Little has changed about the exterior and the concept of the Trapp Door Gastropub since its previous iteration as The Tap & Table Gastropub in Emmaus. It still feels like walking into middle Europe with its vaulted ceilings, exposed wood beams and a copper-topped bar. It's warm, rustic and cozy and lit with chandeliers resembling candles, rather than real candles. (You may remember how exceedingly dim it used to be, but those drippy candles are long gone.) Happily, the Trapp Door is still a television-free cave-like spot, with a couple of fireplaces, dark curtains and just two windows—but that only adds to the time warp that envelops you. It's easy to get lost in this place; it's like a black hole of craft beers and comfort food. “You come in here to block out the outside world,” says 36-year-old owner and Center Valley native Jennifer Funk.
Perhaps the most significant attraction is the beer. Yes, those six taps and three hand-pumped casks remain intact, along with more than 100 bottled beers and a menu prioritizing locally sourced food. And the team that runs the place, from the kitchen to the floor, is mostly the same. But how can that be?
As their regulars likely already know, in April 2011, the previous owners of The Tap and Table departed the premises abruptly, leaving the staff in the lurch, in the dark and all those other clichés. Because the restaurant world is a fairly tight-knit, generous one, Funk says that she immediately received calls from other places, including the Liberty Tavern, with offers to help find work for displaced employees. But no one really wanted to go anywhere; they felt jilted, the party was cut short.
It is still a mecca for lovers of Belgian and Belgian-styled beers...
“We loved it; it was our family,” Funk says. She notes that the previous owners were more or less absentee, leaving Funk, her fiancé Lee Reinhard, 28, and Chef Nate Thatcher, 27, to run the place. Soon, though, the landlord and staff met and he asked Funk if she ever thought about owning it or running it. “I thought, ‘no way!'” She laughs at the memory. The staff and landlord continued to talk. In a matter of weeks, Jennifer Funk, who got out of the mortgage business and into restaurants as a bartender at The Shanty in Allentown more than
a decade ago, became the owner of the Trapp Door and Reinhard became general manager.
Flash forward four years, to the month. They haven't changed much of what they're doing, except they've added a set of capable hands in the kitchen with another chef in the form of Jason Spesak, 30. Like any itinerant young chef and Valley native, Spesak went through Northampton Community College's culinary program and spent his 20s working in kitchens in the region (he and his brother Chris opened Mangos Coastal Cuisine in Allentown), and in New York and the Virgin Islands. Thatcher, who was out of town during our interview, has been with Trapp Door since before the transition of ownership. (Fun Fact: He is also the son of popular blues guitarist Craig Thatcher who comes in—sans guitar, usually—to dine.) Funk says they want to start developing the catering side of their business, which is one of the reasons they brought in Spesak in fall 2014. “Plus, he just elevates the whole place, he changes the energy and brings in a new perspective,” she says.
These days, there are a few subtle differences at the Trapp Door. Any perceived beer snobbery that may have been associated with this spot disappeared with its predecessors. Its drafts and old-school hand-pumped cask ales regularly rotate; during my visit, just after Lehigh Valley Beer Week, they were loaded up with local offerings from Funk and HiJinx (And no—Jennifer's not related to Kyle Funk, proprietor of the Emmaus brewing company). It is still a mecca for lovers of Belgian and Belgian-styled beers, ranging on the lighter side of witbiers and saisons to tripels and quads, with sours, ciders and gueuzes in between. Germany and Great Britain are duly represented, and the usual American craft brewing suspects are in full force, from Brooklyn and Bell's to Founders to Tröegs and Dogfish Head. My favorite part on any beer list is the unique, specialty seasonal section, and Trapp Door delivers: I spied a beer from Enola's Pizza Boy called Bean Dream Milk porter aged on vanilla beans, and something inspired by Portland, Oregon's trendy Voodoo Doughnut shop: Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut Lemon Chiffon Crueller Ale.
You still won't find many conventional beers here; that remains the same. Don't worry, though. The barkeep won't leave you in the lurch. “It's neat to watch people ask for a Miller Lite. We tell them where to start. We try hard to find something you'll like,” Funk explains. And there's always room for converts, too. “We have this one woman who never really drank beer, and now she loves stouts,” says Funk. (She'll be busy for a while, as there are more than 20 of this hearty dark brew available.) “Shouldn't everybody learn about beer? We want everyone to join the family,” she says.
And what a family it is. Funk describes the place affectionately, saying, “it's eclectic, like the land of the misfits, but somehow we all fit together like a puzzle or something.” Its small nature—it seats 50 and about another 20 or so at its bar—makes it hard to escape without meeting those around you, even though Funk ditched the long, communal beer hall tables. The clientele at the Trapp Door, which is just off the side of the road, a bit on the outskirts of town, has grown organically, mostly by word of mouth. “I think that's why our guests may be so awesome. I think we've advertised maybe two or three times—not a whole lot,” she explains.
Funk says the menu is as eclectic as the staff—maybe that's true—and it changes every couple of months. (“Nate and I get bored,” says Spesak.) Whenever you encounter, it's likely a happy mishmash of elevated pub fare that's rooted in French traditions and filtered through a Pennsylvania lens, right down to the ingredient sourcing. Greens come from Liberty
Gardens (Coopersburg), seasonal veggies from Wild Fox Farm (Barto), along with duck from Pekin Paradise in Hamburg. Those items make their way onto the menu as the local baby greens salad and duck three ways (foie gras, cold smoked and rilette), among others. Dry-aged grass-fed beef from Breakaway Farms (Mount Joy) goes into the Trapp Door burger. A fondue with housemade soft pretzels, along with pomme frites and a trio of sauces (house-made ketchup, malted mustard and a chipotle sweet chili aioli), round out the starters. Most importantly, you’ll always find pierogies, whose accompaniments change. During my late winter visit, they were short rib with mushroom duxelles and a beurre rouge—savory, hearty and filling. If you haven’t filled up on starters or dabbled in the meats and cheeses, the house-smoked trout entrée is always popular, and they often offer wild boar. Look out for their eagerly anticipated Cuban sandwich with smoked pork, whole grain Dijon, pickled jalapeños and house made ham—all smoked, pickled or otherwise made in house. Weekends mean brunch and Nutella beignets along with a crazy-sounding German pop-up pancake with bacon and banana that gets finished in the oven. “It doesn’t deflate when you cut it, but it’s light and airy,” explains Spesak.
Gardens (Coopersburg), seasonal veggies from Wild Fox Farm (Barto), along with duck from Pekin Paradise in Hamburg. Those items make their way onto the menu as the local baby greens salad and duck three ways (foie gras, cold smoked and rilette), among others. Dry-aged grass-fed beef from Breakaway Farms (Mount Joy) goes into the Trapp Door burger. A fondue with housemade soft pretzels, along with pomme frites and a trio of sauces (house-made ketchup, malted mustard and a chipotle sweet chili aioli), round out the starters. Most importantly, you’ll always find pierogies, whose accompaniments change. During my late winter visit, they were short rib with mushroom duxelles and a beurre rouge—savory, hearty and filling. If you haven’t filled up on starters or dabbled in the meats and cheeses, the house-smoked trout entrée is always popular, and they often offer wild boar. Look out for their eagerly anticipated Cuban sandwich with smoked pork, whole grain Dijon, pickled jalapeños and house made ham—all smoked, pickled or otherwise made in house. Weekends mean brunch and Nutella beignets along with a crazy-sounding German pop-up pancake with bacon and banana that gets finished in the oven. “It doesn’t deflate when you cut it, but it’s light and airy,” explains Spesak.
Gardens (Coopersburg), seasonal veggies from Wild Fox Farm (Barto), along with duck from Pekin Paradise in Hamburg. Those items make their way onto the menu as the local baby greens salad and duck three ways (foie gras, cold smoked and rilette), among others. Dry-aged grass-fed beef from Breakaway Farms (Mount Joy) goes into the Trapp Door burger. A fondue with housemade soft pretzels, along with pomme frites and a trio of sauces (house-made ketchup, malted mustard and a chipotle sweet chili aioli), round out the starters. Most importantly, you'll always find pierogies, whose accompaniments change. During my late winter visit, they were short rib with mushroom duxelles and a beurre rouge—savory, hearty and filling. If you haven't filled up on starters or dabbled in the meats and cheeses, the house-smoked trout entrée is always popular, and they often offer wild boar. Look out for their eagerly anticipated Cuban sandwich with smoked pork, whole grain Dijon, pickled jalapeños and house made ham—all smoked, pickled or otherwise made in house. Weekends mean brunch and Nutella beignets along with a crazy-sounding German pop-up pancake with bacon and banana that gets finished in the oven. “It doesn't deflate when you cut it, but it's light and airy,” explains Spesak.
It's clear that Spesak and Thatcher are dedicated to their craft. They do as much as humanly possible in house. “We smoke everything in house, we brine everything we can, we do sous vide, you name it,” he says. (Sous vide refers to what basically amounts to a low, slow poaching at a set temperature that enables foods—typically proteins—to remain incredibly moist.) “We take a high attention to detail. I really care a lot. Some people may take that as a negative, because it can be viewed as overbearing, but some of those places aren't in business anymore. Maybe they should have done things that way to begin with, you know?” Spesak says, as a matter of fact. We discuss the reality that some people perceive it as a just business, or otherwise dismiss the power of food. “It's much more than that. Somebody's taking something I created and putting it into their body. It's sustainable energy,” he says.
At the Trapp Door, the kitchen takes sustainability seriously—sourcing is given careful thought. “I want to know where it's all coming from. And I want people to know that when they eat my food, that I've worked hard to make it the best dish possible,” says Spesak. Funk takes it all a step further. “We want every sense to be satisfied,” she says.
