The Tun Tavern intends to add such fare as beer-based onion soup, fish and chips, barbecued ribs, pulled pork and more to its menu, as well as some new home brews.
As the Atlantic City region’s first, and still only, full-scale brewpub and restaurant, the Tun Tavern has always managed to nicely incorporate those house-made beverages into its bill of fare. Brewmaster Tim Kelly elaborates on this process, saying “I’m generally here as a resource for chefs. I’m an ingredient.”
Kelly, a Marlton native with a background in physics, previously worked at Drexel University in the Department of Material Sciences. He became enamored with the home-brewing movement while attending grad school at the University of Vermont, calling that time “an incredible experience.”
The wry Kelly has been with the Tun for five years, prior to that he also worked at Cherry Hill’s highly regarded Flying Fish Brewery for two years. The Tun’s kitchen has undergone a transition over the last six months and is now under the direction of local chef Jon Clark. An Egg Harbor Township native, Clark graduated from Atlantic Cape Community College’s School of Culinary Arts in 2003 and has already completed stints working at two highly regarded facilities — Renault Winery and the Ram’s Head Inn.
The soft-spoken 28-year-old old talked candidly with us about his plans for a menu revision, adding items like beer-based onion soup, fish and chips, barbecued ribs, pulled pork and a beer mac-n-cheese in the not-too-distant future. Each would utilize Kelly’s creations, most often the Tun Lite, which Clark fancies for cooking thanks to “a sweet round flavor.”
He also hopes to rely on “more local flavor” for the food side of the operation in general. This includes both “more slow roasts and braises” and creating additional sauces from the proprietary list of beers and ales. A couple of those items appear to have already found their way onto the Tun’s menu for Atlantic City’s upcoming Restaurant Week (March 4-10).
Ribs, in the form of a half rack basted in ale-infused chipotle barbecue sauce, will be offered at dinner. Pulled pork, in a sandwich form, is among the lunch selections. In the meantime, Kelly is already well into the planning process for his next batches of seasonal brews. Coming soon to the Tun are Heffeweisssen, and unfiltered summery wheat with a slightly cloudy appearance, along with a spring/summer Maibock gold lager, possessing higher alcohol content (8-9 percent) and a “malty-sweet” essence.
Tun customers should also expect to see Kellerbier, which Kelly describes as “a lager that is not fully lagered,” and a Farmhouse IPA. In case you are wondering what exactly the acronym IPA stands for, it means India Pale Ale. The professorial Kelly explains that during the heyday of the British Empire, casked ales shipped on long sea voyages to the remotest parts of the globe — like India — required special preparation and precautions. Specifically, these ales were treated with additional hops, a natural preservative and when paired with alcohol an antimicrobial agent, to ensure their continued drinkability.
Kelly utilizes a variety of those hops — the female flowering plant top of the Humulus lupulus species — including traditional “noble” strains native to Central Europe like Saaz, Hallertau and Tettenang. From the United States, he purchases additional hops native to the Pacific Northwest, like Cascade and Simcoe. He explains that these tend to impart a more citric flavor profile.
In coordination with the annual Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival March 30-31 — dubbed the “Celebration of the Suds” — the Tun will be offering one home brewer the opportunity of a lifetime. The winner of a competition judged during the event will be given the chance to have their beer or ale professionally brewed by Kelly on premise at the Tun (last year’s winners, two members of a local organization called the Barely Legal Homebrewers authored Belgian Tripel, a strong pale ale).
Clark also has something special planned, the installation of a smoker outside building, planned to make its debut on May 19. He even hopes to employ the decorative oak casks — originally used for aging rum and currently scattered throughout the restaurant — as fuel for that new device.
Tun Tavern
Where: 2 Convention Boulevard, Atlantic City
Phone: 347-7800 Web: tuntavern.com
Check out the Tun’s new menu items
Ventnor’s new Salt Ayre restaurant marks a return of sorts for the well established LoBianco restaurant family. The storefront, located at 7309 Ventnor Ave. near the Margate border, was the site of Nick LoBianco’s original entry in the Jersey shore restaurant industry from 2003 until ’06.
Plus the Tun Tavern's Pumpkin Spice Lager, Bad Religion and 'Dracula' at the Stockton PAC
Dozens of Atlantic City area restaurants are going back to the Roaring '20s, offering vintage fun and deals, including a $19.20 menu special, in connection to the weeks and days leading up to the debut of 'Boardwalk Empire'.
Atlantic City brings back a fun fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on Thursday, June 24.
To understand The Tun’s relevance, one must recall the Atlantic City that existed in the late 1990s. The Convention Center and rail line, crucial elements to accommodate the critical mass of traffic flow required for us to compete in the hospitality industry’s big leagues, were just becoming a reality.
For a city that is literally open around the clock, food becomes the final, essential element of the late/all-night scene. This week, we cast our beacon on a few of those places offering quality eats well into those wee hours of the morning.
A brewhouse in Philadelphia became known not just for the finest beer in the city -- a reputation gained by being built over and utilizing an underground artesian well -- but also for having been the...
Name: Tun Tavern Restaurant & Brewery Address: Two Miss America Way, Atlantic City. 347-7800. www.tuntavern.com. Menu: As it's a restaurant besides a bar, it has a very extensive menu, including appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, steaks, seafood, sides and desserts. On Tap: The Tun is the only brewery in Atlantic City. Their own handcrafted beers include Tun Light, a golden ale; Irish Red, crimson ale; Devil Dog Pale Ale, English-style pale ale; Bullies Brown Ale, an American brown ale; Leather-Neck Stout, a robust stout; All American I.P.A., American India Pale Ale; Freedom Ale, Barleywine style ale; and Tunfest Lager, a German Octoberfest lager. Plenty of bottled beers, too. There's also an apricot fruit beer; Black & Tan, a mixture of stout and pale ale; Woodchuck Amber, a hard cider; and Snakebite, an equal mixture of Woodchuck and Tun Light. There are more than 20 wines available, an array of martinis, and the full-service bar can concoct practically any drink. History: The Tun Tavern in Philadelphia was built in 1685 near what is now Penn's Landing. It is regarded as the first brew house built in the city, and was constructed for the purpose of prompting development of the waterfront. The name...
Start with cilantro lime tequila shooters, move through crab and herb encrusted ahi tuna and top it off with mango-fused chocolate mousse. Then start all over again since that's just a brief sampling...
What's fun about the Tun? Whether you're a veteran beer drinker or a neophyte basking in beer's newfound legitimacy, this brewpub is the place to be. The Tun Tavern produces several varieties of beer...
Some facts take longer to process in the mental synapses of certain people, and it turns out that the vivacious, standing-room only crowd at the Tun Tavern last weekend was comprised of representativ...
Joseph Muldoon, the 20- something whiz kid chef installed at Bally’s elegant supper club The Reserve just over two years ago, will never be accused of taking his charges lightly.
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