Hello, Philadelphia
posted March 7, 2012 8:04 PM   RSS | iCal | +googleCal

Sun March 25 at 5:00 PM, South Philadelphia Tap Room
1509 Mifflin St, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Map & Directions)
fiercekitten are I will be visiting Philly March 22-27 and thought a meetup seemed like a good idea.
Our free evening is Sunday, the 25th.

South Philadelphia Tap Room is the place.

I've set the start time for 5:00, but can certainly change it if another time works better.
posted by nickthetourist to Meetup (32 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

I'm in for late Friday night (after 10p, as I'm flying in from Dallas to PHL), but will swing by downtown on my way home and can always stop by for a meetup.
posted by scblackman at 5:57 AM on March 8, 2012


Sure, I´m in.I´m a pretty new mefite, but all those ask mefis about how to meet new people always tout the awesomeness of meetups, right?

For venue, I´m gonna throw out Dock Street Breweryas a first option. It´s an easy trolley ride/drive, or a nice 25-30 minute walk from over near Penn. If that´s too far, I can think up some places in a bit closer to campus. If you´d prefer Center City, I´m gonna have to let someone else handle that.
posted by ActionPopulated at 6:14 AM on March 8, 2012


C'mon, give us some hints! Been to Philly before? What do you like to eat and drink?
posted by desuetude at 6:54 AM on March 8, 2012


I'm in, though I can't think of any places in that part of the city offhand. As a starting point for discussion I'll just point to this AskMe. As always, MeFi provides.
posted by scalefree at 6:57 AM on March 8, 2012


Been to Philly before?

I flew in and out of Philadelphia a couple years ago when I went to Armstrong in Lancaster on a business trip.

What do you like to eat and drink?

Pub food is good. Dockstreet Brewery looks good. And I'm always interested in tasting local beers (except IPA).

@scalefree - thanks for the askme link. I'll take a closer look at the suggestions.
posted by nickthetourist at 8:01 AM on March 8, 2012


Here's another option to throw into the mix, one we've been to before so I know it's acceptable to most local MeFites: South Philadelphia Tap Room. It's not in your neighborhood but it's easy to get to, especially by SEPTA as it's only a block or so off the Broad Street subway line.
posted by scalefree at 8:31 AM on March 8, 2012


South Philadelphia Tap Room sounds like a good option.

I also found:

Bridgewater's Pub
White Dog Cafe

Are these any good?
posted by nickthetourist at 11:00 AM on March 8, 2012


Were you thinking full-on dinner, or just drinks? White Dog´s food is delicious, but it´s definitely on the expensive side--don´t know how the prices look for just drinks. Don´t know much of anything about Bridgewater´s.
posted by ActionPopulated at 4:10 PM on March 8, 2012


Were you thinking full-on dinner, or just drinks?

I was thinking hangout and eat & drink to your heart's content.
So, something reasonably priced would be good.
Dock Street Brewery is the front runner so far.

Also, which day and what time are ideal?
scblackman suggests Friday, late evening which is ok by me, but how does that work for others?
posted by nickthetourist at 5:04 PM on March 8, 2012


I also found:

Bridgewater's Pub
White Dog Cafe

Are these any good?


No and no! I'd definitely be up for Dock Street or South Philly Tap Room. The new American Sardine Bar is pretty great, too.
posted by two lights above the sea at 5:43 PM on March 8, 2012


American Sardine bar is very cheap and has a big roomy upstairs area for larger groups.
posted by two lights above the sea at 5:45 PM on March 8, 2012


Dock street is ok, but not the best place to hang out with a group. (Although I'd probably come anyway, since Philly meet-ups have been so not-really-happening lately. Just saying South Philly Tap Room might work better.) We could also make other suggestions with more imput! Do you love tapas? Mexican? Dive bars? Wine?
posted by troublewithwolves at 6:04 PM on March 8, 2012


Dock Street has a pizza with Gorgonzola and fig jam on it. Just sayin'.
posted by The White Hat at 7:07 PM on March 8, 2012


We could also make other suggestions with more imput! Do you love tapas? Mexican? Dive bars? Wine?

Tapas is good, mexican is good (but I can get plenty out here), I typically avoid dive bars, wine is good.

Dock Street has a pizza with Gorgonzola and fig jam on it. Just sayin'.

That sounds amazingly tasty, but cheese doesn't like me. Or my guts don't like it? There's some sort of feud between them and I'm the one who suffers....


American Sardine Bar looks promising.
posted by nickthetourist at 8:03 PM on March 8, 2012


I'm mostly a lurker here, but I'd love to come meet up with everyone! I live right next door to the South Philly Tap Room and I can say that if we go on a Friday night we might have a really hard time getting a table - though that will be true of most of the other good bars in the city, too.

Has anyone spent much time at the City Tap House? It's big enough that it might be able to accommodate a group, and it's in University City as was originally requested, but then we're talking about a Friday night in University City - that might be worse than at SPTR.

If American Sardine Bar does have a big room upstairs, that could be a GREAT option - it's the same people who run South Philly Tap Room, but it's an even more off-the-beaten-path neighborhood (read: not a scenic part of town - also not as accessible by public transit as some other options we've discussed). I've only been on the first floor and it's pretty tiny down there. Food and drinks are great, though.

I also really love Kraftwork, but that's even farther from University City, and would probably also be hard to find seating for a group on a Friday night (though I've had no problem showing up there with a group of eight on a Sunday night).
posted by jessypie at 8:45 PM on March 8, 2012


I will admit, I kinda selfishly suggested Dock Street because I live so close to it. If American Sardine Bar or South Philly Tap Room are more convenient for more people and/or less likely to be crowded, that works too.

What are people's preferences for Friday night vs Sunday? I vote Friday.
posted by ActionPopulated at 7:14 AM on March 9, 2012


I'm starting to wonder if maybe a Sunday late afternoon (like 4:00 or so) would work better than Friday evening.
Thoughts?

I've narrowed locations down to:

American Sardine Bar
City Tap House
Dock Street Brewery
South Philly Tap Room

It sounds like SPTR or ASB would work best in terms of space.
posted by nickthetourist at 9:09 AM on March 9, 2012


Looking at the menu and beer lists, I like South Philly Tap Room better than American Sardine Bar, but Dock Street intrigues me.

I think that Sunday would be better than Friday as well, but I'm a godless heathen.
posted by fiercekitten at 6:29 PM on March 10, 2012


After reassessing our schedule (we've had to make some adjustments), it turns out that Sunday is our best option.
So, I'll set it for Sunday, 5:00 pm @ Dock Street Brewing.
We can always switch the time up a bit if need be.
posted by nickthetourist at 9:32 AM on March 11, 2012


Sounds good. FYI the 34 trolley runs along Baltimore from Center City & lets off at Baltimore & 50th, less than a block away. It's nowhere near Dock Street, which runs along the Delaware River waterfront.
posted by scalefree at 10:30 AM on March 11, 2012


As I have just unfortunately discovered today, Dock Street's closed on Sundays. Guess that means one of the South Philly options?
posted by ActionPopulated at 10:33 AM on March 11, 2012


As I have just unfortunately discovered today, Dock Street's closed on Sundays. Guess that means one of the South Philly options?

Well, in that case, South Philly Tap Room it is!
posted by nickthetourist at 10:40 AM on March 11, 2012


How late do you plan to stay around? I have a (potentially reschedule-able) thing in another part of town that I can't leave until 6:30. If you think you'll still be at the bar at 7 or a bit after, great, if not I'll look into shifting my schedule.
posted by ActionPopulated at 9:39 PM on March 11, 2012


If its anything like the Portland meetups we'll be there past 7:00.
But I can also change the start time to 6:00 if that works better for everyone.
posted by nickthetourist at 11:42 PM on March 11, 2012


Darn! I can't make Sunday. Have fun!
posted by two lights above the sea at 5:48 AM on March 14, 2012


I wouldn't really be comfortable sending people to American Sardine Bar who are unfamiliar with that immediate area. I live in South Philly, I'm not alarmist, but it would be much too easy to stumble across bad news enroute to Sardine Bar. SPTR is a better choice down in this neck of the woods.
posted by desuetude at 4:22 PM on March 14, 2012


We'll try to get there a little early and claim some space.
Should we bring a sign?
posted by nickthetourist at 5:55 PM on March 24, 2012


Would be a good idea. Finding a group of people you don't know can be a challenge otherwise.
posted by scalefree at 5:58 AM on March 25, 2012


Yes please on the sign, or some other way of making it obvious what table we're looking for...though at 5 on a Sunday, there's a good chance we'll be the only people sitting at a table for 6+!

FYI to anyone who hasn't been there before, SPTR has two floors. If you don't see the group when you walk in, head toward the back and hang a left past the bar to check whether we're on the upper level.

I'll plan on getting there right at 5 since I live right there. I have no plans for the rest of the evening and am happy to keep hanging out if other people can't make it till later!
posted by jessypie at 8:47 AM on March 25, 2012


Should be there a bit after 7. See you then!
posted by ActionPopulated at 12:03 PM on March 25, 2012


We are here sitting in the upper area at a round table.
posted by nickthetourist at 2:05 PM on March 25, 2012


That was fun.
Thanks everyone for coming out.
posted by nickthetourist at 6:44 PM on March 25, 2012



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