Taps Pub • Cedar Park
Taps Pub • Cedar Park
By Tiffany Young Friday, 19 June 2009
When I walked into Taps Pub, the first thing I noticed was how open and welcoming it is. Taps has a variety of seating options, with a patio as well as tables, a long bar and a few leather chairs. Taps is a traditional pub, serving only beer and wine. It is also kid-friendly, with a menu for those 12 and younger.
The wait staff was attentive and checked in on guests frequently. Customers who looked like regulars milled about, and after a while, it became apparent that they knew the staff and other frequent customers.
One customer, Ed Perry, said he comes to Taps every day with his daughter to hang out on the patio with friends.
“It’s a friendly pub where everybody knows everybody and watches out for everybody else,” Perry said.
Seeing that I ordered the Philly cheese steak ($8), Perry let me know that it’s the best sandwich in the place, and he was right: it is pretty darn good. It was made just like they do in Philadelphia, with cheese whiz on top, and reminded me of a summer a few years back when I walked several miles in the rain to try, what I was told by the Food Network Channel, were the two best cheese steaks in all of Philadelphia.
Taps cheese steak sandwich rivals Pat’s King of Steaks, often credited with inventing the cheese steak in 1933, and Geno’s, Pat’s rival across the street in the City of Brotherly Love. Tap’s cheese steak comes with grilled onions and bell peppers and a side of waffle fries or tater tots.
Most of the appetizers at Taps are fried, and we chose jalapeño bottle caps ($5), which are jalapeños sliced, battered, fried and served with ranch dressing. But our favorite pre-dish was the fried cheese curds ($6), which taste like mozzarella sticks. The small balls of cheese are battered, fried and served with marinara.
We also ordered fish and chips. The chips — or french fries as they’re known on this side of the pond — did not look appetizing, looking burnt at first glance. But at first bite, our assessment changed quickly. They were crunchy and delicious.
We also tried a beer flight ($5 each) — 4 oz. samples of four different kinds of beers. The samplers came in four predetermined versions: Central Texas, West Coast, UK/Ireland and Pale Ale/Pilsner. Patrons can also choose to mix and match a flight from the assortment of beers available.
For beer connoisseurs, there are more than 50 bottled beers and 30 on tap, making the pub’s name fit the bill.
Daily specials
- Munchie Mondays — $2 off appetizers all day
- Teacher Tuesdays — “Are You Smarter Than a Bartender?” trivia night 8 p.m.; Teachers with ID get half off appetizers and $1 off wine by the glass
- Hog Wing Wednesdays — $5 Hog Wing baskets from 6-9 p.m.; Guitar Hero night
- Thursday — Ladies Night — $7 cheese plates and $1 off wine by the glass
- Friday, Saturday and Sunday — Weekly lunch specials from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Second Wednesday of each month — Mug night — buy the featured beer and keep the glass (one glass per person, while they last)
Taps Pub, 2011 Little Elm Trail, 249-9340, www.tapspub.com
- Mon.-Thu., noon-midnight
- Fri.-Sun., 11 a.m.-midnight
