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Sips and Eats: Philly’s best food and drink picks for March 14-18

Featured Bars and Lounges

This Week in Cocktails: St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness

Square 1682 Danny’s Wake Cocktail

March Madness and Saint Patrick’s Day are looming on the calendar. According to WalletHub, Philadelphia is the 3rd best city in America to experience the annual holiday. Here’s a list of some of the larger and ticketed events in the city. May the luck of the Irish bless your hangover and Villanova.

Chickie’s & Pete’s: Not only is Chickie’s & Pete’s be doing their Menu Madness Challenge, the massive sports bar and restaurant will be featuring the Pickleback Burger for March. Come try any of their daily drink specials and enjoy the madness on any of the screens.

City Tap House March Madness: City Tap House University City will be turning all their screens to the March Madness action Starting Wednesday, March 14th they will be hosting a “Kick The Keg Challenge”. There will also be $5 specialty pints all night. If you show up watch each day through the Championship game, you’ll have a chance to win tickets to the Phillies Home Opener.

Founding Fathers March Madness Happy Hour: Founding Fathers Sports Bar has teamed with dating app Bumble and Peroni for a sponsored watching event. If you show your Bumble profile at the door you’ll get 1 Free Peroni cocktail or beer. The event is this Friday and begins at 8PM.

JJ Bootleggers Watch Parties: JJ Bootleggers will be having March Madness watch parties. The ticketed events include a four-hour premium tailgate buffet and drink specials all day. Tickets range from $20-$40 depending on VIP and general admission preference.

Blue Bird Distilling:Blue Bird Distilling will be serving up St. Patrick’s Day green Gin ‘N Juice cocktails. For just $11, the invigorating beverage is a fusion of juniperus gin distilled onsite, English cucumber juice, lime, and simple syrup.

Erin Express Bar Olympics: The Erin Express bus will be hurling through the streets of Northern Liberties to do some damage this Saturday. From 10AM-7PM you’ll get entry into 10 locations. Crawlers will get a free t-shirt, earn points at each stop, experience live music at each stop, and more. Come out for the drink specials and your chance to be crowned the ultimate crawler.

The Field House St. Patty’s Megafest: The Field House will be having a massive indoor and outdoor Irish festival this Saturday. There will be live bands, Stateside Vodka drink specials, $2 Miller Lites, and more. Tickets are $10 and $20 for VIP.

Gran Caffe L’Aquila: From Monday, March 12th trough Sunday, March 18th, Gran Caffe L’Aquila will be featuring a Roman Regional Specialty Menu. In honor of the second generation Roman’s national holiday, the restaurant will feature several classic dishes and wines.

Howl at the Moon Clover Crawl: Howl at the Moon will be having a Clover Crawl this Saturday starting at 12PM. There will be St. Patrick’s Day swag on hand, a raffle for 76ers courtside seats, drink specials, live music, and more.

Keen: Lombard Street restaurant Keen has something special planned for St. Paddy’s Day. Starting at 1PM, the establishment will have $3 Kenzinger, $3 High Life and $5 shots of Jameson. For famished eaters, Keen created an Irish-Mexican fusion with Shepherd’s Pie Tacos, two ground beef tacos topped with mashed potatoes, cooper sharp, peas and carrots for just $10.

Philly Bar Crawl: One of the biggest bar crawls this weekend will be brimming from The Gaslight. The St. Patrick’s Day Philly Bar Crawl features more than 10 bars, has thousands of participants, free shirts and cover charges, food specials, green swag, and more. There will be $3 domestic beer, $4 well drinks, and $5 Irish whiskey drinks all night.

Red Owl Tavern: In true holiday tradition, Irish whiskey will be the main liquor of choice at Red Owl Tavern. The Chestnut Street bar’s Lead Bartender Kyle Darrow will be pouring $5 shots of Tullamore Dew and $7 Irish Coffees all day on Saturday. The tavern also has tremendous brunch options on its menu.

Shamrock Crawl: On Saturday, the 2018 Shamrock Crawl will be in full effect. There will be no cover at over 50 locations in the city. Attendees will get drink specials, party beads, complimentary bar snacks, a map, and access to photography.

Sidecar Bar & Grille: The Sidecar Bar & Grille will be featuring it’s new appetizer Jalapeño Poppers this weekend . The $9 cheese-stuffed and bacon-wrapped jalapeños are bursting with flavor.  Don’t forget to pair the poppers with a $6 Old Grandad Pickle Back Shot at this fantastic hotspot.

Square 1682: Stop by Square 1682 for Lead Bartender Daniel Kulisek’s specialty cocktail, the Danny’s Wake. This great concoction will be up for grabs all St. Patrick’s Day weekend for just $12. The mixture merges Teeling Irish Whiskey, Belle Isle Cold Brew Coffee Premium Moonshine, whiskey barrel aged bitters and garnished with a toasted lemon peel.

St. Paddy’s Day at XFINITY: XFINITY Live! is known for throwing amazing parties and celebrations. Be sure to stop by the entertainment hub this Saturday for a blowout St. Paddy’s Day celebration. There will be drink specials, live music, green beer, beads, and free parking after 8:30PM.

Weekly Events

Kanye Loves Kanye Night at The Barbary

Each week, Philly Influencer picks the best parties, events, and social gatherings the area has to offer.

End of Winter Party at The Rittenhouse: The Rittenhouse will be throwing an end of winter party this Thursday night. The outdoor soiree will feature bottomless glasses of Moet Chandon, live music, and more.

Kanye Loves Kanye Party: The Barbary Philadelphia will be throwing a Kanye Loves Kanye Party this Friday night. The party will feature the best hits from the hip hop hitmaker, mix in some artists he’s worked with, and have drink specials all night long.

Day Party at Haute Lounge: This Saturday a 3PM, Haute Lounge will be hosting a Day Party like no other. There will be food and drink specials, prizes and giveaways, and DJ AyeBoogie will be spinning the latest hits. The lounge will also feature an electric Vibe Party this Friday night starting at 9PM.

March Madness Retox Day Party: This Sunday, Grunners Run will be hosting a Retox Pop Up Day Party. Menace Cartel and DJ Stampone will be proving the soundtrack to this blowout party. The party will feature $3 (you call it) Crown Apple mixed drinks, complimentary entry until 4:30PM with RSVP, and a discounted food menu.


You can follow Candis McLean on Twitter (@CandisRMcLean) and e-mail her at [email protected]. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram.

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