Monks vs. Teresa's Next Door Bar

Monk's Cafe is the go-to beer bar in Philly.  It's literally listed on any tourist pamphlet you find in the city.  It's a true Philadelphia establishment, not some tourist gimmick for sucker tourists looking for Colonials serving Coors light or Ben Franklin serving roast duck.  It's one of the most popular beer bars in the country, and one could argue its the bar that inspired a new wave of bars serving top of the line and hard to find brews.  Despite its tourist-y  amount of exposure, Monk's is one hell of a bar and it gets my HIGHEST Recommendation.

That is until I went to Teresa's Next Door Bar in Wayne.  This little hole in the wall (I only say that because there is barely a front sign to the restaurant) in Wayne PA is pound for pound as good as Monk's is.  Let's see how the two bars break down.

Food:   EDGE-Monks

This is actually the toughest category to judge because they both offer such great food options.  Part of what makes these places so great as that the food isn't just your normal everyday bar food to sop up the copious amounts of beer you will drink, but that the food really stands on its own. 
Both bars offer mussels.  Monks offers them in a large (3-4 people) and small size (1-2) people, while Teresa's just has one size thats good enough for two.  The mussels are excellent all around.  Both restaurants offer mussels with a white wine and garlic sauce as well as other more adventurous choices.  Teresa's Dirty Mussels feature bacon, red onion, bleu cheese and white beer.  The sharp bleu cheese adds a strong punch with the mild white beer substituting for wine.  Monks does several other varieties of mussels, my favorite being the Red Light Mussels with chile de arbol, chervil and garlic.
Teresa's also offers up a classy selection of sandwiches and entrees that are all very good. However, Monks arguably has the best burgers in town, next to maybe Moriarty's Pub.  It's these burgers that gives Monks a slight edge.  The burgers are all offered in ground beef, grilled chicken, tuna steaks and veggie style.  My favorite hands down has to be their Ardennes Burger, with Ardennes-style ham and Belgian cheese.

Beer: EDGE-Teresa's

Ok there may be some naysayers here, but hear me out.  The Monks draft list is incredible, except that you will often find many of the beers you wish to try are already kicked.  This leaves you with some secondary options or the standard Chimay or Monk's Flemish Sour that's always offered.  Recently I went and was expecting a Jolly Pumpkin, as they had three kinds on tap.  When I got there they were all gone, and I was left with only a few options.  I asked for a Petrus Pale Ale next, and that too had just kicked.  I ended up getting the Russian River Bling Pig IPA, that was listed on their draft menu as arriving soon. 
Teresa's has an always changing draft beer menu, just like Monks but unlike Monks does a cool little thing if you go on Tuesdays.  They have a Tasty Tuesday menu where they pair entrees and appetizers that are specials for the day with a complementing beer for a good price.  They always have a good selection of drafts and their menu is well detailed and gives great explanations of how each beer tastes.
The bottle selection is probably bigger at Monks, but the overall presentation of the beer menu is disorganized.  Teresa's lists all their bottles by country and features a beer encyclopedia for beer newbs who wonder that the hell a Saison is.

Atmosphere: EDGE-Teresas

Anyone who's been inside Monks knows that it's like a cave in there.  When it gets busy its hard to hear or see anyone at your table.  Teresas has a cozy feel, with a long row of bench seating and a few tables with a long bar set-up.  The music is always played at a good volume, and there's plenty of interesting beer posters on the walls to check out.

Service and Price: EDGE-Teresas

The nice thing about going to either one of these bars is how knowedgable the staff is.  You have to be when there's a beer menu that's bigger than the food menu.  The nature of Teresas bar just seems more laid back and their staff is always friendly and outgoing and they know the beer list in and out.  If you ask for a recommendation they are always Johnny-on-the spot with it.  Monks often gets crowded and its hard for their staff to give the kind of attention that Teresas can.  Still, even when it isn't busy I find that the Teresas staff is friendlier than Monks hands down. 
In terms of price, Monks is mixed bag.  Many of their draft prices aren't listed on the menu, so don't be surprised if you see a $10 draft on your check somewhere.  The food is all pretty cheap for its quality, and for the price the burgers are amazing.  Teresas has several cool specials such as the Tasty Tuesday I mentioned above, but also half price cheese menu on Sundays, a decent happy hour and decently priced mussels.  The entree and sandwich prices are a bit stiff ($9 for croque monsieur aka ham sandwich?  admittedly its a pretty fucking good sandwich but still), but the beer is maybe a touch cheaper than Monks.

OVERALL EDGE:  Teresas Next Door Bar http://www.teresas-cafe.com/