Cocktail Crawl!

[mssurgeon81]

So a couple of my buddies and I were sitting around Marathon Grill drinking beer the other night, and reflecting on the fact that our regular Thursday night happy hours are somewhat repetitive. Talk turned to cocktails and we discovered that all of us are closet cocktail junkies, and we started making a list of places we want to try.

The end result of all this was we decided to do a cocktail crawl through Center City....which is now up to me to plan.

I was thinking four places would probably be the maximum number we could do realistically in one night. Obviously we have to include Chick's on the list, and I was also thinking about Apothecary and Southwark.

Suggestions?...either places to go or drinks to try? I'm a pretty adventurous drinker but am still working my way through trying all the classic drinks (i.e., cocktail newbie but eager to learn) while my two buddies are more the hardcore mixologist types.

This little expedition is the warm-up to our planned excursion to the Pegu Club later this summer

[mattohara]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I've tried a number of different ryes in my Southwark Manhattans, but my favorite was the house version, which is made with Old Overholt. You may want to try one regular and then another with the fancier sweet vermouth. If you're going to have a few different drinks here you might go for the Sazerac and Martini as well. I think their strengths lie in that direction.

Katie's usually got something homemade behind the bar. If it's ginger-beer you might go for a Dark & Stormy if you like rum. The Corpse Reviver Number 3 is pretty awesome, as is the one with the Herbsaint and elderflower (can't remember the name but she'll remind me below I'm sure). It's almost warm enough for the Front Stoop, which I think is of her own creation. Just let her guide you, she'll have plenty of input depending on what she has and what you like.

Apothecary is interesting and they have a lot of great ingredients. Can't remember what I've had there though besides some Absinthe and a very tasty Manhattan with fancy bitters. Time's got a great whisky selection and is right around the corner but that might be for a different night...

The bar at Sofitel has a pretty neat list; you should stop by and check it out while you're planning. Morimoto has some sake cocktails. Cantina de los Caballitos has some *great* margaritas. The Bicicleta and the Dorado are my faves.

The "planning" stages of this might be the most fun for you.

Edited April 21, 2009 by mattohara (log)

[Yannii]

Great Post / Topic....

I really like your current list of possibilities. i might add on the wonderful margaritas and such that they serve at xochitl,, and maybe the seasonal infusions available at James. In fact, if it were me, i would start at xochitl, then go to southwark, then chick's, and then finish up at james (sort of a queen village zig-zag). I would save apothecary for another night. honestly, APO has so much going on with their drinks, that i would reccomend an entire evening to properly explore all the options. (Actually, I feel the same way about southwark as well). In addition, my advice would be to approach each of these different bars as if you were ordering an omakase tasting menu at a japanese restaurant. just put yourself in the hands of the bartender. tell them how many drinks you want (based on how many people are with you I suppose) and let them make you a selection of different drinks that best represent what they do at that particular bar. it should be a blast, definitely take notes (and pictures!) and report back!

ps amada has really good cocktails as well....

[philadining]

It really depends on how much you want to just drink, and how much you want to crawl...

I've done the Chick's-to-Southwark crawl many times, or the reverse, or the bounce back-and-forth, they're close enough that it's a pleasant stroll, and between those two places, you can cover a LOT of cocktalian terrain. You could do very well just getting a survey of drinks at either place, or both.

That said, I understand the appeal of a crawl, and depending on how much terrain you actually want to cover, I'd suggest a variation on the Yanni plan.

Amada >> Zahav >>Xochitl>>Southwark>>Chick's>>James. If you can still stand, go to the Cantina Los Caballitos.

That's designed for geographical efficiency, not a drink style progression or anything, and James actually closes earlier than the others, so maybe you want to do it backwards.

In any case, if you can remember anything about the evening, please report back!

[mssurgeon81]

Amada >> Zahav >>Xochitl>>Southwark>>Chick's>>James.  If you can still stand, go to the Cantina Los Caballitos.

That's designed for geographical efficiency, not a drink style progression or anything, and James actually closes earlier than the others, so maybe you want to do it backwards.

I like this. A lot. Although I'm a little intimidated by the quantity of alcohol involved . I haven't heard a lot of buzz on Zahav as a cocktail place, but I'd love to try it. Any recommendations?

The idea about the "cocktail omakase" is kick-ass as well.

I think if we're doing this many places, there will have to be a lot of crawling involved in between so that I don't give myself alcohol poisoning.....

[Andrew Fenton]

I like this. A lot. Although I'm a little intimidated by the quantity of alcohol involved . I haven't heard a lot of buzz on Zahav as a cocktail place, but I'd love to try it. Any recommendations? 

A visit to Zahav is a very good idea. I'm not much of a cocktail drinker, but I was really impressed by their cocktails. In particular, I really enjoyed their Israeli salad martini, which was refreshing, not too boozy-tasting and not sweet (my two cocktail bugaboos).

[mattohara]

I think James also has a late-night happy hour thing. There was a great bartender there named Theo who started the whole infusion thing (at least I'm fairly sure he did) and made up a lot of great cocktails with them. He's since moved on to Supper and Zahav.

Edited to add: It might be worth trying to get the various bartenders to make, for example, one manhattan split into two or three glasses. You could get a lot more crawling (or less crawling, depending on how you read it) in that way.

Edited April 21, 2009 by mattohara (log)

[Rich Pawlak]

Having done my share of pub crawls in the past 15 years (all beer-focused, mind you), I think Yanii's crawl scheme is the most logistically do-able. Keep in mind that you are drinking cocktails, with much higher ABVs than beer, so some of the same rules I've applied to beer tours, should be emphatically employed here:

1. Drink water with every cocktail, at least in equal measure to the cocktail itself; cleanses the palate and re-hydrates. And don't hand me that crap about how well you can tolerate your booze, the amount of alcohol will quickly add up on a crawl.

2. Eat SOMETHING at every stop, too. Helps with absorption and equilibrium. Those dates wrapped in bacon at Chick's alone are worth this important step.

3. Pace yourself; it will help if you walk, but if not, spend at least 10-15 min between stops. Catch your breath. Hit the bathroom. Catch another breath.

4. Anything more than 7 stops and you'll be killing yourself. 7-14 cocktails in a day is a considerable amount of alcohol.

Not only will the photos you take be in better focus, but the next morning you'll be sans hangover. Dont worry, it's a medical term.

Edited April 21, 2009 by Rich Pawlak (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Any variations of the usual Chick's-->Southwark-->Someplace Else crawl all work. Just depends how much strolling/stumbling about you plan to do. I'm truly surprised there isn't a trench in the sidewalks between Southwark and Chick's yet. I know at least a few folks that have contributed to that urban geological formation. And that most certainly includes myself...

The drink Matt is thinking of is an Aviatrix, I think. Gin, lemon, maraschino and St. Germain. The Corpse Reviver No. 2 has just a couple of dashes of Herbsaint along with gin, lemon, Lillet and Cointreau. Similar variants on a seemingly endless horizontal scale of gin drinks....Front Stoop Lemonade is back, if currently off menu. Just let me know what base spirit you want to drink and I can work from there. A fresh batch of ginger beer got cooked up just this afternoon. I can make several things from that.

Most importantly, am I expecting you and your crew on Thursday? Shall I save you a table indoors or out? Bar seats are first come, first serve, but we most certainly take reservations for the dining room. Feel free to call 215.625.3700 if a proper reservation is required. And by all means introduce yourself upon arrival. Happy to tailor your cocktail experience as much as I'm able if I'm not too tied up with other guests.

Edited April 22, 2009 by KatieLoeb (log)

[mssurgeon81]

Most importantly, am I expecting you and your crew on Thursday?  Shall I save you a table indoors or out?  Bar seats are first come, first serve, but we most certainly take reservations for the dining room.  Feel free to call 215.625.3700 if a proper reservation is required.  And by all means introduce yourself upon arrival.  Happy to tailor your cocktail experience as much as I'm able if I'm not too tied up with other guests.

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Thanks Katie!...and everybody else. We're definitely including Chick's and Southwark. The rest of the crawl is still under debate.

Since we're all med/surg residents who have to be at work at 6AM (or earlier) on Friday, I think a Thursday night is out. Probably looking at this Saturday or next. But I'll definitely let you know once we pick a date for sure I'm so excited!!

p.s I've been wanting to try both the Aviatrix and the Front Stoop Lemonade since I read your descriptions of them last year. So we'll def have both!

Edited April 22, 2009 by mssurgeon81 (log)