Chickie's & Pete's Visited (Revisited)

Finally after weeks of trying I managed to slide into Chickie's & Pete's in Audubon.  My last C&P experience happened at the Philadelphia Airport location more than a year ago. Where that was a quick, grab some Crabfries before jumping a flight to Pittsburgh, the Audubon stop was the whole down and dirty. The perfect opportunity to dive deep into sloppy crabby goodness, house a mound of Crabfries and fully explore the extensive (smile) beer list.

Since Friday was the night of my attack all the expected negatives were in place: crowded parking lot, 40 minute wait, full bar area and a mix of loud chatter and 80's music. Not a problem. I didn't expect Sunday School surroundings. Those slight negatives were easily brushed off. What made a true impression, is for the amount of humanity swirling the service was exceptional. From the time I entered the door until I received a check the service impressed.  There has to be some crazy Chickie's & Pete's boot camp out there, whipping 20 somethings into hardcore food service shape. You'd never know the place had only been in operation for a month.  While quickly getting menus, taking orders, delivering drinks and serving, the crew remained friendly and operated  like a well tuned machine.

Great service is certainly something to fawn over but the efficiency of the wait staff wasn't the primary reason for dining out. The main focus involved food and beer. I'll start with the good news first.  Chickie's & Pete's knows what to do with little creatures from the sea. Oh holy crabs! Specifically three hard shell crabs served in a bowl of seasoned broth with a side of crusty white bread. Juicy, tender and sweet there is no way to hate the little bottom walkers. Surprisingly 3 crabs with an order of Crabfries and a salad completely wiped out my massive appetite.

However as delectable as the crabs were if you want a good beer to accompany your meal the choices are horribly limited.  In my last post (see below) I brought out the fact that Chickie's & Pete's seems to have a blind eye for craft beer. Well that's not entirely true. It's more like an eye with tunnel vision and severe cataracts. The Audubon beer list isn't that drastically different from the other locations. It's chocked full of crap macro swill with barely a sniff of good beer. A small hooray for Victory Hop Devil and the obligatory Sam Adams offerings. Really guys, only room enough for a few true craft beers? You're a Philly based restaurant group and you don't get how this town loves great beer? Sure everyone tells you your the best sports bar in America but that obviously has nothing to do with the beer you pour.  I guess I'll just have to be happy with Hop Devil along side the hard shells.  I'd certainly walk through the doors more if a few of those repetitive, same old, swill macros were pushed aside for more craft beers that would compliment what's served on the plates. Go to Chickie's & Pete's for the crabs and Crabfries. Go somewhere else for a beer.