Mekong Restaurant

6004 W. Broad St.
288-8929
mekongisforbeerlovers.com

Second Place: Peter Chang China Café

Third Place: Foo Dog

Owner An Bui is no underachiever, scoring voters' utter devotion not just in this category but for best beer list as well. No one's going to rave about the plain-Jane dining room or complain about the cacophony of exuberant beer drinkers when they're happily slurping pho or rolling up a spring roll because the food here is always well-executed, if occasionally can take its time arriving. Regulars don't seem to mind because it's always a party at Mekong, never more so than on Monday nights with music from Mekong Xpress and the Get Fresh Horns. Come on, what other restaurant has a house band? Also impossible not to acknowledge is the standard-setting Peter Chang China Café, where the James Beard Award finalist's scallion bubble pancake and dry-fried eggplant taught us how sublime Chinese food could be. Foo Dog takes a page from Mekong's book, marrying a lively drinking scene with street food.