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—Emily and Brynn

After Sugar Mom’s, Brynn and I took a quick walk over to National Mechanics. Now THIS is what we were talking about: lights, columns, a big sign – this is a bar that wants you to notice it. Whether that’s a good or bad thing in terms of quality is a different story, but at least we didn’t feel like idiots trying to find it. Our first thought upon walking in was, “TOO LOUD.” Which was very true. We made our way to the bar to check out their drink list and couldn’t believe what we found: a specialty drink called the Obama Bomb. Mom Bomb, Obama bomb… we were beginning to see a theme. We decided we had to get them and made our way to a table where we promptly ordered two from a waitress ($8).

Bomb night part two at National Mechanics

Obama Bombs

Our waitress told us we’d love them if we liked coffee, which we do, so this was the bomb drink for us! Also, after sitting for a bit, we realized that we were really enjoying the music. Sure, it was on the loud side, but the DJ was awesome – it was like Smoke’s gone right. National Mechanics had similarly silly white people on the dance floor, but the music made up for it. We weren’t entirely sure how to rate this on the classy scale because it had a rather classy decor, but a decidedly less classy clientele, with a solid number of Old City people (for definition, see our review of Eulogy). Overall, National Mechanics is definitely not for everyone, but if you’ve had a few drinks and are interested in listening to an actually good DJ, this is a pretty good place to go.

National Mechanics' Ratings

The Bar Graph: National Mechanics

We were starting to think Old City wasn’t so bad after all. Did our opinion stay that way? Keep reading to find out!

<3
Emily

Emily and I kicked off another fun night of bar crawling at Sugar Mom’s in Old City. After yet ANOTHER struggle trying to find the place (this one is really not easy—it’s tucked away off a tiny side street behind a parking lot), we finally made it inside and walked down a flight of stairs to the bar, which was in the basement of the building. The place was packed with flannel-clad hipsters, presumably as a result of the $1 PBR special from 7-11pm on weekends, but even so, there was enough room to comfortably fit just about everyone. Unlike many of the bars we’ve visited so far, this one somehow managed to be busy and fun without feeling overcrowded. We checked out the drink specials and were both intrigued by the “Mom’s Bomb,” ($6) basically a Jaeger bomb but with Mountain Dew instead of Red Bull. You could also substitute Southern Comfort for the Jaeger if you wanted, and Emily decided to go with that option because she’s not a huge fan of anything licorice-flavored.

Getting ready for some Mom's Bombs

Bombing Soco and Jaeger into Mountain Dew!

After chugging down our drinks, we wandered around for a bit to explore the bar. There was plenty of awesomeness to be found, including but not limited to: bowls of free Dum Dum lollipops, festive lights and decorations, arts and crafts, board games, a pool table, a sweet jukebox, and a couple of really small cars that reminded us of these. Basically, Sugar Mom’s has everything you could possibly want from a bar. We did wish that they had more non-beer drink specials, and perhaps slightly less flannel, but overall we had a great time and would definitely go back.

Sugar Mom's Ratings

The Bar Graph: Sugar Mom's

Our drink choice at Sugar Mom’s became something of a theme for the night, but you’ll have to keep reading to find out what that means!

—Brynn

Though Old City is great at bar quantity, Brynn and I weren’t terribly impressed with the bar quality during our last visit. However, we decided to give it another go with a stop at Eulogy Belgian Tavern, which has quite the tagline: “Beer Heaven.” When we walked in, the vibe immediately reminded us a bit of our ever-referenced standard, Good Dog, which was partially due to its almost identical layout. We headed upstairs to the quieter room with more seating and got some menus from a very friendly/informative server. We quickly decided that the tagline was definitely NOT an overstatement: they had more beers than we’d ever seen before!

SO MANY BEERS!

Limiting our choices to the draught list, we started looking for our key words. I found an appropriate choice in a Premium Framboise ($6.50), a wine beer with the word “raspberry” in the description, while Brynn decided on a Blanche de Bruxelles ($6) which had a description containing the words “Belgian,” “white,” and “orange.”

Belgian beers at Eulogy

Blanche de Bruxelles and Premium Framboise

We were pretty happy with the feel of the place. It was one of the first Old City bars that didn’t seem to be full of what I like to call “Old City people.” (Old City people: pl. noun, the college students who acted like tools because it was acceptable, but then graduated and never changed. See: anyone who frequents Mad River) I also really liked our server, who was very attentive and seemed to know a lot about the beer they offered (which is basically every beer ever). As for the drinks themselves, there’s a beer for everyone if you know what you’re looking for, and they have just about everything you could possibly be looking for, so of course we loved them! Definitely one of the better bars in Old City.

Eulogy Belgian Tavern Ratings

The Bar Graph: Eulogy Belgian Tavern

Is Eulogy the only bar in Old City worth your time? Stay tuned to find out.

<3
Emily

Next on our list was the Dark Horse Pub, conveniently located right across the street from Xochitl (and also notably easier to pronounce). This place was about as empty as our previous two locations, but by this point we had pretty much given up on finding a lively bar in Society Hill on a Thursday night. As we sat down at the bar and tried to decide what to order, we were interrupted by one of the few other patrons, who suggested tequila cranberries and offered to pay for them. Always a fan of free drinks, and also intrigued by this simple but unexpected combination of liquids, we accepted. The drinks were $9 each, which seemed expensive, but was probably less indicative of the average price of a drink at the Dark Horse and more a result of the high-quality tequila our new friend insisted on.

Tequila cranberries at the Dark Horse

Good thing we got the same thing because Emily's drink is empty!

The combination of tequila and cranberry juice tasted vaguely like a margarita, and we definitely recommend it if you’re bored of your standard mixed drink choice (i.e. Jack and Cokes for us). We proceeded to chat for a bit with Paul, the aforementioned drink purchaser, who informed us that the bartender who was serving us was the grandson of one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, which is apparently a big deal (or big enough to merit their own Wikipedia page, at least). So that was pretty cool, and then things got even MORE exciting when a friend of said semi-famous bartender walked into the bar and dropped off a box of chocolate from Le Bec Fin! We kid you not:

Chocolate!

Expensive tequila and fancy chocolate was decidedly NOT what we expected from an Irish pub in Society Hill, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Again, we wished there had been more people, but we were sufficiently entertained by the random stuff that kept happening. The bar itself had plenty of space and a nice, relaxing vibe, and seemed like it would be a fun place to hang out with a large group of friends. We’d be interested to see if it’s any busier on Friday or Saturday, but unfortunately won’t be able to find out for awhile because we have so many other bars left to visit before the end of May!

The Dark Horse Pub Ratings

The Bar Graph: The Dark Horse Pub

That was about it for our night in Society Hill, but more bars still to come. Obviously.

—Brynn

In hopes of finding some more people, Brynn and I headed down the street to Xochitl, pronounced “so-cheet” which we learned from a convenient mention under their sign out front. We’re glad they helped us out on that one because we would’ve sounded really silly otherwise. Anyways, turns out that while Thursday (and sometimes even Wednesday) is part of the weekend in college, that’s not so much the case when you leave. Fortunately, Xochitl had a few more customers than Artful Dodger, along with a stronger decor and a much more interesting drink menu. After asking our server some questions (mostly about pronunciation), I decided to go with a “La Chilindrina,” a fruity and slightly spicy mix of Sauza Blanco and blood orange, while Brynn chose a “Nublado,” which was essentially a red sangria. (Note: I don’t really know Spanish, but my friend Jose just informed me that nublado means “cloudy.” Not sure of the naming concept there…)

Yummy cocktails at Xochitl

'Nublado' and 'La Chilindrina.' And orange slices!

Xochitl definitely had a nice space, and reminded us a lot of Cuba Libre. We had some nice conversations with the bartenders and our drinks were tasty, though a bit on the pricey side. However, this wasn’t quite enough to make up for the lack of people. Don’t go out in Society Hill on Thursdays!

Xochitl Ratings

The Bar Graph: Xochitl

Things will get more lively soon. Stay tuned!

<3
Emily

Emily and I headed out on a Thursday night to check out a few bars in Society Hill, a quiet Philly neighborhood just south of Old City. The area is mostly residential and feels almost suburban, but the bars that do exist are conveniently all within a couple blocks of each other. Our first stop was the Artful Dodger at 2nd and Pine, a small, cozy pub with a standard bar menu. The drink list included a few seasonal beer specials, and Emily and I chose two of those: a Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Ale for me ($4) and a Philadelphia Brewing Company Walt Wit for Emily ($5). The beers were good but nothing special, though we did enjoy the “featured beer” spotlight that they had posted (literally…it was a beer on a pedestal) above the bar.

Drafts at the Artful Dodger

Winter Ale and Walt Wit

Similar to Ten Stone, The Artful Dodger seemed like more of a chill neighborhood hangout than a destination. Both our bartender and the other people at the bar were really nice, but it was definitely an older, quieter crowd and the vibe was just a little too…boring, I guess. We enjoyed ourselves, but after about 45 minutes were more than ready to move on to something more exciting.

The Artful Dodger Ratings

The Bar Graph: The Artful Dodger

We did indeed find more excitement in Society Hill, but you’ll have to stay tuned to find out about it!

—Brynn

Our last stop for the night was a block away at Ten Stone, a bar I’m pretty sure we found by looking for the little cocktail icon on Google maps. We found a decent space with a rather empty restaurant/table area and a moderately full bar. Given that it was getting close to last call, we figured this was understandable, but it was definitely a change from the cozy, almost claustrophobic feel of Doobie’s. After taking a look at their beer list, which was on a huge chalkboard that took up a decent amount of the wall, I tried a Palm Sour Cherry Ale ($8) while Brynn chose a Kasteel Triple ($5.50).

Last call at Ten Stone

Palm Sour Cherry Ale and Kasteel Triple

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not much of a beer drinker, but what I have learned about beer ordering is the importance of what we like to call “key words.” For Brynn, the key words are Belgian, White, Triple, and Wheat. Also usually “orange slice.” I hadn’t really gotten the hang of the key word thing until our visit to Ten Stone, when I realized that my key words are just names of fruit and the word sour. Which usually means that I order girly “wine beer” instead of actual beer, but whatevs – I make up for it by drinking a lot of whiskey. That said, this particular variety of wine beer was fresh and delicious.

When we first walked in, we were recognized as having been to Grace Tavern earlier that night by one of the servers, who apparently doesn’t hang out at his own bar after getting off of work. We struck up a conversation with him about our quest and other bars in the area (this is actually all we ever talk about. Also typefaces) and he introduced us to the server, who was friendly and seemed to know the customers well. In the vibe department, it had potential, but there really weren’t many people there. We enjoyed our visit, but it seems more like a chill hangout for regulars rather than a “destination bar.” It’s decent, but definitely not towards the top of my recommendation list.

Ten Stone Ratings

The Bar Graph: Ten Stone

Have we gone to your favorite bar yet? Let us know! (BUT we know about Fiume and have been before, just not for the “official review,” so stay tuned and don’t bother telling us to go there =P)

<3
Emily

Our 50th bar adventure took us to Doobie’s on 22nd and Lombard, another sign-free establishment whose exterior was strangely similar to that of Dirty Frank’s. And by strangely similar we mean both are nondescript, beige buildings that don’t have signs on them. After some brief confusion over how to get in (read: trying to knock on the back door, which was locked), we walked around the corner to find the ACTUAL door and went inside (without knocking). We immediately enjoyed the vibe of Doobie’s, which was decorated like Christmas and full of amusing posters that said things like “no dancing” and “pets allowed, humans on leash.” We both ordered beers off of the colorful chalkboard menu: a Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre for me ($4.50) and an Abita Strawberry Lager for Emily (#3.75).

Note the creeper to the left

Quick disclaimer: that’s not actually a random stranger, it’s our friend Dan. After taking that picture we found it too hilarious to crop. Hi, Dan!

Beers in bottles this time

Doobie’s seemed like a really chill place to hang out, though we did have trouble finding a place to sit and wished there was more space inside. Eventually we got a table in the back corner, and we were excited to find a Trivial Pursuit box sitting on said table. Pets allowed, AND games?! This was definitely our kind of bar. We also thoroughly enjoyed our beers, especially Emily’s strawberry one, which tasted like, well, strawberries. And strawberries are delicious, so yeah. Doobie’s is also known for having one of the best jukeboxes in Philly, full of lots of oldies and classic rock. Overall, it’s a great place. Just be sure to arrive on the earlier side if you want to guarantee yourself a seat!

Doobie's Ratings

The Bar Graph: Doobie's

What, were you expecting us to stop after a mere 50 bars? Nonsense! Stay tuned for more.

—Brynn

When we first started planning for this project, we didn’t know much about bars in the city, so one of the first sources we checked out was Philadelphia Weekly’s list of the Top 50 Bars in the city. A quick look at that link will tell you that Grace Tavern was chosen as the best bar in Philly, so Brynn and I were excited to check it out, especially with their high ranking of Good Dog, a personal favorite of ours. Upon first impression, Grace Tavern was pretty much a normal bar. That sentence is deceiving because it makes it sound like our first impression was wrong, but no, it basically stayed that way. Brynn and I grabbed a table with some friends and checked out their pretty extensive beer list. I’m still not a huge beer fan, so I went with something I knew I liked, the Monk’s Sour Ale ($6) while Brynn tried a Biere de Mars ($5).

Beers at Grace Tavern

Biere de Mars and Monk's Sour Ale

We (naturally) looked over the food menu and ordered some fries, which didn’t come with cheese, but instead a delicious spicy mayonnaise dip, which I believe is also from Monk’s Cafe. Our server, however, wasn’t particularly attentive and – I’m just going to say it – terrified me. He was this big, bald guy of few words, who didn’t seem to enjoy it too much when we asked questions about the beer. Also he made fun of me for trying to flag him down when we were ordering the fries. As for the decor/vibe, it had a very traditional bar feel, which was nice, but nothing special. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves, but I definitely wouldn’t tell someone that it’s the best bar in Philly. Still unsure about that ranking.

Grace Tavern Ratings

The Bar Graph: Grace Tavern

Our next one is pretty momentous! Be sure to keep reading. =)

<3
Emily