Hey all, I'm looking for some rec's on the things to do/places to eat/coffee shops/record stores, etc. in Philly. I've been quite a few times in my life, so I'm kind of familiar with parts of the city, but it's always been a trip to either play shows or play in hockey tournaments and stuff when I was younger, so I haven't been there with a whole weekend worth of time to do stuff and explore.
Where are you staying/what types of things do you typically like to do? record stores: repo/sit and spin/launderette Things to do: schuylkill river walk/rittenhouse sq. Hang/passyunk fountain/show at Johnny Brenda’s Coffee shops: persimmon/ultimo/elixr
Places to eat is way tougher: Fancy: river twice/vedge/vernick/Friday Saturday Sunday/Gabriella’s Vietnam/laser wolf/Zahav less fancy: mighty bread/korshak or kismet bagels/doro bet/paesano’s/Goldie/Los gallos
True Philly residents may find this sacrilegious, but my default forever has been to start at Frankford Hall and wander from there, especially when the weather is good. Johnny Brendas, El Bar, Barcade, Other Half, and countless other places are all within a few blocks.
Thanks for all the recs! My wife and I pretty open to whatever. Generally if there’s a thing you HAVE to do in a specific city, we’ll do it regardless of what it is. We like hiking and walking, but also really like museums. Both pretty adventurous eaters, so all these food options look great. And actually I’ve totally been to that Elixir place before and loved it! Totally forgot about it until seeing it again.
Yeah I still haven't managed to get there. My wife and I went to Wilder a month or two back and that was very good.
I’m aware…Didn’t feel the need to clarify general level of business for the spots, just saying places I’ve been and loved and as was stated, it’s for sure one of the best.
my bandmate just got a job there and I went for lunch. So damn good. Rarely wowed by lunch service so I can only imagine how good the dinner is.
The trip is still a couple months out, so there's a chance we could get a reservation! Thanks again, for all the rec's everyone. Last question, are there any neighborhoods that would be cool to stay in/ones that would be less ideal to stay in? We're probably gonna be taking an Amtrak train in on a Friday night, so somewhere in that general area would be really convenient. Really excited to finally have a weekend to check everything out.
I don’t have neighborhood recommendation ideas, but you should definitely try to get a reservation. Whatever month your trip is in, set a reminder for midnight on the first day of the month 2 months prior so you can get a reservation. It’s worth
People tend to congregate in Old City, University City, South Street, and Fishtown these days. Center City also has some nice places to stay.
I'm a social studies teacher so that probably taints my opinion but, IMO, doing the Old City stuff is "must do" in Philly IMO. Tour Independence Hall, do the Constitution Center, check out the Liberty Bell if the line isn't insanely long. Walk around Old City and check out all the other places, like Ben Franklin's grave, etc. Which reminds me re: places to stay, right before Covid my wife and I celebrated Valentines Day in Philly for a weekend and we stayed in the Morris House hotel, but again we love historic stuff so lol. Unfortunately the period restaurant City Tavern closed down during the pandemic, otherwise I'd recc that as well.
Me again, saying hi and that there's a sick JB's gig coming up Sunday July 9th with my band Grocer as well as incredible Philly artists Washer and Golden Apples. Highly recommend! Grocer & Washer | Johnny Brenda's
'sup Philly peeps! I've been living in the city for like 10 years but only made the commitment to go to more small shows somewhat recently. What's your favorite less-well-known venues? I'm thinking on the scale of like Kung Fu Necktie, Johnny Brenda's, and smaller.
JBs is the best for sure. Ukie club is pretty cool. Abyssinia in west is having a bit of a moment. Foto club, PhilaMOCA, dolphin, Ortlieb’s are all similar sized and not quite as good. @houseshowphilly on IG is great for house shows, philly-shows.org is nice for keeping up with local gigs too and I’ve found it helpful with keeping up with the everchanging list of venues.