The Varga Bar's frequently-updated beer list
Washington Square West, as the real estate agents like to style it, is quickly becoming a legitimate craft beer outpost in Philadelphia. Joining such neighborhood notables as Tria and The Foodery is The Varga Bar (941 Spruce St.), which brings a 1940s aesthetic to the neighborhood - but with a thoroughly modern beer, food and wine selection.
The interior space is relatively small, but the open windows and sidewalk seating allow for a variety of moods - you can sit in the cozy, darker interior or take the breeze outside or by the bar (and there is a single television screen for the most deeply-afflicted 'SportsCenter' addicts). No matter the view, there is a well-chosen (if slightly oddly-presented - but more on that below) beer list on offer with a variety of taps, two hand pumps and a small selection of cans and bottles. The draft options included interesting choices from local favorites like Flying Fish and Victory as well as some harder-to-find special editions from West Coast brewers - Elysian's Loser, their hoppy tribute to Sub Pop records, was on tap, as were limited-edition brews from Rogue and Stone. The bottled selection was small, but kept rigorously up-to-date; the just-released Flying Fish Exit 4 was among the offerings. The canned options seemed more of a fedora-tip to the hipsters invading the area - just the basic PBR and similarly oddly-trendy macros.
Perhaps as an introduction to better beer for those still opting for the light lagers, the beer menu is divided into four large sections - session golden, strong golden, session dark and strong dark. It's no doubt a reasonably-accommodating system for most commercially-available beers (even if your hardcore beer fans will find it wildly oversimplified), but the larger issue was that few of the 'session' beers seemed to truly be 'sessionable' - one of those tagged as a 'session dark,' the Rogue Glen, is 8.2% - hardly a true session beer, but it's a small quibble over what is on the whole a thoughtfully-designed menu.
The Varga Bar's food deserves a mention as well - it was no accident that their burger recently made the list of 'notable burgers' in Philadelphia, for it certainly deserves that accolade. Even without the full complement of toppings featured for its close-up in that article, it is truly an outstanding burger that would be worth the trip on its own - the fact that it is available alongside such wonderful beer options makes it a must-have.
Rating: 4 out of 5 pints
For more: The Varga Bar, 941 Spruce St., 215-627-5200
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