{"id":76,"date":"2020-04-18T16:09:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T20:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2007\/10\/18\/mini-guide-to-philadelphia-northern-liberties-neighborhood\/"},"modified":"2020-12-19T01:25:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T05:25:44","slug":"mini-guide-to-philadelphia-northern-liberties-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/76\/mini-guide-to-philadelphia-northern-liberties-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Mini Guide to Philadelphia: Northern Liberties Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s an ongoing joke in my favorite Woody Allen film Manhattan: Diane Keaton playing Mary Wilkes, a hyper-intellectual feminist adulterer, feigns innocence in the middle of an argument by proclaiming, \u201cI mean really, I\u2019m just from Philadelphia: I mean we believe in God.\u201d Woody Allen, the consummate New Yorker, stands befuddled by the implication.<\/p>\n<p>That was way back in 1979. Such delineation between NYC and its cousin down the turnpike has evaporated if you are to believe the now infamous 2005 New York Times Travel article that decreed Philadelphia the \u201csixth borough\u201d of New York. Of course that same article quoted a Philadelphia one-bedroom as being $800 a month including gas and electric, which doesn\u2019t sound like any borough I\u2019ve ever been to. Search on Craigslist for a Brooklyn 1BR, price range $800 a month, and you\u2019ll be meeting brokers on the road median of the BQE. But I digress\u2026<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Comparing Philadelphia to Brooklyn<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Now if I were to compare Philadelphia to Brooklyn, then the Philly neighborhood of Northern Liberties would probably be its Greenpoint \u2013 or its Williamsburg of five years ago if you want. The earmarks of gentrification, perhaps blowing downwind from the shorelines of Long Island City and Red Hook, have taken hold in this eclectic rowhouse neighborhood of local artists and musicians. Northern Liberties is located north of Philadelphia\u2019s better known Old City. I recently spent a week there, taking in the local flavor and, if you know anything about food and Philadelphia, you know how literally I mean that. It\u2019s the food stupid. The best bar food in America is, without peer, in Philadelphia, PA. It\u2019s the casual dining capital of the world. I spent a week and some well-worn nights in Northern Liberties and this is my compendium.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-55958 alignleft lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.57.55-PM-350x232.png\" alt=\"Mushroom and chicken dish from Azure Restaurant in Philadephias North Liberties Neightborhood\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-55958 alignleft lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.57.55-PM-350x232.png\" alt=\"Mushroom and chicken dish from Azure Restaurant in Philadephias North Liberties Neightborhood\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.57.55-PM-350x232.png 350w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.57.55-PM-768x508.png 768w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.57.55-PM.png 908w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript>Azure<\/strong><br \/>\n931 N. 2nd St. | 215.629.0500 | azurerestaurant.net<\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t let the fake palm trees and standard bar\/restaurant trappings fool you \u2026 actually, you know what, let them. In my neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn, I might welcome an innocuous hangout spot where they had a cocoa sauce and goat cheese quesadilla on the daily menu. But in a neighborhood with so many sublime local eateries, this joint, which bills itself a \u201cvacation restaurant\u201d, is not a well-thought-out choice for evening dining. There are eight beers on tap, crowded outdoor seating, daily menu specials, and a standard bill of fare with wraps, sandwiches, and pizza. The prices are reasonable for most Manhattanites but you didn\u2019t roll down to Philly based on my proclamation of \u201cbest bar food in America\u201d for this. I imagine all the suburban Jersey inmates who crowd the city on weekends might find solace in this place but you \u2013 you\u2019re coming from New York, right?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Bar Ferdinand<br \/>\n<\/strong>1030 N. 2nd St. | 215.923.1313 | <a title=\"Bar Ferdinand Philadelphia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.barferdinand.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">barferdinand.com<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>This tapas restaurant is owned by a developer who appears hell-bent determined on resurrecting some of the absent landscape in Northern Liberties. The same owner also constructed a building of apartments known as The Towers, directly across the street. Thankfully, he\u2019s done a better job at Bar Ferdinand than with The Towers, which looks like the set design for a remake of Klute. Inside Ferdinand, there are ten beers on tap, full bottle regional wines from Spain, and a tapas menu that is far more price-friendly and engaging than almost anything I\u2019ve seen on the island of Manhattan. The choice selection here is the Cerdo Frito bocadillo, a slow roasted pork sandwich with mahon cheese, mustard, and peppers. The menu is divided into marinated dishes, croquettes, cold and hot tapas, skewers, bocadillos, potatoes, and pastry-filled empanadas. Outdoor seating is available in a small plaza shared with the rather ordinary neighboring sports bar\/restaurant Deuce. Inside, there is table seating, room at the bar, and a long communal table in the middle of the restaurant.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-55960 alignleft lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.59.32-PM-298x300.png\" alt=\"bartending pour beer from tap in the standard tap, philadephia\" width=\"300\" height=\"302\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-55960 alignleft lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.59.32-PM-298x300.png\" alt=\"bartending pour beer from tap in the standard tap, philadephia\" width=\"300\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.59.32-PM-298x300.png 298w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.59.32-PM-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Screen-Shot-2017-02-10-at-2.59.32-PM.png 430w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript>Standard Tap<\/strong><br \/>\n901 N. 2nd St. | 215.238.0630 | <a title=\"Standard Tap Philadelphia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.standardtap.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">standardtap.com<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>In many ways, the pillar of Northern Liberties is the popular tavern Standard Tap located on the corner of North 2nd and \u2026 well \u2026 Poplar Street. The two-floor eat and drink establishment is owned by the same proprietors of close-by Johnny Brenda\u2019s and has the ever-intoxicating draw of good beer, great food, and familiar company. This is a neighborhood joint in a way that\u2019s hard to come by amid the fluidity of Manhattan streets. I took in three meals and four nights of drinking here during my stay and by my last meal I was chatting up the downstairs bartender, who worked upstairs the night before, about the appendix his roommate had to get removed that morning. Local denizens post flyers in the bathrooms for house parties that everyone already seems to know about anyway.<\/p>\n<p>The beers on tap are all regional including Yards Pale Ale, pulled from a tap attached to a refrigerator door behind the downstairs bar. As for the food, there are no menus save the ones written in chalk on large boards by the downstairs and upstairs bars, as well as outside on the second floor deck. The menu is interested in being interesting, with entrees such as antelope and an excellent duck salad. I sampled the flank steak, tender and juicy; the chicken pot pie has a flaky crust; and both the salmon and the soft shell sandwiches are great comfort food choices when prepping for a long night of drinking. The staff is energetic and friendly and, as with any bar worth its weight, if you become a familiar face you might get an appreciatory comp drink on the house.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prefer to listen to this post instead of reading through? Click the video below:<\/strong><br \/>\n<iframe class=\"lazyload\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gJ6tiZBVY-g\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Johnny Brenda\u2019s<\/strong><br \/>\n1201 Frankford Ave. | 215.739.9684 | <a title=\"Johnny Brenda&#039;s Philadelphia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.johnnybrendas.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">johnnybrendas.com<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>A dive bar diner wouldn\u2019t sound very appetizing under normal circumstances but in Philly every local brew house, pub, and bar has a chef-plotted menu. Johnny Brenda\u2019s is a bi-level live music venue with a first floor bar that also plates up a simple, delicious menu. Patrons can cozy up to the extended countertop for a $3 pint of SlyFox, the local pale ale of choice, and order a meal. The menu offers kebabs, salads, and sandwiches. I had the steak sandwich with accompanying string fries. The only drawback to the sandwich was the choice to put it on hoagie bread, which overwhelmed the meat. One bad chew and you were in danger of losing the whole thing to your plate. There are also complimentary, bite-sized pieces of toasted bread with spicy horseradish sauce as a condiment. There\u2019s a pool table near the front and a jukebox with as many Pixies songs as a bad indie movie from the 90s. Upstairs is about the music. In New York terms it\u2019s a smaller Bowery Ballroom with a downstairs bar that has food. The bands are indie rock, usually local with some nationally touring acts making stops in as well. Johnny Brenda\u2019s is Arthur\u2019s from \u201cHappy Days\u201d but for the hipster set. I guess that makes it Arthur\u2019s from that Weezer video.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>North Third Bar &amp; Restaurant<\/strong><br \/>\n801 N. 3rd Street | 215.413.3666 | <a title=\"North Third Restaurant Philadelphia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.norththird.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">norththird.com<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>The Dude owns this place. You know the dude from The Big Lebowski? Now it\u2019s not actually owned by Jeff Bridges, or even the guy Jeff Bridges based his performance on, but the owner happens to be known locally as \u2026 \u201cThe Dude\u201d, for his shaggy appearance and casual waistline. After having had several meals at North Third, however, I\u2019d just as soon confuse him with Danny Meyer \u2013 maybe a stretch. But North Third, as well as Silk City another local food joint, has sophisticated grub. Unlike other nearby spots like Standard Tap or close by, The Abbey, North Third leans more heavily on its menu than its charm as a watering hole. There are two bars, one in the front and one in the back, and the television sets don\u2019t seem to get in the way of the intimacy of the place. There\u2019s a cigarette machine near the bathrooms lest you have a sudden bodega panic attack, an offering of cocktails at the bar like the Mojito Martini and Margarita pitchers, and, par for the course, there\u2019s a healthy selection of local brews to choose from on tap. There\u2019s also a popular Fancy Pants film night every Tuesday where the bar plays independent work and short films from anyone who has dared to pick up a video camera and wants people to see it. Don\u2019t be too scared off by that proposition. Fancy Pants has played host to the likes of The Sundance Channel and Adult Swim creators.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s the food you\u2019ll want. There is a chili that\u2019s so comforting (sour cream and thick with meat and cheese) regulars forget it\u2019s technically not on the everyday menu. There are mussels, quesadillas, pierogies, and daily specials, but the real prize here is the chicken sandwich. North Third has the most sublime chicken sandwich I\u2019ve ever tasted. What is it \u2013 breaded chicken, avocado, bacon, and sunshine; that\u2019s right, sunshine. The sandwich is served on sourdough and is rich without it being Monopoly money. North Third is gourmet without you knowing it. But now you <em>do<\/em> know so you have no excuse not to go.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>North Bowl<\/strong><br \/>\n909 N. 2nd St. | 215.238.2695 | <a title=\"North Bowl Philadelphia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.northbowlphilly.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">northbowlphilly.com<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Speaking of Lebowski, do your best impression of \u201cThe Jesus\u201d a block down the street from Standard Tap here at North Bowl. It\u2019s a warehouse sized two-floor bowling alley with lanes on each floor. There is a bar area off to the side, usually playing the local sports teams, and on the second floor are a row of pool tables, an additional bar, soft couches, and a live DJ who I personally congratulated for playing every obscure, forgotten about late 80\u2019s to early 90\u2019s rap and R&amp;B song not on my iPod (what the hell is Grand Puba up to these days anyway?). On Wednesday and Sunday nights, North Bowl offers deals on frames, there\u2019s a parking lot out in front for your convenience, and, perhaps most importantly \u2013 on special nights \u2013 the crispy tater tots are $2. You\u2019ll also get to put on the smartest looking bowling shoes I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>So go and spike a bowling ball into a nihilist\u2019s gut, blow up your car, go out for hamburgers, steal your car back, threaten a high school student with poor English grades and a father who lives in a bubble, and drink Sasparilla with Sam Elliot but in reverse. It\u2019s the City of Brotherly Love!<\/p>\n<p>*One note: as big and bad as we consider New York to be, it\u2019s a relatively safe big city. In a neighborhood like Northern Liberties that is gentrifying \u2013 teetering on that needlepoint of race and class, which has always defined the great American city \u2013 a safe walk home at night is not always a wise assumption. But my intention is not to become Philly\u2019s boogeyman. Northern Liberties is fun and unexpected \u2013 well worth the Chinatown bus ticket.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How to get there: <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>It\u2019s all about the Chinatown bus. From Manhattan\u2019s Chinatown to Philly\u2019s, the one way fare can cost as low as $12, with discounts for round trip tickets. From Chinatown near the Convention Center in Philly, you have two choices: take a 1.2 mile walk down Race St., around Franklin Square, up North 5th St., and into Northern Liberties after making a right on Brown St. OR if it\u2019s at night and you are alone (male or female), take a less cool five &#8211; ten minute cab ride.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>To see details on the Chinatown bus and other routes to Philadelphia, as well as information on how to get around Philly once you are there, please consult our&nbsp;<a title=\"offManhattan | Manhattan to Philadelphia Public Transportation Advisor\" href=\"\/manhattan-to-philadelphia-public-transportation-advisor\/\">Public Transportation Advisor for Manhattan to Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Photos from Azure Restaurant and The Standard Tap.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s an ongoing joke in my favorite Woody Allen film Manhattan: Diane Keaton playing Mary Wilkes, a hyper-intellectual feminist adulterer, feigns innocence in the middle of an argument by proclaiming, \u201cI mean really, I\u2019m just from Philadelphia: I mean we believe in God.\u201d Woody Allen, the consummate New Yorker, stands befuddled by the implication. That [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":55957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[759,761,747,770,332,774,316],"tags":[31,77,8,74,76,75,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-76","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bar-activity-2","8":"category-beer-activity-2","9":"category-bus-2","10":"category-food-drink","11":"category-philadelphia-2","12":"category-restaurants-food-drink","13":"category-weekend-getaways","14":"tag-bar","15":"tag-chinatown-bus","16":"tag-mini-guides","17":"tag-northern-liberties","18":"tag-pennsylvania","19":"tag-philadelphia","20":"tag-restaurant"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":55957,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/image-e1486757199858-350x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}