I really wanted to write a legit post on what to do & see in the City of Brotherly Love with only 36-hours, but… alcohol happened lol. In my defense, I was totally outnumbered, 3-1! While I didn’t get to do as much sightseeing as I would have liked to, I definitely did a whole lot of eating and drinking! Here’s what I got up to while in Philly & some of the best spots to eat & drink at.

My roommate Chris & I flew in pretty late on a Saturday, landing at 9:30pm so we immediately rushed to meet our friends. This trip was super last minute for me, but I still managed to make one of my “funsies list” and we soon started checking things off.

Saturday Night

First stop, dinner at Urban Farmer. Urban Farmer Philadelphia is a farm to table steakhouse that was recommended to me. Located in historic Logan Square, it was conveniently right next to our hotel. Like right next door! #winning. After dinner, we headed upstairs to the Assembly Rooftop Lounge. This sophisticated hotel bar offers stunning views of Logan Square and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty sexy!

But it was also pretty packed! So, after a few cocktails we decided to check out another place. Thanks to my trusty little funsies list, we made our way to the Franklin Bar just a few blocks away in Rittenhouse Square. The Franklin Bar is a 2-story, swanky prohibition style speakeasy serving up stiff, expertly crafted cocktails. I have a thing for speakeasy bars. I always have, so whenever I venture to a new city, I make it a point visit at least one & The Franklin Bar didn’t disappoint.

Sunday Funday

The next day was Sunday Funday! My friend Cass and I were the only ones excited enough to wake up and be out by 8am. We headed straight to the Museum of Art to run up the iconic ‘Rocky Steps’ made famous by Sylvester Stallone in the film.

This was my first time in Philadelphia and even thought the weather was less than perfect, I enjoyed leisurely strolling through Pennsylvania’s largest city. As one of the oldest towns in America, Philly is full of rich history, culture, delicious food and amazingly well-preserved articteture. It’s an absolute gem to explore on foot.

Prior to the flight, my dear/dumbass friend Christopher locked himself out of his bedroom so he literally flew to Philadelphia with just the clothes on his back! We met him & my girl Rachel at the Nordstroms near by and I ended up with this really cute hat! Thanks for the paparrazzi photos Cass! Lol

On to the first cocktails of the day! We stop in at the Continental Mid-Town, a vibrant & lively 3-story spot with a great bar downstairs and really cute rooftop deck featuring a menu of creative cocktails. I wanted to eat here as the food looked bomb, but I also wanted to experience my first real Philly cheesesteak. Everyone else agreed that a cheesesteak was definitely the play. The bartender was able to recommend her favorite spot in town that just so happen to be right down the road. Thanks girl!

Steve’s Prince of Steaks is the best Philly Cheesesteak I have ever had! My friends laughed at me when I said that, as this was my first real Philly cheesesteak. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t ever had a cheesesteak before. I had just never had a one in Philadelphia. Anyways, it was bomb, and that’s all that matters!

Ordering a cheesesteak in Philly can be a little intimadating. For those that don’t know, there is a right and a wrong way to do it. Of course, I had no idea about this and I ordered mine totally wrong. Yes, there was a line full of people watching and yes, they were definitely judging! Whatevs, the guys working the counter were so sweet and I ended up with my perfect sandwitch. “One whiz with” is the proper way to order the cheesesteak I got. Basically, it means a cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and fried onions. Toppings are al a cart and I added some jalapeños and banana peppers. Yummmmm, it was delicious. Read this article so you can order your perfect cheesesteak the right way! (Citypass.com Philadelphia)

Next, we visited the Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, a quirky & unique outdoor art installation with indoor galleries that is decorated entirely with mosaics spanning more than half a block. It is definitely something to see! This labyrinth of artwork located on South Street includes everything from colorful tiles, ceramics, wine bottles, dolls, bicycle tires to just about any random household items you could find.

Honestly, I had way too much fun exporing this gem of a place! Way more than I think the average person would have. The cocktails we had at Varga Bar just before entering probably had something to do with it haha. I mean, it was really cool & totally worth the visit, don’t get me wrong! I just don’t think it was run around dancing, hopping & skipping, singing ‘pretty women’ cool. But that was me the whole time!

Our hotel had free drinks from 5-7 so obviously that’s what everyone wanted to do. Ughhhhh. Its taken me a long time to figure out that I just can’t drink like that anymore and be any kind of a functioning human. So, I sat this one out and totally napped! Boring, I know.

But taking a nap was the best idea because I woke up refresh; ready for more adventures and food! The boys let me pick our dinner spot and I knew just exactly where I wanted to go! We made our way to Vernick Food & Drink, and yoooooo this place was fire!

I always read blogs about the best restaurants to visit when I travel and Vernick was touted in all sorts of articles, so I knew it had to be good. & it was! Everything we got, we shared. Absolutely everything was delicious. The few dishes that stood out to me were the beef tar tar, grilled hearts of romaine, grilled black sea bass and the roasted wagyu beef rib. Being the terrible wanna-be blogger that I am, of course I didn’t bring my camera. Luckily though, Cass had snapped a few photos on his phone.

Things in Philly start to shut down a little bit earlier than what we were use to in Tampa. It was no worries though, as we weren’t trying to have a super crazy night anyways. After dinner, we stopped into a random hookah bar with belly dancing for a cocktail then heading back to the hotel.

But on the way, sitting pretty was, Con Murphey’s Irish Pub.

“Night cap?” asks Cass.

And we finished off an amazing day in Philly surounded by locals over a beer and a round of green tea shots.

Monday Morning

Monday morning came way too fast if you ask me! I knew that if there was one thing I had to do before I left, it was to visit Chinatown! I am obsessed with Chinatowns and Philadelphia’s is the 2^nd biggest one in America.

Cass had never had dim sum before! What?? I had to show him what was up, so we headed straight to Dim Sum Garden for what was some of the arguably best dim sum I had had in the states in such a long time!

& just like that my weekend in Phily was over! Super short, but super sweet and delicious. I know I’ll be back soon and next time I will be sure to do more exploring and of course eating! Where are some of y’all favorite Philadelphia hot spots?? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be sure to add them to my ‘funsies list” 😉