Going to the Eagles/Giants game Sunday night (need some help from the locals)

Not sure if you guys can see the attachment or not but my wife decided to surprise me with tickets for the game. Brian Dawkins retirement ceremony at halftime. We're flying in on the red eye on Friday night and staying at the Westin near Rittenhouse Square. Definitely going to hit up Chickie's and Pete's among other things. Is the location near Citizen's Bank ballpark the best location?

This is my 2nd trip to Philly. I saw them in 2007 and we hit up Love Park, Geno's and Pat's, the Rocky steps, the liberty bell, Franklin Square, etc.

What are some other local things to do that are not well known to tourists? Is there a decent restaurant to try or a place to grab a decent breakfast? Probably going to stay away from cheesesteak places this time as we tried at least 4 different places last time I was in Philly.

Are those duck tours lame or are they worth the time to do?

Anyone care to chime in?

I live in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood and can help you out with the neighborhood stuff if you need local ideas.

There are only two Chickie and Pete's...one is by the stadium and the other is in the far northeast, so the south philly one is the obvious choice. Get there early, sir. That is a tough bar to get into on game day, especially for a night game.


Duck tours are as lame as can be

breakfast place ideas

These are two favorites:

Italian Market- Sabrinas http://sabrinascafe.com/

Deep South Philly- Green Eggs Cafe http://greeneggscafe.com/

Both of these are in South Philly, both will have a good wait but are both awesome

If you want a real interesting urban adventure, with a killer plate of food....try this place in Northern Liberties- Honey's Sit and Eat http://honeyssitneat.com/

Lance is your Entertainment guy for Philly, and a great guy but be careful, he's a Stinkin' Giants fan!

The Chickie's he recommends is the closest, but may be tough to get near on Sunday.

And we'll keep an eye out. B-Dawk does some pre-game stuff now for Local TV and maybe more visible that weekend than normal...

I'd do the touristy stuff 'til about 3, then hop the subway down, eat down by the Stadiums and then mooch off the tailgaters. And avoid being too near a guy dressed in Giants gear!

BTW, IF they don't protect Vick better, you'll need a Foles jersey by Halftime...

As for cool things to do:

Eastern State Penitentiary: The world's first penitentiary was built in Philly in like 1770 (what once was far into the country) and amazingly was still in use till the 1950's. It's in a state of a living ruin and you have to sign a release upon entering. Very spooky and cool....15 blocks north and 5 blocks west of your hotel, a six dollar cab fare http://www.easternstate.org/home


The Barnes Collection: Not sure how much into art you are, but Philly owns the best French Impressionist collection than anywhere else in the world, including France. Dr. Barnes was a very wealthy and hip fellow and basically purchased every Matisse, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Cezanne he could. He installed these amongst african tribal art, american folk art, tools, ect. There's a huge background here that you can google but the guy was really hip and the collection is insane. It's still brand new and I was there last week. One twenty foot long wall had 16 Cezanne's on it If or you wife like art at all, it really is almost the most unique and insane collection on earth. A five minute walk from your hotel. Reservation only, fyi http://www.barnesfoundation.org/

Reading Terminal Market: More of a lunch destination. An old railroad station (the Philadelphia-Reading railroad) that has been long been turned into a food and produce market. You will find Amish prepared foods, chinese duck noodle soups, turkish falafel, south philly cheessteaks, the beast oyster bar EVER, 4th street Jewish deli cookies (peanut butter chocolate chip :idea: ) produce, cheese, meats, fish, and the best sandwich in America, the roast pork with provolone at DiNic's. It's super cool and a market that does not exist anywhere else in the country http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/



Restaurants: Well I'll need more info...budget, level of cuisine you'd like, type of food you are used to eating and would like to eat. I'm in the food biz so I can guide you well but need a little more info here....casual? Ethnic? Fine dining? Wine centric? Beer bar? Whatever you would like......

Thanks for the info so far, guys. I did some google searching after my post. Looks like I am going to miss restaurant week as it starts Sunday and I am doing a quick trip back to California on Monday evening.

I did see that Dawk is going to be signing on Monday at Schuylkill Valley Sports but I will be flying back when he is doing the signing.

I land early on Saturday morning and was thinking about trying Bonte Wafflerie & Cafe. It's close to the hotel and sounds decent. Lance, have you been here before?

Depending on my budget, we may do a decent meal at The Prime Rib or another steak house. I thought about trying the italian market as my wife is Italian. I am going to check out Sabrina's maybe for dinner Saturday night.

Xfinity live sounds like L.A. Live and we may hang out there and watch the early games before heading over to the Linc.

Last time I was there I tried cheesesteaks at Campo's, Geno's, Pat's, and Jim's. The one place I didn't try was Tony Luke's. Is this place worth a try? I'll have to see where it is in relation to everything else we decide to do.

Re: Bonte...I've eaten there ~50 times. It serves it's purpose but certainly not a destination place. It is what it is...it's good on the go but don't go out of your way to go there.

Re: Steak House....Prime Rib is always a good bet. There is a great spot one block west called the Barclay Prime http://www.barclayprime.com/ same price range but I would say it is a tad better

Re: Italian Market and Sabrina's. Italian Market is very fun, you should bring her there. But DO NOT eat at Sabrina's for dinner, it is terrible. As great a brunch place it is, it is the complete opposite for dinner. There is a really incredible Sicilian BYOB across the street from Sabrinas right on the corner of Washington in the heart of the Italian Market called Monsu http://www.monsurestaurant.com/ Very affordable and remarkably great. Their lasagne, a boar and wild mushroom concoction with a fried egg atop is to die for.

Re: Infinity Live. It's a good time, I'm sure it's the same as LA. Honestly this is your better choice as Chickie And Petes is going to be a nightmare to get a seat. Infinity live is across the parking lot from the Linc (and right next to the subway station) as Chickie and Pete's is a mile away from the the Linc, necessitating the shuttle, and Chickie and Pete's also is an annoyingly good walk from the closest subway station.

Re: Tony Lukes. Go here. It is on Oregon Ave, way down South Philly close to the Linc. You will not get a cheese steak here. You will order the Roast Pork, Sharp Prov, Broccoli Rabe and Hots. You will thank me later and you will never be able to enjoy another sandwich as long as you live. It's that sick. Tony Lukes roast pork > Any sandwich you have had or will ever try again.

If you want a quick easy breakfast place to eat in that hood after you check in, hit the Marathon Grill on 16th and Sansom. Literately a block from the Westin http://eatmarathon.com/16th-and-sansom/

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Tony Luke's cheesesteaks, which they've won awards for but man, do I dig their other stuff, especially the hot hoagies...

If you're going to the Italian Market... Jim's Steaks is a few blocks away on South Street.

Mmmmmmmm.

The Franklin Institute scientific museum.

Definitely hit up the Reading Terminal Market. Your wife will love it and there is a great Roast Pork spot in the middle of the market. There are also a whole bunch of delicious desert locations in there that are awesome.

Thanks for the info, guys. I realized that we actually did Sabrina's the last time I was in Philly. We may try something different this time around. Will have to figure out a plan and map out stuff we want to check out. The Reading Terminal and maybe Tony Luke's might be on the list of things to do.