Libation Vacation: Low Key Philadelphia

Our Philadelphia adventure continued in classic Barfly style: hungover. We’d already jaunted through the City and cataloged its upscale options (hangover hint: the next morning’s headache feels slightly better if you refer to it as “upscale”). It was time to take in some low-key choices for the City’s sophisticated drunks.

First we decided to walk off the hangover with a visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary. One of the oldest jails in the country, it is now a National Landmark. A compelling walk-through the site accomplished two goals: 1) it got our blood flowing again 2) it reminded us where we’d end up if we ever had one too many and went “martini-wacky”.

Next on the agenda? Time for the day to really begin. Screw Continental Breakfast, we were headed to Drunk Brunch. The street outside the Eastern State Penitentiary had many attractive food options, but we settled on London Grill. How did we decide, you ask? They were the only one that had a Champagne Bottle on the side of their building, attractively festooned in Christmas lights. Some may call that shabby-chic; we called it “that looks like our type of place, we can’t wait to have a Bloody Mary”.

We took a spot at their relaxed bar, the afternoon-drinking vibe was just what we were looking for. A few folks were transfixed to the game, others were starting out with their first beer of the day. We enjoyed the sun streaming through the windows almost as much as we enjoyed our Absolut Peppar Bloody Mary. If we weren’t playing the part of tourist, we would have whittled away the entire evening at London (especially because the Bartender kept putting complimentary wings and tater tots down in front of us). The entrees were gigantic and delicious. We left this haunt feeling just as one is supposed to after a proper drunk brunch: completely stuffed and mildly delirious.

Night was falling, it was time to check out one of the most important stops on our itinerary. Some folks have to see the museums; others go for the historical statues. For us, the must see is a genuine local dive bar. We headed to Old City and ducked into Brownies Irish Pub. Gasp! You could smoke!  Or, as we should say: Gasp, Cough, Cough! According to the bartender, some Philly dives still have smoking licenses. By no means do we miss the days when you could light-up in NYC drinking dens, but there was a certain nostalgic charm to the stale, crusty air. The ash trays, the chain smoking patrons, the bartender puffing behind the bar – it felt like old times.

We grabbed a brew (in true Philly fashion, they had an excellent selection of at least a dozen exotic drafts) and decided that we’d truly dive it up. We headed for the touch-screen video game in the corner. If you think that playing NYC’s Erotic Photo hunt is a scandalous experience, well, you’ve never been to Brownies. Guarantee you’ll blush. From what? Let’s just say that smoking's got nothing to do with it.

A few rounds later, and we were winding down. It was getting late, but we had to make one more stop as it was our last night in Philly. Why not end our trip with a visit to the oldest bar in town? We headed back to Center City, and stopped by McGillin’s Olde Ale House for a final drink (or four). Tucked away on an almost invisible street, they have been pouring pints since 1860. You know it has to be genuine – they spell old with an e.

The bar was a perfect way to end our trip. It felt comfortable, lived in. If not by Ben Franklin himself, then by the dozens of friendly locals and laid-back tourists that clearly flock here night after night. We ordered a house brew (McGillin's Genuine Lager) and scored a spot by the roaring fireplace. Having finally digested Drunk Brunch, we feasted on some Tex-Mex fries and Poppers. It might have been the beer, it might have been the fire, but this place left us warm inside.  If McGillin’s is Philadelphia, then we’ll definitely be back soon. Not to mention those fries were awesome!

Comments

[hampers]

Just mere looking at your pics already showed you're very happy and contented with how your trip went through. Unwinding again is another gift that needs to be used just be careful with too much drinking and eating (make it sure its toxic-free and preservative-free)

[JEANNETTEHuber]

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