Art In Bars » Places

Shhh – Secret Bars

Jenn Sharon — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:26:51 +0000

Philadelphia has no shortage of restaurants or bars or gastro pubs or any sort of new hybrid of all of these things that may come out as this article is being written. Places in this town will open and close before I even realized it was there. (Seriously, what is the name of the latest restaurant on 12th and Locust?) Drinks will be either expensive or cheap, and food will be some sort of fusion of every culture that has ever existed with an American spin. Oh, the restaurant industry.

But sometimes though you can find a hole in the wall restaurant that serves beer or cocktails; an unexpected gem in the culinary journey of life. The food in these secret bars is usually more authentic and the drinks are inexpensive. For instance Chinatown is steeping with secret bars. You can get some of the best food of your life and get $2.00 beers or $4.00 cocktails. Mah Lai Wah‚Äôs, Joy Sin Lau‚Äôs, Sang Kee‚Äôs Peking Duck house are all places I love and love to get my drink on.

Another place that you may already be familiar with is Midtown Diner. Now I know that they have closed most of their locations but I believe there is still one on 11th and Sansom. The food is reasonable and they will bring with beer right to the table, you don‚Äôt have to sit at the counter. 12oz steak for $10.00 and a $3.00 miller high life, yes please!

In West Philly you have the Salt and Pepper on 47th and Chester right up the street from Clark Park. This take out joint will serve you some of the finest hotplate specials you can imagine –seafood+fries, chicken fingers+mac and cheese plus breakfast sandwiches, and although the beers there are carryout, there are tables inside and out where you can sit and eat. And the beer selection is out of this world. It‚Äôs no Foodery so you probably can‚Äôt even get a beer above $4.00. The food is good and the beer selection is great.

The newest place for me that I‚Äôve found is actually a few blocks from me. Thang Long a neighborhood Vietnamese place on Sergeant and Kensington has fantastic giant bowls of soup and you can buy a half a chicken meal for $6.50 (P.S. – they get the chickens very fresh next door, at the chicken butcher). And of course super cheap beers to go with your meal.

So! It‚Äôs not fancy but these places get the job done. Better food than you can get in a bar and cheaper drinks than you can get in a restaurant, a win/win for me. Do you readers have a favorite secret bar? Let me know why it‚Äôs special‚Äîoldoldwoodenship@yahoo.com
Jenn Sharon

Critters at Bridget Foy’s

Sequoia — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:56:21 +0000

Main Dining - image from myspace

I live near South Street and I work odd hours. Therefor, I have become very familiar with any place that serves a late dinner in the neighborhood. Bridget Foy’s is the partner’s #1 choice for where to eat out close to home. He’s a creature of comfort, and loves their¬† changing beer list and American cuisine. The food at Foy’s is good, mostly meant to be solid without scaring away the tourists. With the sidewalk deck seating it gets a lot of tourists, and lots of locals watching the crowds. They are always packed, so they must do serious business. I would always recommend Foy’s, but I’m not going to gush about it like the partner does, nor do I have any interest in eating there twice a week, as again, he does. We eat there a lot though, if the balance on my rewards card is to be believed.

Tiny Monkey Painting - image from myspace

One of my favorite things about Foy’s (aside from the sweet and talented waitstaff they have – seriously, the best in the city) is the art. The decor is very contemporary, but the art is all done by Bernadette Foy, whom, one assumes, is the mother of Bridget, who we pretend is the incredibly wonderful hostess who is always there. (I’m not really sure what is fact and what the partner and I have simply decided when it comes to Foy’s. The art may not even be done by someone named Bernadette, that may be made up.) The paintings by B. Foy are awesome. Mostly consisting of monkeys dressed as high society characters and drinking, although there are some charming paintings of friends, clearly done from photographs.

Blurry shot I took from the street of the olive ladies

My personal favorite is the gaggle of women who have cocktail olives instead of heads. I love these paintings, because they are clearly done by someone with a personal relationship with the restaurant, because they don’t really fit the decor, and are frankly, amateur. But they totally work there. I’ve seen a woman come in to eat there only to realize she was one of the subjects of the paintings. I love how Bridget Foy’s has committed to this art, even through a recent redesign of everything else in the joint.¬† Despite the volume of people that come and go, it cements that this is really a family run neighborhood place, where the waitstaff remembers what kind of beer you like, that you don’t like desert, and will tell you if it’s better that you don’t order the special. Most of the works are available for sale, I believe priced around $500, unframed, although there are some small prints of a few of the original works for $100.

ANYWAY, the point of this post was to tell ya’ll it’s Lobster Fest at Bridget Foy’s right now, and if you just needed an excuse to go see some monkey paintings and drink some fine beer, I think this tasty menu is your chance. Here are some of the highlights of the 8 lobster items on the specialty menu: Tempura Lobster Claws with spicy peanut dressing and chilled noodle salad $12; Lobster Sliders with poblano tarter sauce, $13; Split Grilled 1 1/4 pound Lobster with red curry butter, couscous salad and grilled asparagus $28. Give me a call; we can people watch and cash in some of my points.

Bridget Foy’s
200 South Street 19147
bridgetfoys.com

Opening – Brauhaus Schmitz

Sequoia — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:59:13 +0000

Me, in a dirndl, in public, drinking.

Now, I believe I have made it quite clear that I love beer. But, did you know that I also love dirndls? Dirndl being the traditional dress of the Bavarian people. Or, as my sister called them¬† “oompa oompa dresses.” Being Germanic in descent and from a theater family, I take any and every opportunity to wear mine (really my sister’s – I borrowed it from across the country,) blithely oblivious to any sort of shame.¬†¬† We had a “Falltoberfest” party that was not a costume party; wore it. Witness me at last year’s Craft Beer Festival, getting pictures with my favorite brewers, rockin’ the dirndl.¬† This is why I am SUPER JAZZED about tonight’s opening of Brauhaus Schmitz, the new beer hall on South Street that’s going to have waitresses in dirndls, ya’ll! Beer and awesome outfits! I am so there. It’s not just the sassy costumes though. There will be 20 draught beers and 80 different bottles allegedly representing every major beer producing country in the world. (Side note – I watched Three Sheets – I’m pretty sure every country in the world produces some beer. What constitutes the major ones?) But wait, there’s more! Brauhaus Schmitz also is bringing the German food, both traditional as well as modern interpretation. I hear a rumor you can buy sausages by the yard.

I’ve been stalking this restaurant since Foobooz broke the news of their takeover of the old Adobe Home store earlier this year. Since I walk past the place at least once a week, I’ve been keeping track of the progress in person as well as online. The partner hoped Brauhaus Schmitz would be open for his mid-May birthday, but alas, it was not to be. But we’re totally going tonight. (Actually, right now I’m trying to talk him into doing lunch there; they open at 11:30 today.) I’ll let you know if it lives up to my hype.

Brauhaus Schmitz
718 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
brauhausschmitz.com