FYI.
This story is over 5 years old.
The VICE Guide to Getting Sloshed at the DNC
All photos by Michael Alan Goldberg. Above, Dirty Franks This week, the city of Philadelphia finds itself under siege, as droves of Democratic National Convention attendees, journalists, protesters, and plain-ole gawkers file into town to have their voices heard and their votes counted. Some 50,000 Dems and delegates will pile into the Wells Fargo and Philadelphia Convention Centers, filling some 80,000 hotel rooms. And if it's anything at all like the Republican convention held last week in Cleveland, it'll likely be a giant shit-show. If the first night of the convention is any indication, it's certainly headed that way. Hot on the heels of the Wikileaks DNC email debacle and the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz, angry #BernieorBust Bros are out protesting about what they believe was a rigged primary. Some were so pipin' mad they booed Elizabeth Warren from the floor of the convention last night, suggesting that the culture of the infamous Philly Boo has already infected their blood. Meanwhile, Trump is stoking the political fire 140 characters at a time via Twitter, the heat is adding to the heat, and the media has already begun to complain about the convention's logistics—bad WiFi, media tents with shit air conditioning, and punishing walks to and from Wells Fargo. In short, all of Philly needs a drink right now. And so, using a little help from some in-the-know locals, I've put this handy guide together about where to do just that. Below is a centrally located collection of tried and true Philly bar spots (a topic I happen to know a fair amount about) that convention-goers may find themselves nearby. You'll find local haunts that serve up great (and, as is the Philly way, cheap) drinks, so DNCers and the people who have showed up to shout abuse at them can cool off for a bit.
Oscar's Tavern. Photo by Michael Alan Goldberg
Ray's Happy Birthday Bar. Photo by Michael Alan Goldberg
You'd be hard pressed to find more Pabst Blue Ribbon memorabilia gathered in one place than at Bob and Barbara's, whose walls and shelves act as an unofficial PBR museum. The old PBR ads, posters, bottles, and cans are an interesting snapshot of the brand before its hipster highjacking, preserving a time when a can of the brew was more of a working-class reward. Bob and Barbara's famously invented what's now called the "citywide special"—a shot of bottom shelf whiskey and a PBR for a low, low price. Lots of good music is played here, both live and on the juke, and the bar often features other cool events like drunken spelling bees and drag shows. Worth a drop by for the stuff on the walls alone.
Dirty Franks is a legendary dive in the heart of Center City. It has no sign, but instead features a mural of famous Franks—Zappa, -enstein, old Philly mayor and noted racist Frank Rizzo, old blue eyes and noted racist Frank Sinatra—on both of its outside corner walls. Inside the bar is a crazy mix of artists, journalists, and everything in between—"aspiring writers, starving artists, the political, apolitical and the apoplectic, drunkards and recovering drunkards, the bright and the dim, those who want to root for or jeer the home team, comics and fancies, musicians and dancers, the reserved and the verbose," as its own website puts it. The "citywide special" here has its own twist, a pony of either High Life or Rolling Rock and a kamikaze shot. This place is a sanctuary.
Of course, not everyone loves dives, even if they are a true window into the soul of Philly. With that in mind, Eichel recommends a few rooftop views at Skygarten, XIX, and "wonky politics aside," the Bok Bar (formerly Le Bok Fin).Erica Palan, a Philly native and (deep breath) senior editor of audience development and social media at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com, recommends Bank and Bourbon, the bar at the Loews hotel on Market Street. "They make one of my favorite Manhattans in the city," she says. "Their extensive whiskey list is killer." She also recommends a quick jaunt to Chinatown just four short blocks away for soup dumplings at Dim Sum Garden or beef pho at Pho Cali, "both places where you're likely to run into journalists."Be cool, Philly. Be. Cool.Follow Brian McManus on Twitter.