Where to go in PA

[joea132]

I know theres alot of PAer's here so i figured I'd see if anybody has any ideas of cool places to see. I'm going with my girlfriend for 4 days probably 2 in Bethlehem and 2 in Philly. Anybody have suggestions about where to go? Wine bars, restaurants, etc. We're definitely hitting Pat's, Geno's, Jim's, and Ishkabibble for cheesesteaks. I'm open to suggestion for our mini vacation. Thanks in advance.

 

[joea132]

I'll start the fight, Pat's for cheesesteaks.....

 

[Tom]

I know theres alot of PAer's here so i figured I'd see if anybody has any ideas of cool places to see. I'm going with my girlfriend for 4 days probably 2 in Bethlehem and 2 in Philly. Anybody have suggestions about where to go? Wine bars, restaurants, etc. We're definitely hitting Pat's, Geno's, Jim's, and Ishkabibble for cheesesteaks. I'm open to suggestion for our mini vacation. Thanks in advance.

When U going?

 

[Runningwolf]

For a minute there I thought you were coming over to the better side of the state. Goggle the Grand Canyan of PA. Not sure how close you will be to it but it's a nice place for riding if you have the bike. This is a famous micro brewey in Bethlehem. http://www.thebrewworks.com/bethlehem-brew-works/

 

[Jenks829]

I am from Philly and I'd be happy to let you know of tons of places but you'll have to narrow down where you're going exactly. Philly is both a big and small city in my opinion. You can get a hotel in a nice section of downtown (Old City, Rittenhouse Square, City Hall, etc) and be walking distance to great places.

A few cool bars: Standard Tap, Monk's Belgian Cafe, Moriarty's Restaurant and Irish Pub, Tattooed Mom, McGillin's Olde Ale House, The Irish Pub, Eulogy Belgian Tavern, City Tavern

Philly also has some great dive bars. Just walk in any corner bar. Sometimes you may be walking right out but when in Rome.....

There are also brew pubs at Triumph and Nodding Head Brewing

Food is great all over the city. Try Yelp.com to narrow down what you are looking for.

Be sure to get a soft pretzel and some "Wooder Ice" at some point.

Some great places to see: The Liberty Bell and The Constitution Center which is very close to the City Tavern. The Benjamin Franklin Institute (one of my favorite places in the city; I've been there about 20 times and it still love wondering around for hours). The Philadelphia Art Museum is a good one too but I've only been there a handful of times, still haven't seen it all, its big.

As far as Pat's or Geno's....I am Pat's. But Steve's is my favorite (not in/near center city) and Jim's is great also (South Philly). By all means, go to Pat's/Geno's, it is a really cool set up. They are across the street from one another and boast very different set ups. As an alternative to a cheese steak you can try Tony Lukes: fantastic Broccoli Rabe sandwich. Be careful when ordering from any cheese steak place. They can be a little grumpy working in front of a grill all day, especially late at night after dealing with patrons who are feeling no pain.

Not that I don't love my city because I do but there are some scum bags here. Be sure to cab it after dark.

 

[joea132]

Thanks for the great info, I'm leaving bright and early tomorrow and coming home Saturday. I'll definitely check out the brewery in Bethlehem while I'm there. As far as Philly goes, I've been 2 or 3 times and stayed at the 4 Points Sheraton on River street by the Hard Rock every time. I've done South Street and a handful of the bars you mentioned when I went with a friend from the area. I've done the Constitution Center, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell, but I'll check out the BF Institute this time.

I'm not taking the bike this trip but I would like to ride PA one of these days. I'll put the Grand Canyon on my list. Thanks!

I'm definitely going to try to food places, me and my girlfriend are big food lovers! Ishkabibble has a great chick cheesesteak too and that's right on South Street. Jim's was great too. I'm going to try to fit Tony Lukes into the schedule too on your suggestion. We have a full 2 days to burn and are going to just putz around and see as much as we can!

I was thinking maybe going through Amish country too. Anybody been? Is it worth the ride?

 

[Runningwolf]

Yes the Amish country is absolutely worth driving through. Going into the little towns are touristy but staying along the country sides are well worth the beauty.

 

[Larryh86GT]

I really want to go to see Gettysburg someday. It's only a 2 1/2 hr drive from Philadelphia.

 

[joea132]

I would love to see Gettysburg too but the girlfriend isn't so into it. Amish country sounds like it'll be a go, thanks Dan. And maybe Pottsville to go to the Yuengling Factory!

 

[Runningwolf]

Joe do you smoke cigars. This is where I order mine from in Bethelehem and I think it's right around the corner from the Micro brew. http://www.cigarsinternational.com/html/store.asp
I have not been to the cigar store but I was at the micro brew. When I was there 20/20 was there producing a show on drinking and driving. Sinse we were traveling for work we stayed out of the camera lights.

 

[joea132]

That's the reason we're going to PA. We're staying across from the superstore! I'm a cigar junkie, I'm bringing an empty 100 cigar humidor.

 

[Runningwolf]

Sounds great. Takes lots of pictures to post when you get back. Wish you were going to be closer to Penn State. I will be down there for their art show this week. Have fun!

 

[joea132]

Back from vacation and already doing overtime again at work... We visited Amish country and drove around for a full day. The only problem was with the corn you could not see much. We did find some nice wineries in the area and picked up a couple of bottles. The cigar shops were great and downtown Bethlehem was nice to walk around. Bethlehem Brew Works was a homerun, thanks for the recommendation on that. We won the trivia game that night and ended up having our tab paid for!

We saw the Mint in Philly and then just walked around and looked at everything. Thanks again for all of the suggestions, we will probably go back again next year too!

PS. Pat's is still the best cheesesteak, I did my homework again this year!