub $50 bill (before taxes). RAH is billed as a neighborhood bar/restaurant, and I'm pleased to say that their prices really reflect that sentiment/theme.