It’s the start of something new at the South Philly Tap Room: New head chef Scott Schroeder, formerly of The Latest Dish, Deuce and Pontiac Grille, debuted his menu this past Friday.

After all the hullabaloo surrounding former chef Michael Zulli’s gamier inclinations (Simbagate!), Schroeder’s menu reads accessible without coming off overly simple. Wild boar tacos are a shoutout to the popular wild boar burrito they used to roll. And the burger — locally sourced grass-fed beef (Schroeder’s friends at Southwark put him on to the meat source), smoked cheddar, shaved red onion, beer mustard, side of pickles. Don’t need a million ingredients if the five you have are quality. “[SPTR] is a beer bar,” Schroeder says. “To make food that reflects that was a huge part of the influence [for the menu].”

“I definitely wanted to reflect a definite, solid change. I had Mike
Zulli’s food and I thought it was good, but it was weird to a lot of
people and seemed to alienate some,” adds Schroeder of his predecessor, whom SPTR owner John Longacre believes has relocated to New York.

Schroeder plans on adding rotating specials to the menu in about three week’s time — expect ceviches, homemade sausages and Mexican grub inspired by the Tap Room’s espanol-speaking cocina staff. The lunch menu is currently the same as dinner, but Schroeder says they’ll tweak it a bit. Also on the horizon: An overhaul of SPTR’s brunch menu to include dishes like biscuits and gravy and Belgian waffles (they’re on the hunt for a good iron and a great batter recipe).

Full menu after the jump.

APPETIZERS

Tomato lager soup 6
mini grilled cheese sandwiches (vegetarian)

Homemade herb flatbread 8
hummus, roasted peppers, cucumbers and olives (vegan)

Southern fried chicken wings 8
collard greens, tabasco and blue cheese dip

Wild boar tacos 9
guacamole

Dry rubbed rib eye cheesesteak sliders (2) 10

Seafood spring rolls 12
shrimp, scallops and crab w/ plum sauce and spicy mustard

SALADS

Grilled caesar 8
marinated tomatoes, olives and cucumbers w/ warm garlic bread

Roasted beets and watercress 8
lemon goat cheese ranch (vegetarian/can be vegan)

Baby spinach 8
candied walnuts, blue cheese and pomegranate vinaigrette (vegetarian/can be vegan)

Classic chopped salad 10
avocado, red onion, tomatoes, hard boiled egg and a choice of red wine vinaigrette
or buttermilk blue cheese (vegetarian/ can be vegan)

SANDWICHES

3 Cheese Grilled Cheese 9
cup of tomato lager soup (vegetarian)

Roasted Pork 9
provolone cheese, charred long hots and pork jus

Vegan Hoagie 10
grilled tempeh, marinated mushrooms and tofu mayo (vegan)

100% Local Grass-fed Beef Cheeseburger 10
smoked cheddar, shaved red onion, beer mustard and a side of pickles

Stout Braised Brisket 12
horseradish cheddar cheese on an onion roll

ENTREES

Smoked Mushroom and Black Bean Chili 12
oyster crackers and green onions (vegan)

My Mom’s Meatloaf 13
macaroni and cheese and homemade ketchup

Eggplant Parm 13
garlic spinach, fresh mozzarella and spicy tomato sauce (vegetarian)

Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast 16
buttered noodles and spinach

Fish and Chips 16
beer battered monkfish, fries, cole slaw and old bay tartar sauce

Steak and Fries 18
herb marinated hanger steak with homemade steak sauce

SIDES 4

Mac and cheese

Steak fries

Buttered noodles

Italian pasta salad

Spinach

Side salad

Pickles 3

DESSERTS 6

Apple pie w/ vanilla ice cream

Campfire Smores

Pumpkin cheesecake w/ cranberry sauce

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Food News, Menu Time. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.