Local 44
Wednesday 3/23/2011
I've been to Local 44 before, once or twice, but it was recommended to me because there are three different types of mac n' cheese on the menu. As usual, I called a couple days before and gave them the heads up of our gathering. They were open to the idea but, didn't tell me we wouldn't be seated if we all weren't there. It took seven members showing up and clogging the small space for them to move faster with getting a table ready. We were seated around 7:15 with seven people, then nine, ten, eleven, and finally, twelve! Twelve people crammed between a booth of eight and four squeezed around a table.
Everyone ordered many, many different things from mac n' cheese, salads, cheesy blasters, and hot wings. I ordered two different mac n' cheeses, TWO! I was double fisting mac n' cheese. I ordered the cheesy mac (vegetarian) and the mac provencal (vegan), the third kind on the menu is chili mac (I don't eat meat), I believe they all come with a side salad. Right, I'm going to be real honest. I wasn't particularly fond of either kind. I mean, they were good but, not great. I'm on the prowl for great mac n' cheese. When something is called cheesy mac, I want it to be overwhelming cheesy. I want cheese strings hanging off and to curse the fact that I can't break the forkful free of cheese. This wasn't that cheesy and for something to be called cheesy mac, that's what I was expecting. The mac provencal is a whole different story. I wasn't sure what to expect at all but, I heard it was good. I do appreciate restaurants/bars/etc. that make the effort for vegetarian and vegan food. It had nice breadcrumbs with olives mixed in, sun dried tomatoes, soy mornay (fake mayo or cheese?), rosemary, and orange zest. I was not a fan! There was some taste, perhaps, the sun dried tomatoes, that was super metal tasting. I described it as, licking a 9 volt battery that still had some juice in it. Gross. I ate about half of each to give them a fair shake but, when I go back to Local 44 I may not be ordering the mac n' cheese.
Service: Our server was amazing! She was waded through 12 people ordering some sort of mac n' cheese variation in a small, very loud bar. The food came out really fast and we actually finished eating sooner than any other mac n' cheese meeting. They also were very nice about our somewhat small group growing larger and larger. I highly recommend this place for service.
The Bill: I really don't know what the bill was, over $250 but that's with a ton of food and fancy beers mixed in. This also included gratuity because we were a large party but, I think we tipped our server more! My bill was probably around $23 for a beer and two orders of mac n' cheese.
Society members present:
Troy
Steve
Megan
Marybeth
Jen
Vivian
Maureen
Me (Michelle)
Lindsey
Danny
Deb
Natalie
Their reviews will be added shortly...seriously, there's a lot and I'm nursing an awesome face sun burn from the Phillies game so, being tired is winning over blog writing.
Local 44
4333 Spruce Street
Phila., PA 19104
215-222-BEER
