Living in Philadelphia

Maybe I should text you a list of all the things he buys so you can allude to them and freak him out

This opens this evening at Fleisher/Ollman. I'm clueless as to exactly what it entails, but they usually have interesting stuff there

http://fleisher-ollmangallery.com/pix/current_small.jpg

Please rate these Philadelphia establishments, recommended to me by a random local I met at Tank Bar.

Bob & Barbara's, El Fuego, Oscar's, Little Pete's, 4th Street Deli, Tony Luke's. I was not so inebriated that I neglected to take notes.

tony luke's has been my go-to for sandwiches & cheesesteaks for a long time

worried that they 'sold out' because they have a stand at citizens bank

dayo y don't we hang out?

Funny, you don't strike me as a "cheesesteak" kind of guy.

tony luke's above all those imo. roast pork and broccoli rabe, yo. little pete's is okay if you're drunk and it's late, or if you're stranded overnight waiting for the first regional line out of the city. there are definitely better diners, but i am lucky to be not far from a couple of them. oscar's is a hole-in-the-wall that has good cheap beer specials (i used to hit it up every friday for a couple before going home when i worked a few blocks away) and did a surprisingly edible cheesesteak (at least they did a decade ago), but nothing worth searching out unless you already happen to be there drinking. bob and barbara's is an institution, with all the positives and negatives that implies. ditto fourth street deli. el fuego i've passed by a bunch of times but never been. might be pretty good, food-wise, but seems hipsterish, clientele-wise. my favorite cheap burritos in the city are still santa fe's, but a large part of that is college nostalgia.

also, many days later: i am back in the city proper, living in south philly, but i am still forced to commute to the burbs for my job, until i find something here.

i will wash blood and guts out of the gutters of the italian market by hand if it means i never have to commute to the burbs ever again.

I like mine with american, fried onions, and (sometimes) ketchup

my favorite pho place is on 6th and washington, they're a little mechanical now but I still like em

pho 75?

nah, pho ha

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-ha-philadelphia

174 yelpers agree -_-

Among the perils with which one will have to contend, is a woman I refer to as the dragon lady. She is very loud, and not at all friendly. Also, one of the servers let's his children run around screaming like banshees on the moors. One does also wish that one's ears weren't served horrible asian pop music as a side dish...but alas.

sigh

how dare those asians be asian in their own establishment selling asian food

god all the nights i closed the tank bar. my friend S.K. was the bartender there for years and my friend lance and i would hang out there until after closing and barely make it home at night. sheesh. oh the memories...

i've never had a local in philly. it seems weird considering it's the city i've lived in/near the most.

vietnam was my fave place to go to in chinatown. i loved that place. mmmmmm.... don't know about now. its been awhile.

I walked down south street for the first time in forever yesterday, and saw that they had closed down showcase comics! I'm not even a big comics guy. but right next door was a place called 'atomic comics.' weird!

:'(

doobie's was pretty much our local. not that we went there every night. but we knew everyone and it was always close to home. i liked the food too!

man i was walking to the train yesterday and just realized tla video had closed! sign of the times, etc. but jesus that bummed me out.

i only really miss philly when i read this thread!

i loved when 20th & sansom near my apartment had tla/comic book store/the ritz/gay disco/smoke & magazine shop/wooden shoe/wawa/diner/beer store. i never needed to go anywhere ever.

and i never did go anywhere ever.

we moved right around when i started ilxing. otherwise i totally would have hung with all these ilxors. oh well, another life.

i loved when 20th & sansom near my apartment had tla/comic book store/the ritz/gay disco/smoke & magazine shop/wooden shoe/wawa/diner/beer store. i never needed to go anywhere ever.

haha this was a golden age

I suppose Tank Bar is continuing the tradition, because my sis and I were happily locked in there post-closing-hours.

Here's a tip: If you want to go to the Hop Sing Laundomat ("speakeasy") make sure you go on Thurs.-Sat., when it's open.

My favorite time in Philly was like 2000-2005--Big Jar bookstore, Molly's Books in the Italian Market, the Philadelphia Independent (indie newspaper run by Matthias Schwartz, who writes for the New Yorker now), the leaky-ass Sam Eric theatre, all those anarchist shows at the Rotunda in west Philly, the McSweenys festivals at the Free Library, Charles Bernstein, Ron Silliman & Bob Perelman showing up at every poetry reading, the Fringe Festivals.

poor sam eric :( i definitely got leaked on there. when i moved to philly i swear there were ten regular movie theatres in center city. i went to all of them.

yah, big jar was great. molly used to be married to my friend bob. she won a pew grant once. last time i went to rotunda was for a bunnybrains show. that's when maria was starting an online radio station at the (k)notsquat.

bob was in strapping fieldhands iirc

yup. i miss old bob.

this is me after i moved to philly in 1988. ready to take on the world. then i got drunk for a decade. oops!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/65418_495113802136_4263141_n.jpg

Bob & Barbara's is amazing and Pho Ha is the best because 1) best pho and spring rolls 2) "pho ha got you all in check!!!"

I have never been to Tony Luke's bcz holy shit, so far away!! There is nothing around it, either!

Except IKEA

Little Pete's is the only one of those I have any experience with because it's like a five minute walk from my apartment- good sweet potato fries, great soup, the surliest wait staff ever. It's nice to know I can always get a good "what can I get for you, miss- oops" whenever I'm feeling homesick for Alabama.

doobie's was pretty much our local. not that we went there every night. but we knew everyone and it was always close to home. i liked the food too!

it's still a good place. plus great beer selections

xp oh wow we are like neighbors

I lived like 5 blocks away from tony luke's growing up, I think half my life was spent in the strip malls around snyder/oregon

when I was a kid I thought that the CHEERLEADERS store around oregon and front was a store that sold outfits for cheerleading squads. didn't really know what to make of the fact that you could buy 2 videos and get 1 half off. maybe they were buying cheerleader training videos?

also kinda lol because my parents would take me to the toys r us there which is located like across the parking lot from CHEERLEADERS.

haha i currently live by strip malls near snyder/oregon

the continued existence of porn video stores confuses the hell out of ne

their patrons must be like the amish of perverts

i'm pretty sure i'm going to franklin institute tmmrw to see dead sea scrolls. anyone wanna meet up there for mini-fap?

that sounds like a cool exhibit but i don't think i can squeeze it into my budget

xp
they're not just video stores, think of them as community centers! like a barbershop

Of the places I went to:

Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co. A+ sailors, suspenders, tattoos, nice waitress, great drinks, no attitude
Ranstead Room A for atmosphere; B for drinks; this place is very dark, perfect for a late-nite assignation, lots of couples smooching in the booths
Tank Bar A, see above, friendly, generous bartender, nice locals
McGlinchey's A, horseshoe bar, smokers, cheap beer
Trestle Inn A+atmospheric

Hop Sing Laundromat honorable mention; wasn't open, but looked interesting

Oh! My friend works at Franklin M&I Co.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvJPG6KURV8&feature=channel&list=UL

that convinced me. i'm not going to vote for romney.

Mordy did you go to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit? Howuzzit?