Printz at the Tap

Groveland Tap is one of my favorite St. Paul neighborhood bars. “The Tap” as most people call it is located at 1834 St Clair Avenue in the Mac Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul. There are a few tables outside for patio dining but most of the action happens in the bar. The ambience is very much like you would expect at a neighborhood “Tap” with lived in wood booths mixed with tables with vinyl bar stools. Craig, the manager of this fine establishment, maintains a jolly atmosphere – you’ll always walk away with a smile! Craig knows my family by name as well as most of the cheerful neighborhood regulars.

The “Tap” is the kind of place you can do a football draft with buddies or visit after a neighborhood play date with the kids. I used to love watching the TV show “Cheers”. On “Cheers” when Norm would come into the bar the patrons of the bar would yell “Norm” well… this could really happen at the “Tap” and I am always keeping an ear peeled for someone to yell, “Stephanie.”

The Tap is owned by the Blue Plate Restaurant Group. Blue Plate owns the Highland Grill, Longfellow Grill, Edina Grill, Scusi, Three Squares Restaurant their newest spot, The Lowry, in Uptown. These folks know their way around a neighborhood bar. The “Tap” is full of, you guessed it… beer taps – over at the bar and they also have a cask beer selection every day as well as tons of bottled beers. I have been introduced to some of my favorite beers at the “Tap” including Surly Furious, Fulton’s Lonely Blonde and my new favorite summer beer called Magic Hat Number Nine that is hoppy and citrusy with hints of grapefruit.

The menu at The “Tap” is primarily bar food but don’t let that fool you – this is good bar food. Most of the menu items are twisted just a bit to give you something that has been turned up a notch. Beer battered cheese curds, onion rings, and poutine made with the famous Ellsworth Wisconsin Cheese Curds smothered in gravy, deep fried pickles, and mac N Cheese balls are all apps to get you started. The dinner salad is a perfect example of how they twist it. You get served a half of a head of romaine lettuce with crisp bacon bits, tomato, and peanuts with ranch dressing made with of course beer. I love this ranch dressing and could dip everything from lettuce, to wings, to the “Taps” delicious crinkle cut spicy Cajun or sweet potato fries in it.

The “Tap” is famous for its broasted chicken. You can have all you can eat broaster chicken on Sundays and on Thursdays taco night you can have a beef or chicken hard or soft shell taco for $2.50 with all the fixings. Taco night is a big neighborhood favorite for both wee ones, college kids and culinarians.

My favorite thing to order at the the “Tap” is a burger and they have a ton of them. When you order a burger at the” Tap” you can choose from the beef, turkey, chicken or fish or veggie burger. I have had all the burgers and they are all delicious. The beef at The Tap is hand pattied and you can choose from the juicy lucy, the Cajun lucy with jalapenos and pepper jack cheese or the mushroom Swiss burger. My favorite beef burger is the Cajun Lucy which is spicy but beefy. I love the way the cheese oozes out of the burger on your first bite and the bun is moist and yeasty. The Turkey Burger is what I eat most when I am at the “Tap”; a burger made with ground turkey, green onions, nuts and spices and poblano pesto that really makes the sandwich. Lastly, there is the fish burger which is a fish cake served alongside a remoulade, and the chicken burger which is ground chicken with roasted apple, smoked gouda cheese and basil mayo. All these burgers elevate the “Tap” to a bit more than your neighborhood bar from a food standpoint but the atmosphere and the coziness will always say neighborhood to me.