Murph’s Bar Rocks With Deliciousness in Fishtown !

"Free is sure delicious!" Harry Howe uttered through a mouthful of food and a very satisfied grin.

Harry, who works at Bernard's Signs in Old Kensington, is a regular at Murph's Bar.  Even the other regulars call him "a fixture".  It was our first time at Murph's, and we had just met Harry who was sitting at the long bar partaking in the free food being served that night. We chatted with Harry about the old days in Fishtown as we watched him eat the most delicious looking vegetarian dish made with baked eggplant patties, layered several times over with fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, spinach, and drizzled with a mouthwatering balsamic and honey reduction.

Then Mike Engler stole our attention by graciously offering us some of his crispy baked french fries, lightly seasoned with Old Bay and insanely delicious. Who can say no to guilt-free fries?  Mike is a professional Horse and Carriage Rider for the stable in Northern Liberties.  He was filmed and televised on the Dr. Phil Show as the romantic rider for the Marriage Carriage episode.  We were thrilled to be sharing fries with someone so famous.  We were starting to get very hungry watching everyone enjoying the new food selections that will be served now every day at Murph's.  Beth Colfer, a very hip and pretty bartender,  who has been working the Wednesday night crowd at Murph's for years, told us that people were so excited for the new menu. She  waived us over to taste a slice of the shrimp scampi pizza where we met the one and only "Black-out Sundays" bartender Kevin Bonner. Apparently, Sundays with bartender Kevin are so much fun, you might not remember! Kevin was digging an ice cold beer on tap and his favorite, the Beef Brisket sandwich that melts in your mouth.  We hear that the 22-hour roasted pork sandwiches on homemade rolls are darn tasty, too.

We had never been to Murph's Bar, located in Fishtown on 220 E Girard Ave, but we heard the news about the new goings on and popped by for the specific purpose of sampling some of the new bar food menu that Chef Charlie Philips was cooking up.  Charlie, with a classical French and Italian background, an executive chef for the last 17 years, is a trained pastry chef and he definitely knows his way around a kitchen.  As rumor has it, the owner Greg Walton, simply woke up one day and decided to toss the greasy old fryer (nicknamed heart attack) in exchange for a state of the art cooking facility, a trained cook staff, and a variety of scrumptious comfort foods that are lean on the wallet and the waist.  Brilliant! The full menu started this past Friday and includes lunch and dinner, specialized vegetarian dishes, gourmet salads and super fresh rolls which are all baked daily.

There is a lot more on the menu but if you want to know more, go stop by for a taste and a beer.  Maybe you'll be lucky like us and meet some of the cool regulars, a fixture or two, or even someone famous! That is, if you can you take your eyes off of your plate for a second!!  If you go on Wednesday, it is piano bar night and the weekends have live entertainment.  I know one thing is for sure - we will be going to Murph's Bar more often, both to hang out and to enjoy a delicious meal!

This article was first published in the Spirit newspaper.