meet the newest installment of tick tock vintage! as you know, i'm a very proud philadelphian and i love sharing all of the amazing restaurants, bars, shops, and parks that our city has to offer with newcomers or visitors. i'm always interested in the offerings of other cities, and i thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite places with friends not from the city of brotherly love. there will be a new post every two weeks, complete with pictures and location information (in case you ever do decide to visit).
the south philadelphia tap room
1509 Mifflin St
the south philadelphia taproom (or just "the taproom") is easily one of my favorite restaurants in philadelphia. it's a 5 minute bike ride from my house, making it extremely convenient. the food is fabulous (try the tomato soup and grilled cheese!), and definitely not typical bar-food; there are wild boar tacos as appetizers. specials rotate daily, and are generally very delicious.
but the beer...oh, the beer. the draft list here is extensive, to say the least. above is the victory helios, bryan's choosing. the bottle offering isn't substantial , but with so many choices on tap i can definitely deal.
many local brews...
the decor is really beautiful. i believe it was a pair of rowhomes (but i definitely could be wrong). there is a brick fireplace in the back, elaborate woodworking, and huge windows that surround two of the walls. and is this mirror gorgeous or what?
can you spot my bike? i've found that it's best to go on weekdays, as grabbing a table on friday or saturday night can be a bit difficult. they also have brunch, which i haven't tried yet, but you can check out the menu
here.
brew, a "beer boutique", is owned by the same people and is located on the same block. it's worth checking out if you're in the area.
if you have suggestions as to the kinds of places you'd like to see me feature, please let me know! i'd love to hear your opinions.
i haven't done a philadelphia favorite post for a long time, so i thought i'd introduce you to one of my favorite spots in philadelphia for brunch: sabrina's cafe.
sabrina's is located right on the edge of the 9th street italian market; it's a busy street, lined with fruit and vegetable vendors, spice shops, specialty meat stores, delis, seafood shops, bakeries, and a couple of coffee shops thrown into the mix. isgro's bakery is right around the corner (i can smell the sweets baking when i'm biking several blocks away!).
as seen by the award above, people obviously like sabrina's. a lot. there's a huge wait for brunch, even as early as 9AM. if you're there right at 9, you can sometimes skip the wait. there's a separate waiting room next door. if you end up encountering one of their 45 minute+ waits, i'd suggest putting your name on the waiting list and go for a stroll around the italian market.
let's chat about the food. it's phenomenal. i've never had anything here that hasn't been outrageously tasty. the barking chihuahua (a breakfast burrito) is delicious, and definitely big enough for two meals. i can't even come close to finishing mine! the house-made granola and yogurt is perfect for a lighter breakfast, and the tofu scramble is really good, too. there are daily specials, too(look for the huge chalkboards when you walk in).
i also really love the inside of the restaurant. i don't have too many picture of it, just because i didn't want to be snapping away while people were trying to enjoy their food, you know? rest assured, it's really neat. they kept the bones of the old structure, so you can sit in the different rooms in the restaurant; it's very homey feeling.
