Second Primo's, Brew Pub, Mugshots, and Mad River as being legit.

No comment on the Penn State student thing....but its true.

Guilty of the Penn State thing, but not punchy

Agreed on the above advice. A few other points:

For coffee, LaColombe on Main Street is the best. Saxby's is not.

There is also a Wawa (w/ gas station) on Ridge, and there is a CVS next to it.

Couch Tomato is good, the delivery takes forever.

If you're driving out 76 to the suburbs, go down Cresson and turn left onto Green to cross the bridge. This is especially the best way now that Green is under construction.

Cheesesteaks: Delessandro's on Henry

Golf: go out to the suburbs, generally the further out the more value you'll find.

Watch the potholes coming off 76 towards Wissahickon

Don't make plans for the first week of June - you will want to be around for the bike race weekend.

Manayunk seems like a great recomendation, but how has West Chester not been mentioned?

West Chester is a college town with plenty of bars within walking distance. Easy commute to KOP using 202, although there can be a decent amount of congestion during rush hours. Can find a decent 1 bedroom for around $800. Cool little town.

Avoid Malvern/ Paoli area if you want nightlife. Both are nice areas to live but bars are virtually non-existant. I ended up having to go to West Chester most nights, Getting drunk and driving home is a bad idea anywhere, more so in those areas. Cops will find any reason to pull you over after midnight.

Also, avoid anywhere that you have to take 76 to or from work. I expect it to be backed up no matter what time I'm on it and avoid that route at all costs.

Agree with all this - North bowl is awesome. I'm not sure if you can call ahead, but there's almost always a long wait for lanes. Not a deal breaker by any means though since you can eat/drink and play pool, foosball, etc while you wait.

This place sounds really cool (well, thursday isnt really my scene...).

I'm basically looking for some good hole in the wall type bars that are fun and casual. Looking to spread out beyond Drinkers/McGillans/Mad River. Anyone got suggestions?

One place I know like this that I recommend is Belgian Cafe- 21st and Green

Great mussels and beer selection. Really casual atmosphere

Glad to see the write ups and recs on here. Manayunk sounds like the exact kind of area that I'm looking for and I am officially moving to Philly towards the end of August.

I'll start looking for a place in June, but how much should I expect to pay if I move in with others into a 2 bedroom? 3 bedroom? Prices on cragislist seem to be anywhere from $500-1000, but it's hard to get a feel for these places just based on a couple pics. I'm looking for something presentable and not really a college rat hole.

There is a clear distinction in housing in Manayunk, if you're looking for a basic/clean place with like black or white appliances, small yard, nothing fancy, decent but small bedrooms? Expect to pay like 500-650 ish.. If you're looking to upgrade to recently renovated or new construction with stainless steel, bigger rooms, modern feel, expect to spend between 800-1000/month...

This all varies on the # of bedrooms/size of space/etc.

Ate at Cooper's last night with the lady, had the calamari salad (simple but tasty), sharp goat cheese with mission fig caramel (very delicious), the kielbasa with apricot mustard jam - pretty yum, mussels with andouille which is always good and the lobster potato perrogies (sp) which were fantastic..

great spot for a nice quick but delicious meal

Any suggestions for center city sips?

I haven't been to any sips in a long time but just looked at the list...

maybe the roof at Vango?
Chifa is a Garces restaurant so I would be interested in that

Table 31 will be nice with the outside
Vango is nice with the roofdeck (Continental, too, but that's always packed)
Time is a great spot too.

Haven't been to Vango, been to Continental and Time. Time is really cool, probably not the best for sips tho.

Frankford Hall is a new Steven starr restaurant/beer garden in fishtown and its great. Been there a few times, place is legit. I've been to germany too and its spot on what a slightly americanized beer garden should be IMO. Good beer, good service and lots of picnic tables inside and out. They also have ping-pong. Only thing that pissed me off was the food is a little overpriced and you can't start tabs at the bar for some reason.

heard about that beer garden can't wait to check it out

also +1 for Time only been there once but liked it

+1 on Frankford Hall

$12 for a litre is a pretty good price, imo, too.

$9 for a pretzel is a bit much though

great atmosphere though. if its nice outside, you can spend all day there (and get trashed)

Went to revolution house for a quick bite last night (2nd market across from continental).. loved the atmosphere, was underwhelmed by the food.. pretty good prices on wine and stuff.. sat on the roof deck and it was really a great spot for a sunday night

stopped at the franklin fountain which was right on 2nd st near penns landing as well.. old school ice cream house -- definitely worth checking out. they have old school style ice cream dishes and old school candy.. goes back to like the early 1900s style stuff. pretty pricey (very pricey) but definitely a fun spot to stop after dinnner

frankford hall is on my soon to be stops

I will be living at Temple University the entire month of July for Teach for America training. Are there any good bars in this area? I'm staying in the dorms, and Temple is a dry campus.

I didn't go to Temple but my first inkling is probably not, it's not a great area unless it's changed in the last couple years.

The good news is you can hop on the orange line/regional rail and be at a number of bars in minutes.

I ate at Osteria (Mark Vetri) yesterday, the meal was expensive and good (but not great). Was most disappointed with the entree (pork chop) however the pasta was amazing. The meal was one of the pricier I've had in Philly and definitely not the best meal but still a really good spot. The outside seating looked pretty nice and the service was excellent, I think I just ordered bad for my taste.

The Frankford Hall is awesome (Stephen Starr beer garden). It's everything the Brau Haus had + 1000x better - the atmosphere with the outdoor bench seating is phenomenal. Definitely check it out it's near Johnny Brenda's in Fishtown.

Apparently Vetri is opening an Italian style beer bar right on 600 North Broad near Osteria and Stephen Starr is also putting in a new england style seafood join adjacent to Vetri's beer bar. Pretty awesome stuff happening in Philly!

Just moved to Manayunk about a month ago.

Mostly have stayed around here, decent bar scene but nothing special. Can't wait to get downtown and try some of the Jose Garces restaurants. Any recommendations for sushi around Philly?

No, but Fox and Hound (15 & Spruce) is a Michigan bar downtown, just FYI. [Go Blue]

In Olde City is Morimoto - good for sushi

In Manayunk you have the brew pub and hickaru for sushi but I would avoid both if you're picky about your sushi..

anybody know if swanky bubbles in olde city is still decent for sushi? haven't been there in 10 years or so. Same thing for Pod in University City - is this still a good spot? Haven't been there since my Drexel days

i believe Raw is closed right? I know people used to like that spot. What about Fish? Is that seafood or sushi?

Not really any good sushi places around Manayunk. The best imo is Shan Chuan on Ridge.

my fav sushi place in the city is hikaru on 2nd street, right below south.

Raw is open on Sansom between 12th and 13th, and they just opened a new location in the Piazza in Northern Liberties. The best sushi in the area is at Sagami, just over the bridge in New Jersey.

Other choices for good sushi: Zama off Rittenhouse Square is pricey but worth it. Makiman on Spruce and Juniper is good for straight-forward stuff and also has AYCE on Mondays.

Yeah, and they're building a new apartment building right next to that, which I'm moving into in September. Neighborhood is definitely on the up and up.

Has anyone been to the Barnes collection? Just saw the documentary about how awesome the collection is and am considering making a trip up there.