Philly in the summer

where are you staying?

 

alla spina has great food and the beer selection isnt bad. its my current favorite. most places around town have respectable tap lists. check out phillytapfinder.com. itll be your best resource.
the food is fantastic around the city. depends on what your in to. monks cafe is very well known (beer wise) and is a destination spot for most people, myself included.

make it out to the suburbs if you have the time and effort. check out teresas in wayne. awesome beer, always available RR bottles, great tap, and pretty good food. and while your out there, pick up a case at the beer yard (in wayne, great selection) and get your growlers filled at tired hands while you sit for a beer.

hotels depend on the budget. the palomar isnt bad. has a good amount of class and its not too pricey.

 

Chinatown area is in Center City for great and affordable Asian cuisines..and within walking distance of many great beer places. Message me privately if you need specifics or when you're in Philly during the summer for any questions. Happy to help!

 

If you're planning on Monk's, as you darn well should, get there early-ish. The Duck Confit Salad/Duck Confit Salad Sandwich is to die for.

And for food... I highly recommend Reading Terminal Market (Apple Dumplings at Dutch Eating Place, Roast Pork Sandwich with Broccoli Rabe at DiNic's, Pastrami on Rye at Herschel's, etc etc); I'm not going to start a flame war by stating that one Cheesesteak place is best, but if you're dead stuck on ideas Jim's and Ishkabibbles on South are two solid choices.

If you're planning on rolling high, Philly does have quite a few acclaimed restaurants in the Old City area, and 2nd Street is an awesome place for bar crawling (Eulogy, Khyber Pass, etc.)

But yeah, nothing like grabbing a refreshing Pliny at Monk's and then enjoying the 5 o'clock scenery at Rittenhouse Square.

 

Stay in Center City, Sofitel is nice and great location (2 min walk to Monks!), same distance to subway which will take to South Philly or easy connect up to Fishtown (both loaded with excellent beer bars). There is a plethora of good bars and places to eat in Center City alone. You'll need to narrow down your likes/dislikes.

My opinion, don't even consider going out to the suburbs. Coming to Philly and spending hours travelling to and from to visit some bar in the burbs is silly. You will not have a car, it's a huge pain in the ass and there is no real reason to go, you can get everything in the city and mroe of it. The ONLY exception I would make is going to Ardmore to visit Tired Hands. It's right by a train station and you can't get it in the city.

 

Except for the Khyber, I would AVOID 2nd Street like the plague. It's d-bag central at night. You want to participate in an episode of MTV Jersey Shore? Go to 2nd St on a Saturday night.

 

Also, highly recommended source is: www.phillytapfinder.com

 

1. are you going to see Phish?
2. that note above about "get your growlers filled at tired hands" should be modified to "buy a Tired Hands growler from tired hands and get one beer filled." (for now anyway)

 

Nice enough during the day. The Khyber is not to be missed, plus there's great food to be had at Zento and Han.

 

How's the Barcade in Philly?

I've been to the BK and JC locations.

 

It's ok, I've never been to the other locations though. Decent selection, fun environment for a change of pace. Incorporate a stop there in the Fishtown/Northern Libs circuit: Kraftwork, Memphis Tap, Standard Tap and Johnny Brendas.

 

Don't forget Fette Sau and Frankford Hall.

 

I've only been twice, and found the tap list to be hop-heavy and not particularly inspiring, but I feel that way about most tap lists, so take my recco with a grain of salt. I will say that craft beer and Arkanoid go very well together, but since you can probably get that at other Barcades, don't make a special trip for a bar you've already been to. Of course, by all means pop in if you're in that neighborhood, because it's a fun place.

How many days will you be spending here? You will find that just about every neighborhood has at least a couple of beer bars worth your time; I would recommend picking a neighborhood for each day you are here, and go exploring. I would also skip CC and Old City - sure, there are nice beer bars there, and you should of course go to Monk's, but the best spots are elsewhere. Fairmount/Art Museum, Bella Vista/Queen Village/South Philly, Graduate Hospital, and Northern Liberties/Fishtown are all neighborhoods you can spend an entire day in just wandering from bar to bar. Just plug the neighborhoods into PhillyTapFinder, pick a few bars, and drink up.

 

Agree with Fette Sau (BBQ!). I have never been able to get on board with Frankford Hall. I think it's just that it's way out of my demographic. My German choice is Brauhaus Schmitz.

 

I would agree with this except to say that Barcade is way better than OK if you like old school video games. I've been to the original in Brooklyn also, but actually prefer the Philly one because it's bigger. I would kill to have a place like that in the Bay Area. Kraftwork, Memphis, Standard, and Johnny Brenda's are all great. Eat at any one of them and you'll be happy, OP, though I would probably get Fette Sau as mentioned. You could make a day out of that area alone. Goddam, I need to plan a visit to my old stomping grounds...

Edit: not really any hotels there that I can recall, but it's an easy cab ride from Center City and you have public trans options as well.

 

And the new Sancho Pistolas

 

Jose Pistolas...I guess all Mexican names look the same to you, huh? Hahahahaha....

Do Alla Spina for sure and during Happy Hour. You'll get a lot of the same food for really good prices. Avoid it if you are a vegetarian or vegan. Amazingly, their pretzels is one of my favorite dishes from them. Orange/Broad Street line will get you there. Philly Happy Hours are great. One of the best is Varga Bar.

Monk's is a must, just in case you haven't heard enough. They are currently out of Cantillon, but they should have it again, hopefully when you're there. I'd avoid the salad and burger there. They are well-known for mussels and fries.

Another very awesome place is Strangelove's. The beer selections there are usually really good. They are not on on PhillyTapFinder, but very up-to-date on their website with their tap list.

Tria Taproom is not to be missed. They are the only bar with BevChek and the beer menu is a tablet with their BevChek displaying how much of each beer is left. With 28 lines, you'd definitely find something.

Farmer's Cabinet is quite an interesting place. They usually have a mix of American and non-American beers on draft. They also have some pretty crazy specialty mix drinks.

The place with the largest tap list is City Tap House in University City. Great outdoor seating. Blue/Market-Frankford line.

Fette Sau and Frankford Hall along with Johny Brenda's and Kraftwork (a bit further up Girard) are all great places. I'd go to Frankford Hall to enjoy the atmosphere. You can't beat the BBQ at Fette Sau. Blue/Market-Frankford line.

In Northern Liberties, Standard Tap is great for burger and local draft. July at the Piazza (a few blocks north of Standard Tap) is awesome. Check out King's Oak, PYT, and Gunner's Run at the Piazza. Right next to Standard Tap is the Foodery bottle shop, grab some beers there and head over to Circles Thai (the best in the city) or Dmitri's. Philly is a HUGE BYOB city, by the way. Blue/Market-Frankford line.

In Chinatown, go to Wong Wong for crispy Peking duck or Banana Leaf for Malaysian. Both are BYOB. Blue/Market-Frankford line. Blue/Market-Frankford line.

In South Philly, go far south for South Philly Tap Room and hit Ultimo coffee shop (one of the best in the country) a few doors down. Grab whatever hand-poured coffee and see for yourself. Great food at SPTR and there is a bottle shop right inside Ultimo. Orange/Broad Street line.

Further north eastish of SPTR along Passyunk there are MANY great restaurants, especially Italian. Stateside is the place to visit for both beer and food.

For the best view, go to Morgan's Pier. It's right on the water with view of Ben Franklin Bridge. Great atmosphere and music (good or bad depending on your taste and which night). Blue/Market-Frankford line, a little bit of a walk.

Tired Hands. Must go. PERIOD! SEPTA Train station is a block or so away.

This is just wayyyyy too long and I barely covered 1/2 of Philly. I'm missing South Street area, Old City, and Midtown (Misconduct, Devil's Alley, Tria Taproom and Monk's already mentioned though). I'm done typing and need to get back to my beer. Send me a message if you want my number for advice when you're here. I'll be happy to help. Philly is phucking amazing! Cheers!