TGYN Philly Bar Bracket: Sweet 16
In an NCAA-style Tournament, Which Bar Would Reign Supreme?
This is the Sweet 16. You can find an intro, including our rules and thought process behind the tournament, here. You can find the Round of 64 here and the Round of 32 here.
What started with 64 proud establishments looking to assert themselves in the Philadelphia community is now down to just 16 hopeful bars. Some of them, like Frankford Hall or McGillin’s, are established powerhouses. Others, like Crime & Punishment, are upstarts looking to make a splash.
Since we’re deeper into the rounds now, we’re going to be considering these with a bit of a criteria, and inviting some reader participation. When we write about the bars we’re going to be comparing 3 factors:
- Ambiance: Who goes to these bars? What’s the music like? What’s the overall feel of the place?
- Food and Drink: Is the food good? Is there a wide selection of beers? Is it reasonable, or is everything overpriced?
3. Standout Feature: What’s the thing that comes to mind when someone mentions this bar?
We’re going to be writing a bit about each place based on these factors, but we won’t be picking a winner. That’s going to be up to you. After reading our very thoughtful analysis/scrolling down to the bottom of this page, we’re inviting all of you to weigh in and vote on who you think should move on. This time it’s up to the real heroes, the fans.
And now, the Sweet 16.
The Eastern State Region
(Fairmount, Brewerytown, University City)
(1) Jack’s Firehouse vs (4) Local 44
Quags:
Ambience: Jack’s is fine, and it is a Fairmount “neighborhood bar” in the loosest sense of the phrase. It’s in the neighborhood and it’s frequented by the people there, but it isn’t really a comfortable place. It’s nice, though, a friend of mine had a wedding reception there. Local 44 meanwhile, is a true neighborhood bar. It’s nice, but comfortable, it’s local, and it’s got a real unique vibe.
Food and Drink: Jack’s has a great deal of high quality food and drink. I wouldn’t say there’s anything that makes it a destination, but it’s all pretty solid. Local 44 is somewhere around the middle, but it gains points in that it has a large selection of high quality beers.
Standout Feature: Local 44, if you haven’t picked up on it by now, is a standout in that it’s really an authentic neighborhood place. Jack’s, meanwhile, has a nice patio area for hanging with pals and hosting events.
(7) Crime and Punishment vs (14) Cavs
Quags:
Ambience: C&P has a workmanlike vibe, complete with picnic tables that allow for great conversation. When you’re here, you’re likely to be surrounded mostly by younger, hipper folks, many of who reside right in Brewerytown. There isn’t much music to speak of, except for nights when they have a performance scheduled, usually something smaller. Cavs is, by almost all measures, a pretty typical sports bar. Unless there’s some kind of marquee event going on, it’s usually on the quiet side. That is…until Thursday night, when college kids storm it en masse.
Food and Drink: C&P brews their own beer, so while they don’t have a huge selection they do make it count. It’s also extremely reasonably priced. Cavs’ food is good, although it is bar food, and thus nothing extremely exceptional. Cavs does have a pretty solid beer selection, though, that expands into their extensive carry-out fridge.
Standout Feature: C&P is a brewpub, and when you think of C&P, you think of high quality beer, made in house, that you can’t get anywhere else. Cavs has solid food, but the standout feature here has to be the college night. As a Drexel alum, I can’t imagine college without it.
The Center City Region
(Graduate Hospital, Rittenhouse, Chinatown)
(1) McGillin’s vs (12) Smith’s
John:
Ambience: Old School Irish Pub vs. Modern Day Sports Bar. Both have a similar crowd — older earlier in the night, mid 20s late-night. Both get crowded.
Food and Drink: Irish cuisine vs. typical bar food. Beer selection is broad enough in both locations.
Standout Feature: McGillin’s has Wing Night, Karaoke Night, Oldest bar in the city. Smith’s has a DJ, dance floor, party vibe.
(2) Franklin Mortgage vs (6) Fieldhouse
Quags:
Ambience: It would be difficult to find two places on further ends of the spectrum. Franklin Mortgage is a speakeasy, with a quiet, classic atmosphere and patrons who enjoy that kind of thing. It’s dim, only crowded on weekend nights, and intimate. Fieldhouse is a party, with all kinds of events and activities happening all the time. It’s huge, it’s loud, and it’s a whole lot of fun.
Food and Drink: Fieldhouse has a really wide-ranging collection of beer and liquor, with a pretty decent selection of food to boot. Not just bar food either, they’ve got a few dishes that are worth writing home about. Or at least, you know, sharing with someone else that you’re with. Franklin Mortgage is all about the artisanal cocktails, and they have some of the best in the city. If that’s not what you want, you don’t want to go there. If it is what you want, there’s only a few places that can compete.
Standout Feature: Fieldhouse is a party, able to host just about any kind of big event with ease and expertise. Franklin Mortgage has some truly fantastic drinks and is secret enough that it stands out.
The Hipster Region
(South Philly, NoLibs, Fishtown)
(1) Frankford Hall vs (4) Barcade
Quags:
Ambience: Frankford Hall and Barcade both benefit from being pretty large and rambunctious. At either one, you can sit and hang out with a few friends or involve yourself in the activities each of the venues have available. They’re both loud, but Frankford Hall has a famed outdoor area while Barcade has…you know…an arcade.
Food and Drink: The beer steins and selection of beers are a key part of Frankford Hall, but the German fare, including some delicious pretzels and sausages, is pretty great too. Barcade has a bunch of good beers, but is not as strong in the area of food. I think I ate a bunch of chips there once. I’m pretty sure.
Standout Feature: This is pretty straightforward. It’s a bar full of old video games you liked to play as a kid up against a big ole outdoor picnic-like area and some huge glasses of beer.
(6) Pub on Passyunk East vs (7) Bob and Barbara’s
John:
Ambience: Dark and Divey Battle.
Food and Drink: Good Craft selection at POPE, “The Special” was invented at B&B.
Standout Feature: POPE’s location to Pat’s/Geno’s makes it always great for late nights. Drag Nights at B&B give you something different than most bars, and again, the special.
The Historic Region
(Old City, Society Hill)
(1) Buffalo Billiards vs (5) Khyber Pass
John:
Ambience: Pool Hall x Sports Bar vs Comfort Food x Craft Beer.
Food and Drink: All food at Khyber is amazing, but the fries at Buffalo Billiards are to die for.
Standout Feature: Pool, skeeball, and sports. vs. The ole’ Memphis style Meat+3.
(2) Morgan’s Pier vs (3) Independence Beer Garden
Quags:
Ambience: Morgan’s Pier is on the water and gorgeous, but at night it gets really, really crowded. It’s a really fun place to be, and you can often catch a pretty good DJ set there, although you’ll definitely be facing off with the masses. IBG is similar, usually quieter during the day and crowded at night, but it handles its crowd much better than Morgan’s Pier. That being said, it isn’t on the water.
Food and Drink: I haven’t eaten much at either of these places, but they tend to be pretty average. That being said, they are interesting! Morgan’s Pier has hot dogs and ice cream right out of the old-fashioned ice cream cart-thingy, while IBG’s menu would seem pretty typical if it didn’t offer huge versions of its appetizers for large groups. Their beer and liquor selections are fine, solid selection but nothing unexpected..
Standout Feature: For each of these, it’s got to be their size and location. Even though they both get crowded, both of these places offer a lot of space for their patrons. They’re both open air locales in interesting parts of the city.
But that’s enough from us! Now, it’s your turn. Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C5TLTJ5 and vote! We’ll release the results when we drop our Elite 8 piece on Friday!
