Old Eagle Tavern

2008-07-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

With its cream-colored stucco exterior and old school wooden sign, Manayunk’s Old Eagle Tavern, located at the corner of Markle and Terrace Streets, looks like your typical Philadelphia neighborhood bar. The only thing that might belie that first impression are the neon beer signs in the windows advertising Tröegs and Victory instead of the usual Miller and Budweiser. Push your way inside and you will indeed find an atmosphere reminiscent of the corner bar – dim lighting, dark wood paneling, the requisite game machine shoved against the wall. And, of course, the locals, t-shirted construction workers and retired postal employees, nursing their bottles of Coors while discussing the latest Eagle’s game. But you will also find some things you wouldn’t expect – ten beers on draft, including great locals from Yards, Philadelphia Brewing Company and Tröegs, far flung favorites from California to New England, and any number of Belgians. You will also see, interspersed among the local crowd, college students and young professionals, some from the area, but many non-locals as well, drawn here by the Old Eagle’s growing reputation not only for great beer, but excellent grub as well.The menu changes often, but on a recent visit, it boasted Thai style chicken wings, eggplant and mozzarella pizza, and Carolina pulled pork.

A major factor in the success of Old Eagle Tavern is owner Erin Wallace. Originally from Baltimore, she moved to Philadelphia to attend Moore College of Art where she majored in fine arts. To help make ends meet while in college, she got a job waitressing at the nearby Cherry Street Tavern. It’s there that she began to develop her taste for fine beer.“They always had something on tap from Flying Fish or Yards. Then I started going to places like Monks and Fergies, always trying new things.” This budding interest was cemented a few years later on a trip to Austria, where she not only became acquainted with excellent local beers, but also with the traditions of pairing good beer with good food. Shortly after that, Erin got her chance to apply her new passion and her natural creative talents on a new venture: the Old Eagle Tavern.

But the Old Eagle Tavern was not an overnight success. When she and her partner purchased the business a little over five years ago, it was in bad shape. The kitchen was kaput, and rebuilding it turned out to be a three month project. When it finally was in working order, they decided to play it safe and serve a menu in keeping with the expectations of the clientèle they had inherited from the previous owners – chicken wings, cheese steaks, fries. You get the idea.

The same cautious attitude was also applied to the beer selection, their first row of taps pouring established favorites such as Coor’s Light, Bud, and Yuengling.

Gradually, however, Erin began to sneak in other beers like Yards ESA and Hoegaarden. The regulars were not impressed. “You’ll never sell that stuff” they scoffed. But over time beer sales started to go up, and encouraged, she began to add more exotic stuff like Grotten and Duchess de Bourgogne. Old Eagle was beginning to get a reputation as a beer destination.

Sales were not going so well with the food, however, and Erin decided to do something about it. “I thought, why would you go to Old Eagle Tavern for a roast beef sandwich when there are already so many other places to get one in the neighborhood. Then I thought, what kind of menu would I like to choose from.” This thought process lead her and her partner to Colin Thompson, then chef at Eulogy Tavern in Old City. He came to work for them, and in the process took Erin’s already well formed knowledge of fine food and beer, and how to put them together, to the next level. “I was always asking him about pairing various tastes. What goes together; what doesn’t. I learned so much.” Colin's influence is still very much in evidence -- not only in the daily menus, but also in the special beer and food dinners the bar holds on a regular basis.

The greatest measure of success for Old Eagle Tavern is probably not in its reputation for food and beer, however, but in how it is able to mesh the cultures of old and new Manayunk together so harmoniously. On any given night (but especially during Friday night happy hours) the two worlds collide amicably in the best way possible – over good food and beer. Yes, some of the old regulars complain that their standbys are no longer available on draft, but they can still get them in bottles. And some have even shifted allegiance. Erin loves to tell the story of one patron who developed a deep and abiding love for Yards ESB. So great was his affection that on a tour of Yards brewery he attempted to throw his arms around the fermenter that held his new favorite brew.

Devil’s Den

In April of this year Erin embarked on a new venture with Devil’s Den, located in South Philly at 11^th and Ellsworth Street. Devil’s Den is Old Eagle Tavern’s alter ego, sophisticated in appearance and boasting an extensive menu of gastropub delights. (I highly recommend the brie sandwich.) What both establishments have in common is great beer and great food, and of course, Erin’s imagination and vision.

Where and when

Old Eagle Tavern
177 Markle Street
Philadelphia Pa 19127
(At the corner of Markle and Terrace Streets)
(215) 483-5535
Google Maps

Hours
M-Th: 3pm - 2am
F-Sun: 12pm - 2am

Public Transportation

No need to drink and drive...

The Old Eagle Tavern is a short walk from SEPTA's 9, 27, and 65 buses, and a somewhat longer walk from the Wissahickon Station stop of the R6.

An introduction

2008-07-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

There are many things to recommend Philadelphia’s northwestern neighborhoods. There are the many cultural advantages such as its fine restaurants and museums; there are picturesque tree-lined streets and old gray stone mansions; and of course there is proximity to the Wissahickon, one of the country’s great city parks.

But would you have put beer on the short list?

You should. Residents of Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Roxborough, Germantown and Manayunk have easy access to many of the world’s greatest achievements in brewing. Within the confines and immediate outskirts of these neighborhoods are two, and soon to be three, brew pubs: Lafayette Hill’s General Lafayette Inn, Manayunk’s Manayunk Brewery, and later this summer, Mt. Airy’s Earth Bread + Brewery.

In addition, you can choose from a growing list of bars that boast extensive inventories of craft beer. Mt. Airy has McMenamin’s Tavern. Roxborough has the Ugly Moose. Manayunk has the Dawson Street Pub, Old Eagle Tavern, Flatrock Saloon, and Union Jacks Pub. Most of these establishments also have decent food menus, so if you are into pairing good beer with good food, you’re in luck.

Take a day’s excursion beyond the city limits, and you can encounter some of the best breweries on the planet. Go west to Downingtown and you’ll find Victory Brewing Company, home of Hop Devil, Golden Monkey, and Old Horizontal. Keep going west, and when you get to Adamstown in Lancaster County, seek out Stoudt’s Brewery. There try the Fat Dog Stout and the Scarlet Lady. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, stay on the turnpike until you get to Harrisburg, and hit Troeg’s Brewing Company, whose Mad Elf has soared to legendary status among beer geeks.

Heading north? Easton’s Weyerbacher Brewing Company was made famous by its Blithering Idiot barley wine, but my favorites are their newer bourbon barrel aged versions of some of their older brews, Heresy and Insanity.

Helping sort through the burgeoning local beer culture are two area beer writers with national reputations. Lew Bryson’s series of brewery guidebooks, including Pennsylvania Breweries, are the definitive companion for the serious beer drinking traveler. His frequently updated weblog, Seen Through a Glass, is a great source for the latest Philadelphia beer news.

Don Russell, better known as Joe Sixpack, has been writing a column on beer for the Philadelphia Daily News for over ten years. His rare talent is the ability to educate his readers on the finer aspects of a subject they thought they already knew everything about, without coming across as a snob. No other writer has had as much influence on my understanding and appreciation of beer. Check out his new book, Joe Sixpack’s Philly Beer Guide.

Beers of the Wissahickon

Old Eagle Tavern

Devil’s Den

Where and when

Public Transportation

An introduction