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Walter
Staib
The City Tavern
Philadelphia, PA
City
Tavern Chef-Proprietor Walter Staib is a believer in beer. As a German-trained
chef with more than 40 years experience, he features beer in the kitchen
often - especially during Philadelphia's chilly autumn and winter.
Walter Staib began his culinary experience in 1960 as an apprentice
at the Hotel Post, a five-star hotel nestled in the Black Forest in
Nagold, Germany. All ingredients are grown or raised on the premises,
as the hotel has its own orchards, root cellar, gardens, etc.
Walter
Staib makes many references to the Hotel Post in the recent City Tavern
cookbook, as the same type of freshness of ingredients and preparation
applies to the recreation of 18th century dishes at the historic City
Tavern in Philadelphia.
His
interest in history led him to research George Washington's recipe
for "small beer," which became the basis for the Yards Brewery's
contract brew for the City Tavern. The 1774 Beer is based on a recipe
from Thomas Jefferson, also a homebrewer at Monticello, with the help
of a British brewer who visited him twice a year for that purpose.
I
first met Staib when he worked with OMNI Hotels as Senior Vice President
of Food & Beverage Operations. He supported having a variety of styles
of beer represented in OMNI hotel bars at a time when most hotels
simply tapped mass-market lagers. By 1989, his entrepreneurial spirit
led to the creation of Concepts By Staib, Ltd., a hospitality consulting
firm with an emphasis on turnkey restaurant concept development.The
City Tavern was the first venture he opened, though Staib continues
to consult with other restaurants and hotels.
Among
the recipes in the City Tavern Cookbook featuring beer as an ingredient
are the Ale-Braised
Mallard Duck Sausages and Pork
Medallions with Oatmeal Stout. Both are reminiscent of the hearty
German fare that Staib grew up with.
City Tavern
138 South 2nd Street
Philadelphia
(215) 413-1443
www.citytavern.com
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