The early online buzz that tagged the Memphis as yet another "yuppie" bar rankled Hartranft. After all, he has worked 70 hours a week with his partners and wife, Leigh Maida, to transform an aging shot-and-a-beer hall that once hosted wet-T-shirt contests into an ambitious bar and neighborhood restaurant where hipster families now flock to brunch. Yes, the chef, Jesse Kimball, used to work at tony Center City spots like Matyson and Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, bringing plenty of "gastro" pedigree to this corner pub. Yes, the Italian scooters and messenger bikes parked out front have "urban gentrification" written all over them.
But the Memphis' menu of updated bar food is impressively affordable and varied, topping out at $15 for a lamb-chop special, with prices that actually compete with the nearby Applebee's. There's a worthy nod to the neighborhood's Polish tradition with the Port Richmond platter, a plate of awesomely smoked kielbasa from Czerw's on Tilton Street, cheesy pierogis, kraut, and a potato pancake. And there's also plenty to draw the area's young new residents, with a focus on local ingredients drawn from urban farm pioneer Greensgrow, just down the street, and a vegan sous chef in the kitchen, Rob Notowitz, turning out homemade seitan barbecue sandwiches and smoked walnut gravy with biscuits for brunch.
And while there is generally no dumbing down the beer list, which stretches from California (Lost Abbey Inferno) to Belgium (Petrus sour ale), Hartranft has chosen to let the quality brews do their own talking to all comers, without an ounce of added condescension. A native of Lawncrest in the Northeast, he says he understands and respects the value of this old industrial neighborhood's blue-collar dollars.
"Those guys are very discerning where they spend it," he said. "But once they do, they are loyal."
