If you mark time in increments of bar crawls, we might all just live forever. Sadly we can’t, but we can make up for it by getting incredibly inebriated. This years bar crawl expanded, stretched, and blew apart the very fabric of the Tour De Philly (maybe I am exaggerating a little bit…).
Like last year, founder Tom McCabe found somewhere else he would rather be. I can say he wasn’t forgotten, but it would be a lie, he was forgotten pretty quick. In Tom’s absence new recruits stepped up. Jess Kaestle arrived with a lovely black eye that she received from Friday’s Warped Tour. Also joining us this year was Hiro Nizami. Hiro has moved to the state from the Great White North and we are all thankful. Along the way we picked up some more people and added to the frenzy.
Jose Pistolas on 15th Street was the first bar on the stop. Pistolas is a great beer bar. I started my night with a nice Belgian beer called “La Chouffe”. It had a wonderful and complex flavor, lots of stuff going on after the first sip. I am not one to normally sip and savor beer, but I made an exception. The food at Pistolas left something to be desired. Many of my friends found the meat in the burritos to be dry. I found that too much guacamole was put in my burrito (I hate guacamole and didn’t even see it as an ingredient).
We left Pistolas around 6:30 PM and made our way over to McGillins on 13th and Drury. McGillins is a weekly staple for me. Wednesday night happy hours are almost always spent there (unless Drew and his hipster ways overpowers me). The beer is cheap, the wait staff is consistent, and the bar is sufficiently dark. No I did not savor my beverages here, it was time for chugging. McGillins brought in an interesting crowd for us to comment on. From the rather large woman that wore a silver shirt (making her a living disco ball), to the dude that thought he was an urban cowboy, to the scared beer tourists that probably wanted to “see the oldest bar in Philadelphia”.
We departed McGillins for the Irish Pub on 11th around 8 PM. Once we got into the bar, I knew it was time to leave. I knew that if we stayed there long the Tour would have ended there, so Gorcka and I went across the street to Moriarty’s and snagged a table. The conversion was a great call. Moriarty’s food, booze, and atmosphere were the best of the night. Lots of sexually charged jokes were made by me to Tee, and like always, it was awesome. Handsome Paul also joined us at Moriarty’s which was also awesome. After terrifying some of the people sitting outside our window, we decided to go to what we thought was our last bar.
We arrived at the Last Vegas Lounge around 11:30. The bar smelled like cat piss, so we finished one drink and then got the hell out of there. Not wanting to end the night on a sour cat piss note, we went next door to Jones for a final nightcap. The pleasant decor and lighting made Jones an appropriate place to end the evening. The girls finished their bug juice drinks and we said our goodbyes. Heading over to 8th and Market to take the PATCO line home.
So we didn’t almost get into a fight or piss in public, but I have to say I had a really good time regardless. I want to thank everyone that came out this year, I am glad you could make it, and I hope it was worth your time and those hard earned dollars. Until next year!
Official TDP Website: tdp.lomparty.com
