Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 215-386-9224; 3420 Sansom St; dinner mains $12-29; 11:30am-2:30pm Mon-Sat, 5-10pm
Mon-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat, 10:30am-2:30pm & 5-10pm Sun)
This neighborhood institution is
the kind of funky-yet-upscale place that college students get their visiting parents to take
them to for special dinners or brunch. The local, largely organic menu offers creative in-
terpretations of meat and fish dishes.
Pod
ASIAN$$$
( 215-387-1803; 3636 Sansom St; dinner mains $14-29; 11:30am-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight
Fri, 5pm-midnight Sat, to 10pm Sun)
Part of the restaurateur Stephen Starr's empire, this
space-age-looking theme restaurant has pan-Asian treats including dumplings and some
of the best sushi in Philly, plus plenty of quirky cocktails and original desserts.
Drinking & Entertainment
Judging Philly's bar scene by the over-the-top, raunchy TV series
It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia
is of course a mistake. Old-school dive bars are well represented but there's
at least as many sophisticated cocktail lounges, wine bars and gastropubs intensely fo-
cused on local brews.
Apart from New Orleans, Old City boasts the highest concentration of liquor licenses
in the US; to find a spot that appeals to your sensibilities, just stroll along S 2nd and S
3rd Sts. There are a fair number of spots where recently legal drinkers go for volume
such as Lucy's Hat Shop, Drinker's Tavern and Buffalo Billiard's; South St can feel like
an alternative fraternity row on weekend nights. Meanwhile, Center City hotels like the
Le Meridien and the Bellevue have classy lounges and bars with popular happy hours.
The area between Broad and 12th Sts and Walnut and Pine Sts has been dubbed Midtown
Village and unofficially called 'gay'borhood and is permanently decked out with
rainbow-flag-festooned street signs. Because nights and venues change frequently, check
out
www.phillygaycalendar.com
.
And finally, in the Fairmount neighborhood around the
Eastern State Penitentiary there's a handful of recommended gastropubs.
Bars & Nightlife
Paris Wine Bar
WINE BAR
(2301 Fairmount Ave; 5pm-midnight Thu-Sat)
Run by the duo behind the London Grill (an
equally recommended gastropub next door to this bar and one of the first in the city), the
owners have come up with another novel approach to satisfying sophisticated Phil-
