Philadelphia churns out some serious brotherly love — and then some!

Although my husband and I have always been frequent travelers, Philadelphia was always the big U.S. city that we’d somehow neglected. We had heard great things about this East Coast gem, and so it has slowly climbed up our must-see list. Last month, we finally made it happen, and the experience was queer and fabulous. We spend a long weekend in the city, and are now eager to return, as we found Philadelphia so approachable, walkable, and a bit like a less pretentious New York City.

Here are six things we discovered about this great East Coast metropolis…

A short walk from the hotel is the brand-new Philly Pride Visitor Center, a great place to orient yourself to the neighborhood and the city. There’s great information on the city’s queer history and firsts. For example, Philadelphia was the site of the nation’s first sit-in for LGBTQ rights in 1965, passed a comprehensive LGBTQ civil rights law in 1982, and added black and brown stripes to the Pride flag in 2017 to better represent queer People of Color.

1. What a gayborhood!

The city’s large gayborhood is quite extensive, about 25 square blocks located about a quarter mile south of city hall. We chose the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Philadelphia Downtown/Center City, smack dab in the center of the queerness. This property feels like a high-end boutique hotel and not the traditional Fairfield you’d see next to a highway interchange or by an airport. I was impressed by the quirky design and the small but comfortable rooms. 

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2. Run, don’t walk

I was really impressed with Philadelphia’s running culture. We were there on a warm August weekend, and maybe that had something to do with it, but everywhere we went, we saw individual runners and groups of runners, including some very nice shirtless eye candy! We hooked up with local group Philadelphia FrontRunners for their Saturday morning run at Lloyd’s Hall, just a couple of miles from the gayborhood, and met about a dozen queer runners. The group generally runs about 5 miles and then heads to brunch. There’s also a weekly Monday evening run.

3. Free Philadelphia is next level

Some of the city’s most iconic things are absolutely free. The Liberty Bell, one of the city’s symbols, is part of Independence National Historic Park. It’s free to visit, and we waited only about 15 minutes in line to see it, even on a busy summer Saturday. Similarly free are the “Rocky Steps” that lead up to the beautiful Philadelphia Museum of Art. Famed for their appearance in the movie Rocky, where the titular character trains by running up the 72 steps, there is now a bronze statue at the top, a popular photo spot. If you’re getting hungry, stop by the free Reading Terminal Market, an enormous market where you can shop for everything from fresh produce to lunch to ice cream at Bassetts, the oldest ice cream shop in the country. (Try the Pralines & Cream!)

4. Queer bars and nightclubs aplenty

There are so many options in Philadelphia, but I think we have to start with Marsha’s South Street, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary on September 19. Owner Chivonn Anderson guided us through the menu, recommending the smash burger wings and the cheesesteak pastelillos, sort of a Puerto Rican empanada. They were one of the best things I ate in town — incredible! And the Marsharita, a take on a margarita, was flavorful and refreshing. Marsha’s, named in honor of trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, is a women-owned sports bar, and while we were there, the half dozen large screen TVs were showing a variety of women’s sports, including soccer and volleyball. After acquiring the building, Anderson’s long-range plans include opening Marsha’s locations in North Philly and West Philly. Bartender Lulu was lovely and brought us some of her newest creations/experimental cocktails, using gin and tequila in creative ways.

You can spend a week touring the various gay clubs, but some favorites included quirky Writer’s Block Rehab, with a combo library-café feel; the Little Gay Pub, which was cute and friendly and felt like a perfect comfy neighborhood pub; Franky Bradley’s, which had multiple rooms, some with drag performers, and a quite young crowd; and Tavern on Carmac. Tavern has a nice piano bar downstairs, and had an older and busy crowd on a Sunday evening when we visited. Upstairs was younger and had a dance floor, where show tunes were the main draw.

5. Great eats

We ate really well while in town. Queer-owned Darling Jack’s Tavern is located close to the gayborhood and has a great dark and romantic vibe. We loved the whipped feta appetizer, the lobster ravioli, and the New Mexico cocktail. Winkel, right in the gayborhood, is a lovely stop for brunch, with Dutch-inspired foods; the deep-fried bread pudding French toast is as sweet and delicious as it sounds! Mish Mish, a Michelin recommended restaurant, was top notch, and the staff was lovely. We enjoyed the grilled tilefish, wagyu steak, and fried eggplant with green tomatoes. Even the bread here, served with whipped chèvre and záatar honey, was worth writing home about! And Barbuzzo was a fun restaurant, with great wood-fired pizzas, gnocchi, and pastas.

6. Feeling Fishtown

One of our favorite neighborhoods here was Fishtown, located a few miles northeast of the city center. This waterfront district has an industrial history, but today is full of cool shops, restaurants, and art. We started out with breakfast at the amazing queer-owned Cake Life Bake Shop (also check out the huge We Are Universal mural on the side of the building, celebrating black trans people). Everything here was delicious, from the peaches and cream croissant to the salted caramel latte. I also loved seeing some Canadian treats here, including Canadian butter tarts and Nanaimo bars.

We also checked out some great local drag in Fishtown at Fabrika, a super cool space with an industrial vibe and great sightlines. The owners also have Kinto Georgian Restaurant, just down the street. Fabrika hosts a variety of events, including Saturday evening variety shows that include some drag, burlesque, and acrobatics. 

Food here is serious business, and not an afterthought; the shrimp and grits I ordered may have been the best food I’ve ever had at a drag brunch! Host The Eric Jaffe was a lot of fun, and I particularly loved her version of Do Re Mi that incorporated Queen Latifa’s name in the lyrics. Performers Allyria Everlasting, Stefani Steel, and Mz. Peaches kept us entertained and waving the dollar bills all afternoon. 

Thanks to our friends at Visit Philly for making this trip possible.

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