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Happy Hour Hopper
Lots of new exciting things afoot at NoLibs' Ortlieb's Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.): Kyle Costill of Bands in the Backyard fame has taken over as bar manger and is giving us plenty of reasons to make our way up to this North Third Street spot.
Drinks-wise Costill has crafted a tight menu of summer perfect cocktails including the Pineapple Express (pictured above) with Sailor Jerry rum, vodka and cherry juice garnished with a totally tropical umbrella and flamingo sizzle stick. There's also a lighter take on an Old Fashioned dubbed The Big O made with cherries and an orange slice muddled with Tully topped with a splash of fizzy sour mix. House cocktails are running a wallet friendly $5 to $8 a pop and going down just a little bit too easily.
Apart from obvious draws like $1 taco happy hours (Tuesday through Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 10 to midnight), there are also BYO vinyl and CD nights (Wednesday and Thursday, respectively) plus Friday vinyl happy hour featuring a cast of rotating local DJs (think Jeff Zeigler from Arc in Round.)
Be on the look out for some awesome shows happening at Ortlieb's too from the likes of Japanther and Spacin'.
Beginning next Tuesday, March 19th, The Mildred (824 S. 8th St.) is launching happy hour weekdays form 5:30 to 7 pm. "We are doing a killer boudin dish with pickled veggies and mustard," chef Mike Santoro promises, as well as mussels with mussel butter and toast, duck confit spaetzle mac 'n' cheese, grilled beef tongue with new potatoes and gruyere sauce. Look out for half-price drinks, punches and wines, plus mysterious "free treats." See you there.
Broke? Stuck on hard times? Strapped for cash? Just plain cheap? Luckily for all who can relate, East Passyunk’s Birra (1700 E. Passyunk Ave.) has a new summertime happy hour special chock-full of special deals for you. Every weekday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. customers will be treated to an array of cocktails, crafts and cans on sale for $3. Or you can keep it simple and grab a cheese pizza and a 16 oz. Lionshead pounder for just $5. Pizza, beer, and loads of outdoor seating? Sign us up.
View galleryWHERE YOU AT? I've been meaning to get to Fish since January, when it officially reopened at its new location on 13th and Locust. I finally made it in on a Friday at 4:55 p.m. The staff hustled around me as I got situated, but I didn't absorb the frenzied pace until 10 minutes had elapsed and about 20 other fellow happy hour hoppers people joined me at the bar. Even before the crowds materialized, two of the bar staffers seemed harried and a bit snappy; thankfully, there were superceded by wonderful bar manager and mixologist extraordinaire (though he prefers the term "boozehound") Theo Webb.
WHAT'S THE SCENE? All the patrons at Fish seemed to be having a good time. On my right were three gay fellas wearing incredibly good-looking suits. They drank Champagne (into which Theo dropped bourbon-soaked cherries) and ordered plate after plate of oysters (the buck-a-shuck rule applies to all happy hours). To my left was the proud father of Fish pastry chef Monica Glass. Some parents had their kid at the bar at 5 p.m., but an hour later there was nary a toddler to be found. Overall, the bar was brimming with polished, well-dressed patrons, either out and about in work clothes or dolled up for the evening to come.
WHAT'S THE DEAL? My original intention had been to swing by for Fish's late-night happy hour (from 11 p.m. to midnight Friday or Saturday), but the old lady in me opted for early-bird hours. More than half of Fish's multi-page beverage menu is wine, and that includes many options by the glass. In addition to dollar oysters, they offer a select red and white for $5 during happy hour. I went for the red, the Quinto do Casol Branco, which normally goes for twice that price. They also do a lineup of three bottled beers for three bucks. During my drop-by, Theo concocted a Lynchburg Lemonade for the rotating $5 cocktail special — way tasty, way too easy to drink. All these deals apply weeknights from 5 to 7 p.m. in addition to the aforementioned late-night hours.
WHERE YOU AT? I stopped at Stateside (1536 E. Passyunk Ave.) during that unseasonably warm spell a couple weeks ago. The bartenders had flung the windows wide open and the steady din of cars stopping, starting and rumbling around the Passyunk Fountain provided some good ol' South Philly background noise as a friend and I chatted over half-price drafts.
WHERE YOU AT? The biting cold this week has me longing for spring, so I went hunting for it at Mixto (1141 Pine St.), hoping its Latin influence could put a little sizzle in my step. My girl S and I arrived at 5 p.m. and sat at a high-top near the downstairs bar. We languished for a little while before realizing walking up to the bar to order drinks was the right move. Got our mojitos and miniature pinchos (grilled meat skewers) shortly after.
WHAT'S THE SCENE? All the natural wood and brick at Mixto is gorgeous, and in the summer they get their Miami-on-Pine thing going with outdoor seating. (They'll put tables out in the winter if the weather is temperate.) Inside has a good vibe, though, with upbeat Latin music and a menu largely inspired by Cuba and the Caribbean, further speaking to my need for spring. Even as early as 5, quite a few people were already seated for dinner. Most of the crowd looked to be in their late 30s, not a big surprise since the spot has been around eight years in a relatively affluent neighborhood — the clientele's a definite reflection of the stability of the place.
WHAT'S THE DEAL? I was happy we went on a $5 mojito day, since that minted rum drink was what my warm-weather heart was craving. This special rotates throughout the week: five-buck mojitos on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then $5 margaritas on Tuesday and Thursday. In addition, all Latin beers are $3, and they offer a couple small bites to enjoy alongside. My favorite $2 pincho was the chipotle barbecue chicken. I somehow managed to say no to the $1 empanadas, though it was awfully hard to deny something both fried and priced at a single dollar. All of Mixto's HH dealage runs weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
WHERE YOU AT? MilkBoy (1100 Chestnut St.) has been open for about six months now, the newest member of a family that includes older siblings in Ardmore and Bryn Mawr. Philly's the baby, but it's got a serious leg up on its Main Line counterparts: a liquor license. They had a tempting draft list when I showed up with some girlfriends for happy hour around 4:30 one evening last week. We sat at the bar (specials apply to booth sitters, too), and I was glad I did — our bartender was extra-generous, letting my friends and I try a sample a few drafts before committing. I ended up with the smoky Williamsburg Alewerks Washington's Porter; friends grabbed a Mission Shipwrecked IPA and an "Auntie Maxie" cocktail, a combination of Absolut wild tea, Barenjager and lemon sweetly served in a mason jar.
WHERE YOU AT? Jake's and Cooper's is a swanky-but-cozy wine bar and restaurant on in Manayunk (4365 Main St.). Owner Bruce Cooper's Jake's stood alone for years until he launched the attached Cooper's, a more casual pizzeria/wine bar, in 2008. I took a load off at their 15-seat bar on a recent Tuesday at 6 p.m., halfway through their 5-to-7 p.m. "happiness hour."
WHERE YOU AT? Open for a year, 2nd Street Brew House occupies the unassuming corner of Second and Morris, which gets more traffic from sedans on their way to Target than pedestrians hunting for food and drink. I came across them trolling Twitter (you do it too, right?!). My friends and I made it there on a Wednesday and settled into a table in the back, next to the Ms. Pac-Man machine. When I realized that I couldn't beat anyone at that, I suggested we play darts.
WHAT’S THE SCENE? We essentially had the back part of the bar to our selves, save for a few loners who were curled up with their beers and Kindles. Curling up is easy at Brew House since they have upholstered chairs throughout the place. These, plus the low lighting, contribute to the overall warmth of the place. Bartender Logan was awesome, working with my friend for 10 minutes to help her find a beer she'd like on tap. Eventually she ordered the Southern Tier Creme Brulee, which tastes more like dessert than beer; I got a Founders Dirty Bastard, which I loved.
WHAT'S THE DEAL? The Brew House's happy-hour specials run seven days a week from 4 to 6 p.m. — half-price select drafts, half off the entire food menu (tots!), $2 domestic bottles/cans and $4 Citywides. My sole criticism of the Brew House is that they offered only five of their dozen drafts on special when I visited, but I hear that number is fluctuating as the bar finds its happy-hour stride. Altogether, the ambience, staff, food and prices are on point. If I lived anywhere in the vicinity, this bar would definitely be my go-to. For now, it's a regular fixture on my HHH circuit — I was back two days later.
Cheers, y’all.
Happy Hour is a place to vent daily frustrations and unwind, a time to reconnect with friends and coworkers you donÂ’t mind seeing beyond the boundaries of Cubicle Land. ItÂ’s is also the ideal time to score a deal on your favorite gustatives and gulpables. For this feature, Team Meal Ticket hops to happy hours across the land and files a report every Tuesday. LetÂ’s delve into it at Swift Half.
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| Photo | Rachel Burgos |
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| Photo | Rachel Burgos |
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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