The fine folks who brought us the Feliz restaurants have taken over a visually impressive space in Manayunk — that used to be home to Gemeilli on Main and Bisou before that — to open Beast & Ale, 4161 Main St., an all-together different animal than the previous incarnations.
The space itself has always been a draw, with a second-floor dining area offering what is going to be a damn-good view of Manayunk’s main drag, if and when they ever finish construction on whatever performance venue they have going up across the street. The Feliz restaurants have had a knack for knowing eggs-actly where to hit people in the id with comfort food, and Beast & Ale follows that logic with a menu of familiar dishes with a refined flair, as well a dizzying selection of adult beverages.
We keep bringing up eggs because there seem to be enough items on the menu upon which they are more than happy to slap a fried egg, upping the level of decadence (read: luscious, fatty, cholesterol-laden goodness), but we’ll get to that later.
Beast & Ale has a menu of dips and spreads that really shows off its flair for creating flavorful dishes. The chicken liver mousse ($8.95) was silky and rich, with pickled onions giving it a nice kick. Even better was the Greek spread ($6.95), a smoky blend of feta cheese, Greek yogurt, radishes and Serrano chiles that comes across very bold and complex.
But Beast & Ale really goes for the gusto with the more comfort-oriented dishes. The Beast Fries ($8.95) should easily be a favorite among the drinkers, as they are bathed in a beer-based cheese sauce and gravy, creating a decent regional approximation of the Canadian staple poutine. We’ll be shocked if they don’t soon figure out the merits of heaping a fried egg and crumbled bacon on top of this dish.
And speaking of the eggs …
Beast & Ale places a fried egg on lots of their menu items, from the Beast Burger ($12.95) — which is completely understandable given the multitude of options for customizing it — to the Steak ‘Poupard’ ($19.95) where it sits like a hot-sauce-speckled monarch over a kingdom of sliced beef and potato hash.
We’re not complaining. It might seem eggs-essive but it works, especially on the fried bologna sandwich ($10.95 regular, add $1.50 with egg). Everything about the sandwich sings to your inner child and your more grown-up tastes simultaneously. It’s not your mother’s bologna sandwich but underneath the refinements of Dijon mustard, bright red tomatoes, lovely salad greens and the welcome addition of a fried egg is that eternal memory of simple child culinary pleasures.
With a prime location and great comfort food, there’s no eggs-cuse for Manayunk to not embrace Beast & Ale.