Philly 13 Weeks of Adventure: Week 2 - SIPS
Center City's summer happy hour tradition.
Welcome to Love + Travel, where the adventure never stops.
Last week, I began this year’s 13 Weeks of Adventure series in Philly with Week 1 - FIFA Club World Cup. You can also view the entirety of my writing, here.
For the past month, my relationship with writing has been pretty ✨blah✨.
I haven’t picked up a pen and let my mind wander in a while.
No haikus written over breakfast.
No jotting down of plot points or character arcs for works in progress.
All relationships ebb and flow. The one we share with our creativity is no different.
Plus it probably has to do with the world feeling like it’s on fire physically (it’s been hot) and emotionally (world news).
I’m hoping the next few weeks of travel help me shake the funk a bit, starting with flying out to Miami tomorrow ✈️.
Change is on the way. Let’s savor the here and now.
-R
I’m definitely not the bar friend. I don’t strike up convos with people to the side of me while waiting for a drink, I don’t make a sport out of vying for the bartender’s attention, and I sure as hell am not doing shots. You can count on me to comment on the stickiness of the floor and whether the bathroom has good lighting and ventilation.
I’m in my thirties.
Dive bars are out, and aesthetic restaurants and lounges are in.
For SIPS, Center City’s district-wide happy hour which runs from 5pm-7pm on summer Wednesdays, I hit up three spots that embodied my favorite things - culture, immersive experiences, and the arts.
The best part is they’re all a short distance from one another. My husband and I parked on the corner of 13th Street and Locust and were able to walk to each spot.
We began at Flambo, a chill spot in the Gayborhood that offers an introduction to Trinidadian food. We got there for five, and the space was basically empty, but it filled up fast. It’s a great after-work spot to start the night off with coworkers or the homies. They have a live DJ who keeps the place jumping with soca and reggae, so this is the ideal spot if you want high energy.
The restaurant opened nearly ten years ago, but has only been at its current location for four summers and the Trini-Indian influence is real. Carnival headpieces and mandala artwork line the wall while pholourie and samosas are two of the most popular items on the appetizer menu. Everything about this place points to culture, especially the name.
The owner experienced power outages while growing up, so a common question in his household was, “Where is the flambo?”, a makeshift lantern formed from a rum bottle, an old t-shirt, and kerosene as a way to navigate literal dark times. The name serves as a reminder of what’s possible when creating one’s own light.
You can expect all starters and drinks under the SIPS promo to be a reduced size, and I’m unsure if this is the usual or if we got unlucky on the day we visited, but they were not offering any sides at all - which tracks for a west indian restaurant being out of plantains.
Points for continuity.
Next, we headed to F1 Arcade about two blocks away.
It’s an arcade bar with 80 full-motion simulators that mimic the physical sensation of racing. The space just opened at the end of May so it is a really cool spot to visit during SIPS since it is still in its debut period.
This is only the third F1 Arcade in the United States, following the first in Boston and a second in Washington, DC, but more are in the works, including Las Vegas, Denver, and Atlanta.
It’s truly a social playground with leaderboards, the possibility for group play, and you can join in on live race watch parties during Grand Prix events. It’s beautiful, modern, and has an abundance of seating, which is good because it is first-come come first first-served and the staff is super attentive. Even if you didn’t want to jump in a sim and drive, I’d say it’s a really fun place to visit because the decor is so grown and sexy, and the music hits.
Not relevant but funny: I thought the skid marks on the walls of the bathroom were a little crude until I realized they’re on ALL the walls throughout the establishment, not just the restroom. I had to laugh at myself for automatically jumping to potty humor.
Note to reader: This is where we should have started!
Curtain Call remains open throughout the night like any other bar, but during the 5-7 pm window, guests can enjoy their beverages on the 2nd floor patio space of the Kimmel Center of Performing Arts. In addition to a bird’s eye view of Broad Street below, there are direct sightlines to the City Hall building five blocks away.
We arrived after the window, so we didn’t get a chance to catch the breeze or views, but their ground-floor lounge still had an outdoor feel with cloud-like light fixtures suspended from the ceiling and faux hedges separating the bar from the larger venue space. There’s ample seating to choose between: High-top tables, emerald armchairs, plush ottomans, and curved accent seats with accompanying side tables arranged throughout the space. The place is big on mood lighting, but each surface is lit by a gold reading light, so whether you bring a book for some solo time, you can’t go wrong with this place.
Aesthetically, this was my favorite of the three locations. Although Curtain Call only takes up a small footprint of the entire facility, there’s an opportunity to carry your drinks and conversation to other areas of the performing arts center. The domed glass ceiling is beautiful beyond words, and the dark oak walls convey the prestige and excellence that the concert hall is known for. There’s something very sexy about having a large space all to yourself. Voyeuristic even.
I hope you visit and enjoy.
These recaps come from my desire to share the things I enjoy. I invite you to like, share, or comment to help it reach those who might enjoy. You can also upgrade your subscription, buy me a coffee, or add a book to my library to tangibly support my work.
LET ME KNOW
Are you a bar friend? How are the dives these days?
What’s the drink culture like where you live?
Favorite cocktail/mocktail?
Do you go to happy hours for the social interactions, apps or drinks?
Oooh! 13 weeks of adventure is back! I miss happy hour. I'd say my favorite cocktail is a margarita. However I don't order those during happy hour. I like trying the fancy drinks on the happy hour menus. And if tequila's in it, I'm more than likely ordering it. I used to go to happy hours (when I was in Northern VA) for both the appetizers and the drinks. Can't have one without the other! The social interaction was mainly with my coworkers but I did enjoy meeting others from neighboring companies. I haven't attended happy hour outside of the DC area.
Who is looking at the skid marks when the outfit is so good?! I’ve added all of these places to my NYC spots to visit list for when I finally make it up there.
I live in the suburbs a so the drink culture is non-existent. We barely have a restaurant with a bar in it right now but development is happening quickly so I have hope. For now, my husband and I make cocktails at home. Anything with whiskey or bourbon and sweet tea is going to be a winner.