Day 1: if u need a cheesesteak, don't go to a tourist trap for a cheesesteak. Head further south past cheesesteak vegas to @mikesbbq_215 for a smoked brisket cheesesteak. Or go in the other direction to @StockyardPhilly. Or a roast pork from @TommyDinics at reading terminal.
Day 2: let's get fancier than cheesesteaks. Plan soon/now about scoring a weekend reservation at Philly's best classy establishments: @vernickphilly, @LaurelEPX, @townsendphilly, @zahavrestaurant (get the lamb mesibah), @vetricucinaphl or @vedgerestaurant
Day 3: you're right next door to Chinatown. Get Szechuan at e Mei, soup dumplings at dim sum garden, hand drawn noodles at Nan Zhou or spice c, or roast duck and pork at Ting Wong, Peking duck at siu kee or sang kee, Xi'an from Xi'an sizzling, and everything at Tom's dim sum
Day 4: Chinatown isn't just Chinese. Try the Korean at dae book, Cambodian at Khmer grill, ramen at yamitsuki or terakawa, Burmese at Rangoon or dumplings and siphon coffee at ray's, Vietnamese at Vietnamese (for pho try pho xe Lau), qt for banh mi, andka raoke at yakitori boy
Day 5: it's Monday morning, so I'm thinking coffee. Quaker City is great coffee with a mission to help reentry. @ElixrCoffee is maybe the best local roaster, green Street coffee one of the other best, as is @squareonecoffee. And @Passeros_Coffee has the friendliest service ever.
Day 6: Philly has an amazing Italian community. one of the best ways to enjoy it is to sample ten or so cheeses to buy @DiBrunoBros (multiple locations!), buy some charcuterie, some bread from metropolitan bakery or @HighStPhilly and have a little picnic
Day 7: PA has terrible liqour laws. Philly still has great cocktails. Near the conference, check out the bar at @olorosophilly, @writersblockphl, or upstairs at @maison208 (gorgeous space) and the vegan cocktails at Charlie was a sinner or @vedgerestaurant.
Day 8: venture out of center City and check out restaurant rows like those in fishtown (if you knew Philly in the 90s, how crazy is that?!?!), east passyunk, Korean in Olney, Mexican in the Italian market, or Ethiopian in West philly
Day 9/10: go to some of our less known museums and landmarks. Like eastern state penitentiary, the mutter museum. Or be a kid again and run through the giant heart at the Franklin institute. For art, the Philadelphia museum, barnes, and Rodin are all great and next to each other.
Day 11: Philly's got great outdoors too. Schuylkill river trail is popular (and easy access to MLK drive that gets closed to cars on Sat + Sun mornings), the Delaware river is less popular but also good. Fairmount Park is largest contiguous park in the country!
Day 11 bonus/make up: we like pop-up parks and outdoor beer gardens. Like the Oval at Eakin, Spruce Street Harbor, the PHS pop-ups, Independence Beer Garden. Also, go to one of Jane Jacobs' favs: Rittenhouse square from Death and Life of Great American Cities for people watching
Day 12: breakfast! At reading terminal: dutch eating place, or pastrami, egg+cheese at @HershelsDeli or @beilersdonuts. Close: @MilkBoyPhilly. Farther: @highstphilly @TalulasDaily, @hungry__pigeon @surayaphilly @TheDutchPhilly @CafeLift, sam's morning glory, or @essenbakery
Day 13: sometimes, you just need a donut. Go to beilers (the fritters, when fresh, are WHOA). But sometimes, you need a fancy 🍩 and fried chicken. And that's what @FederalDonuts can do for you.
Day 14: want interesting wines? Go where I first met my wife, @TriaPhilly. @olorosophilly has a great Sherry program and Spanish wine and cocktails, Kensington Quarters in fishtown, @abar_philly, @townsendphilly, @itvphilly, or Walnut St Cafe have great wine and cocktail options.
Day 15: Philly is constantly adding new food and drink. For example, last night's meal @cadencephilly was exceptional. @ElixrCoffee new flagship will open soon w/omakase coffee (word?) and Hidden Gem Cafe in Chinatown offers delicious Hong Kong breakfast cheap.
Day 16: <2 miles south of the conference is the original SE Asian commercial strip. Nam Phuong is the OG, but also Viet Huong. Cafe Diem 4 Bun Bo Hue. Pho 75, Pho Saigon, or Pho Ha 4 Pho and Ba Le or Nam Son 4 Banh Mi. + Sky Cafe is 2nd best Indonesian in city (wait for tmrw)
Day 17. It's getting hot! Cool down w/ ice cream from the original Basset's at reading terminal, a bubble tea or rolled ice cream inChinatown, or amazinh gelato from @Capogiro. Worth traveling 4: Franklin Fountain, John's water ice, @siddiqswaterice, @Weckerlys or @LittleBabysIC
Bonus post! Philly's best surf and turf: fish curry and beef rendang from Hardena. Indonesian vegan friendly amazing spot. 
Day 18: Philly loves brunch. Worth the wait are @Cafe_Lift, @HighStPhilly, @CafeLaMaude, Tierce, @TheDutchPhilly Sam's morning Glory and barbacoa @lambtacos. Go early to avoid wait at @GreenEggsCafe, @SabrinasCafe, @HoneysSitNeat. Or go fancy at extravagant buffet at LaCroix.
Day 19: fitting to focus on hot dogs and burgers today. For dogs: @DestinationDogs. For burgers: my faves are @fountainporter, @LaPegAtFringe's outdoor shack burger, or @Kensington_Quar. Close and good: @CraftsmanRowPHL or @gooddogbar. Have not tried burger place at RTM.
Day 20: not sure how I got 20 deep without shouting out @cheunoodlebar, my go to lunch with @brianna_remster to talk shop over really tasty asian fusion noodles in a funky space about 10 minutes from conference. Same people also own the delicious @bingbingdimsum and @cheufishtown
Day 21: convention center is just North of Philly's gentrified gayborhood. There's still Knock, @woodysphilly, Venture, @voyuernightclub, @TavernOnCamac, and @UBarPhilly and more. There's also a restaurant row around 13th that is exactly wht @Amin_Ghaziani wrote about (more tmrw)
Day 22: 13th street is Philly's most popular restaurant row. Turney/Safran all good spots: @jamoneraphilly, @budandmarilyns, @lolitaphilly, and @barbuzzo. Also check out @DoubleKnot_PHL for Japanese or @SampanPhilly graffiti bar. @squareonecoffee and @zavino and @Tredici_Enoteca
Day 23: speaking of Japanese, we're close to the OG Morimoto. For a fun izakaya, go to @Royal_Izakaya (and the omakase sushi bar is legit!). Zama in Rittenhouse is very good sushi and the oyster shooter at umai umai is the best. The. Best.
Day 24: Lebanese festival in my hood has me craving kebab. @kanella_south for cypriot version. Or @surayaphilly for general awesomeness/best Mediterranean food. Or Samson Kebab house (on South st now) for afghan. Or goldie for shawarma spice fries and amazing tehina shakes.
Day 25: Philly's Mexican is legit. Check out @lambtaco for world famous barbacoa fri-sun (or other greats other days). This guide from @CraigLaBan, our leading restaurant reviewer is great for s. Philly philly.com/philly/food/me…
Day 26: our Latin food isn't just Mexican. Get LEGIT Venezuelan at Sazon, or fast casual version @puyeroflavor. El Merkury just opened for central American street food in center City. Theres also Peruvian at @VistaPeruPhilly. Or go north to La Tierra Columbiana and more.
Day 27: Philly used to have bon appetit's favorite pizza. But he closed to open a bigger space. Make do w/ amazing pizza from @PizzeriaVetri, @NomadPizza, @Brigantessa_EPA, @SquarePiePhilly, @PIZZA_GUTT, or Metropolitan bakery (rittenhouse only). Also: Al taglio from @rionepizza
Day 28: upping from a requet, beer bar edition: @MonksCafePhilly is a classic. @MarthaBarPhilly is great. My local fav is @fountainporter (the burger too!). @KhyberPassPub always has a phenomenal list and @FooderyRH, @Strangelovesbar, @VargaBar or @BruPhilly for short walks.
Day 29: dive bar edition. We got 'em. Within walking distance are some of the true classics, @McGillins, Oscars, and Dirty Frank's. Bob and Barbara's was my favorite when I lived in center City. Also, shouts to Tattoed Mom's for the punk/artist dive scene too.
Day 30: Breweries. We got 'em. South 4 @BreweryARS + @SecondDistBrew. North 4 @EvilGeniusBeer, fermentary form, @yardsbrew, @lovecitybrewing, @stbenjaminbrew, @PhillyBrewing, or @CandPBrewingCo. + Old City has @2ndStoryBrewing + W. philly has @DockStreetBeer
Day 31: fine, you're gonna get a cheesesteak. Bourdain did it best--go to Camden and get it from @donkeysplace (also accepted: @JoesSteaks and @johnsroastpork). And also in his honor, go get Dan Dan noodles and ma po from @handynastyphila's flagship in old City.
Day 32: best roof top bars (I respond to requests!): @bok_bar 4 the view (+ complicated backstory). @AssemblyPHL (fancy). 4 height: @SkyGartenPhilly. New one @ Broad + Locust should be open and @StandardTap for 1st gastropub. + the OGs: Continental Midtown + @positanocoast.
Day 33: seasonal beer gardens! Fav is @SSHarborPark (family friendly) or @LaPegAtFringe (the burger!), also check out @PHSgardening 15th and south (or west philly). Roving parks on tap will be at Dickinson Park, Also: Independence beer garden is big + harper's garden new.
Day 34: hopefully, their new place in Rittenhouse will be open by August, but if you're a fan of molecular gastronomy that's also delicious, bring a bottle of wine to Marigold Kitchen in West Philly.
Day 35: I promised vegan. Fast casual: Goldie's (tehina shake!) and Dizengoff by Solomonov, @HipCityVeg and Wiz Kid and govinda's. EVERYONE should eat @vedgerestaurant. For vegan chinese there's new harmony + Su Xing (classic). And most places veg friendly here
Day 36: Cool event alert! @PhillyFreeSts is during the conference. So from 8 am to 1 pm on August 11th, Broad St from city hall north will be closed to cars. Walk around, see @TempleSoc's campus, there's always vendors and performances. Fun time and a cool yearly event!
Day 37: Philly's elevated Rail Park just opened! Check it out just north of the convention and eat Dominican (Parada Maimon), Venezuelan (Sazon), beer from @yardsbrew or @lovecitybrewing, cocktails or coffee (or Detroit style pizza) from @WinWinCoffeeBar or mexican (El Purepecha)
Day 38: Got a car or know someone with one? Head to the Northeast and get Uzbek food at Uzbekistan, Georgian at Georgian Bread Company, Shish Kabob Palace, or Brazilian or Portuguese or...check 'em out philly.com/philly/food/Ta…
Day 39: Korean fried chicken edition. We've got a Bonchon outpost, but I'd rather head to @southgatephilly for theirs (and kimchi poutine for brunch and housemade spicy soju), or travel to Cafe Soho for the inspiration for @FederalDonuts.
Day 39: in honor of this article, buzzfeed.com/ahmedaliakbar/…, I'd add to mood Cafe and Desi Chaat the Pakistani fried chicken at Wah give Wah in West Philly. And if u need a fix in center City, try Indeblue. Or, if it opens in time, the Kerala style stand at the Bourse.
Day 40: BYOB to @noordphilly (Dutch + great brunch), @Marigold_Philly, @resipsaphilly (also, check out their "calzone"), @amanophilly (italian), @helmPhilly, Mr Martino's, @PumpkinPhilly, @RussetPhilly, @WillBYOB, or an OG, Audrey Claire
Day 41: Grab lunch to go from reading terminal and eat at two really close public spaces: Dilworth plaza (the west side of city hall) or the new (and disappointing, tbh) or Love Park. Love often has good food trucks for lunch, and sometimes a truck is in city hall as well.
Day 42: Building on yesterday, go just north of city hall to Thomas Paine Plaza. Skip the Rizzo statue, and check out the @PHSgardening pop-up vegetable garden from which all the harvest will support the AMAZING @BroadstreetMin's work in radical hospitality.
Day 43: back to foods and drinks. I haven't mentioned @PHLOysterHouse. That whole strip of Sansom has become a food gem thanks to that anchor institution. buck a shuck hh gets busy for good reason.
Day 44: In honor of belgium/tunisia, get north african food at Marrakesh or Figs (also: great cheap brunch spot). And for belgian waffles, find @foolishwaffles truck or go to @WafflesWedges. Also, dope ethiopian all over West Philly, but closer to conference, try @AlmazCafe.
Day 45: In honor of England's thorough domination, good british food in Philly. (Yes, that's a thing) Check out @StarrRestaurant's Dandelion for a gorgeous British pub. Or for a pie and mash that competes w/ the best of the UK, go to @StargazyPhilly and get the banoffee tart too.
Day 46: know a City by knowing its fresh food. Big three farmers markets in Philly are Rittenhouse on Saturday (shouts to rafiki for their chicken skewers), Headhouse on Sunday and Clark park on saturday
Day 47: Spanish food (req. by @beepgonzalez): Close by: @olorosophilly (3rd mention!) or @jamoneraphilly. Jose Garces made his name @AmadaPHL but I prefer his @TintoPHL more. For Puerto Rican, head north to Porky's Point, Fredy&Tony's, El Provocon, or El Coqui for postres.
Day 48: Germany plays today, so I can tell you that Philly has four German beer halls to consider. My fav: @BrauhausSchmitz. Closest: @BruPhilly. Biggest party: @FrankfordHall. Fantastic but far from conference: @hopangelbrau
Day 49: honestly, I don't get there much, but Woodlawn ave/sw Philly is where u can get legit African (ethiopian on Baltimore ave) like Senegalese food (closer: Kilimanjaro in w Philly). Also, for polish head to Port richmond--cwerz, krakus, syrenka's mom mom's and more
Day 50: I'm headed on vacation for a week, so gonna pause this.bit first, it's hot out, so get cool with tea at Boba and Company or closer, teassert, tea-do, or rolled ice cream at iceny or soft serve at kuriimii.
Day 51: So I'm gonna stop my #asa18 restaurants/coffee/parks thread at 50, save for any requests (any more requests???). google map hopefully forthcoming.
final thought re #asa18 restaurants: there are new places that may be awesome (Spice Finch opens today; Sandler's on 9th opened a week ago; Talk opened a few weeks ago). There are other great places I haven't listed because they're not my faves or I just haven't visited in ages.
Addendum: Quaker city coffee now only wholesale. Former employee now runs location (uses their coffee), renamed Bower's. Also: special artisanal charcuterie will be available too there!
OMG, just realized I forgot serpico, one of the most slept on restaurants in Philly. Also, elixr's omakase coffee bar is now open and Sandler's on 9th has good buzz. #ASA18
OMG NEW SH*T ALERT: Helm, a bad-ass restaurant in Kensington, just opened its new second location in Rittenhouse, and it has a liquor license. It's delicious (but sometimes heavy on the salt)
