MANAYUNK
THE GREAT NORTHEAST (SPECIFICALLY, FRANKFORD AVENUE)
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OLD CITY
If you're looking for fun, class, and even a tad bit of history, Old City is the place to go! Historical buildings contain nightclubs and posh restaurants as well as cute sidewalk cafes for an afternoon cup-o-joe. Many of these hit scenes have been visited in shows such as "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "The Real World, Philly" (find the house on 3rd and Arch), as well as other shows and movies. Some must-see places are The Continental, Eulogy, Mad River, Bleu Martini, Cuba Libre, and The Plough and the Stars among many others. If you head down towards Front and Chestnut, you will even find a hooka bar across from The Mexican Post Restaurant (an excellent stop for those craving a quesadilla). Old City has a great atmosphere, and not far away you will find South Street (down where all the hippies meet!) for some unique shopping, good food, or maybe even a crazy random tattoo after stumbling in from one of the neighborhood bars. Rather than heading to South Street, you may deide to end an evening by taking a nice, relaxing stroll along Penn's Landing. The cool breezes and subtle sounds of waves will relax you. If you are there on the hour, enjoy a small yet bright light show on the Ben Franklin. Still, not far from all of this, you can find Dave and Buster's with a Hibachi Grill on premesis (take it from me, you MUST go! Good food AND a show for a decent price - it it HIGHLY recommended!)
Manayunk is a great area which casts its shadow over the Schuylkill River and, like Old City, has many bars and sidewalk cafes. When the weather is nice, there is nothing like taking a stroll down Main Street, stopping in some shops and taking a break for a drink or a bite to eat. Though the hills may sometimes be steep, it is still a hot place in town where you may run into a celebrity or two (apparently Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino have been spotted at The Bayou, the every man's bar on the strip). Other than the Bayou (which is good if you ar looking for a cover-free evening), there is Kildaire's, a well-known Irish Pub with drinking, dancing, and an all-around good atmosphere. Heading down towards the end, there is the Manayunk Brewery, known for its food as well as home-brewed beer. You will also find a small but hip mojito bar somewhere towards the middle of your walk (and let me tell you how good those mojitos are!). If you are going to Manayunk, you can find some moderate pricing, but beware, some places are a bit on the expensive side.
Northeast Philly is an area that sometimes is snubbed by the rest of the city, but in all honesty anyone who snubs the area has not experienced a night out on the ave! While the area has many shops, restaurants, and bars, there is also a lot of history as well... but that's another story for another page :) Statistics show that the biggest party night of the year is actually the day before Thanksgiving (known as Thanksdrinking to some), and if you venture to Frankford Avenue, you will see how true this stat is! Many people make t-shirts and have group "pub-crawls", hitting each and every bar up and down the strip and marking it off on their shirts (this is done a few times a year for certain holidays and sometimes just for the fun of it). Though the bars are generally dive bars, let's face it, sometimes a dive is all you need. The bars are affordable, fun, and even though they may not be set up quite as nicely as bars in other areas of the city, by the end of the night are you really going to notice anyway??
Among some of the bars in this section of the city, especially those within the main strip, one may visit Harrington's (dancing and club-style music), Kilbaine's (more of an everyday "where everyone knows your name" place), Reale's (sports), and McNoodle's (hip-hop style), among many, many, MANY others. This strip, though these bars are further away, also happens to be home to the original Chickie's and Pete's as well as the Grey Lodge (as a matter of fact, the 2 are a stone's throw away from each other!). If you are hungry, it's hard to decide between Chickie's famous crab fries or the Lodge's version of the same snack. However, if you are an avid beer drinker, Grey Lodge serves a variety of microbrews on a regular basis, and is also a tad bit roomier than Chickie's (and by a tad, that is EXACTLY what I mean). The Lodge also has been listed as one of the nation's top 10 bars more than once, so it definitely is a place to at least step into.
In addition to bars, Mayfair proudly opens its door to the renovated Devon Theater. The Devon began years ago as a rated X type of place and eventually was a great place for neighborhood families to go catch a cheap movie. For years, the theater has been closed and totally abandoned. However, recently (as in just a few weeks ago), The Devon re-opened as a live theater, having it's first presentation of "Nunsense". Many people see this as a positive thing, a chance to really revive a neighborhood that is at a teetering point right now.
Even though many people put their noses up to the idea of leaving the posh city spots, I highly recommend for visitors (as well as locals) to give NEP a chance - you may have a better (and definitely more affordable time) than expected!
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