Beer Week: Hill Farmstead at Eulogy Belgian Tavern

Friday night was the official opening of Philly Beer Week, so we hit up beer haven Eulogy Belgian Tavern to meet Nick and Theo from The Food Experiments and hosts of today's Philadelphia Cheese Experiment. Eulogy featured Hill Farmstead, a brewery in Vermont, where it just so happens that Nick's brother works.

(Philadelphia Cheese Experiment is 12pm - 4pm today at the World Cafe Live, and you can just pay at the door. It's $15 and includes tastes of all the cheese dishes in competition plus one beer from Brooklyn Brewery. We. are. pumped.)

Most of Hill Farmstead's beers were quite hoppy, with two double IPAs on tap called Abner and Ephraim, and one single, the Double Citra. Eulogy also offered the Earl, a hoppy coffee stout, and Florence ("Flora"), a Belgian white. There were a few others we didn't try. Fun fact: the beer names all come from the brewer's grandparents, great uncles and other ancestors. Nice touch.

Flora was the favorite because it was by far the lightest and easiest to drink. Very much like a Saison. The rest seemed great for hops fans, but we weren't feeling too hoppy that night.

Of the hoppy beers, I'd go with Earl. I am normally afraid of beers with the word "coffee" in the description but I actually didn't read it closely this time. The bartender recommended it as somewhat lighter than the other IPAs. Agreed, Earl was the most drinkable for a non-IPA girl.


It was mostly just a fun night to get to know the guys behind The Food Experiments better, as they are very chill and easy to talk to about pretty much anything under the sun. One thing about Eulogy though, is that it's just too damn small. It's known for its extensive, high quality beer selection, but if you don't get a seat it is very awkward to stand and try to have a conversation with more than one person and not get bumped around. Best spot to stand is downstairs near the entrance where there is a little more room to breath and you can stalk down a small bar table. Or make a reservation and eat there too - the food is very good and at least you get a seat.

It isn't much wider than you see here, and less so upstairs.

Brunch at FARMiCiA

A few weeks I read Craig Laban's review of Green Eggs Cafe.  We haven't been to Green Eggs although will plan to do so at some point.  But, the idea of brunch on Easter Sunday sounded like a great idea!  We've heard good things about the brunch at FARMiCiA so off we went.

It was a beautiful morning so we were hoping that we might get a seat outside.  No luck though as others likely had the same idea. Kicking us while we were down, we were seated in the far back, right corner of the restaurant, which was very disappointing since we had made reservations and it was not overly crowded yet.  It also took about ten minutes for the waiter to even say hello.  We were not in a rush, but were anxiously waiting some mimosas. Brunch was off to a rough start, but quickly changed direction (even though the service stayed sub-par).

 We started off with the mimosas and I ordered coffee, which were both quite good. Kristy ordered the quesadilla, which is really a breakfast burrito.  It was huge and is stuffed with eggs, cheese, potatoes and chorizo.  I thought it could have a bit more punch to it, but it was quite good and Kristy enjoyed.  She was able to eat about half and took the rest home. 

I had a omelet and one pancake.  I went for the goat cheese and herbs omelet.  It was good, but I now know that I'd rather have cheddar and bacon omelettes.  The pancake was the best part.  Light and fluffy with a touch of sweetness.  If/when we go back I'd go with the pancakes or try the french toast.  

Verdict.  We would both suggest for brunch and trust the service issues were an anomaly rather than the norm.  I would like to go back for dinner since I like supporting and trying places that support  local farmers/producers.   

The best brunch place we've been to is still Honey's by a long shot, but I am excited about the growing brunch scene in Philly.  Brunch is not something we do every week, but it is the perfect event to casually meet up with some friends or family.