Fergie’s
One of the longest-running trivia events in Philadelphia — if not the longest — is still the best. Get there early on Tuesdays if you want to play, because trivia night at this 30-year-old Irish pub can get very busy. And come prepared: One of their regulars was on Jeopardy! recently. These people don’t mess around. 1214 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, fergies.com.
Solidcore
The dim lighting and loud music at these sleek studios in Washington Square, Rittenhouse and Bryn Mawr serve a purpose: They hide the winces and grunts the Pilates-inspired workout—50 minutes on a giant resistance machine that burns the whole way through—provokes. The upside: You’ll leave with a newfound confidence to rock a crop top. Multiple locations, solidcore.co.
Purenergy Studio
You can hop from the TRX bands to the spin studio to an aerial yoga or barre class thanks to Paoli's new one-stop-shop fitness studio. The idea is to keep your mind and muscles busy with lots of workout options, accomplished (and then some) by way of more than 90 stellar classes a week. 21 Plank Avenue, Paoli, PA 19301, purenergystudio.com.
Juju Salon and Organics
If you must get a gel mani, go to Juju Salon & Organics in Queen Village, where they use Bio Seaweed gel (as durable as other lacquers, but sans toxins), then set it with LED instead of UV, so you get two weeks of perfect polish without any nail-stripping after-effects. 713 S 4th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147, jujusalon.com.
Cotoletta
Cotoletta offers classic pastas, solid seafood, and a starter of provolone-and-sausage-stuffed hot peppers (the last a must-get), but really, you come here for the namesake cutlets – five varieties, made with chicken, veal or eggplant, each pounded thin and fried to perfection, all slices of pure home-style comfort. 201 Jefferson Street, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, cotoletta.net.
The Bar(n)
Sometimes you want a trendy bells-and-whistles bar (see below for that), and sometimes you want a low-key neighborhood joint with $2 draft beers, plenty of fried food, a busy pool table, and a crowd of friendly regulars who would never dream of spending their Friday night in a boozy ball pit. 4901 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143, facebook.com/TheBarn4901.
Penn Museum
The joints on the Parkway get more play due to their central location, but for people who like old stuff, this repository, stuffed with its 10 millennia of artifacts, is a must-visit. For years, the museum was left to more or less rot, but it’s in the midst of a dramatic transformation thanks to Christopher Woods, its first director of color. 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, penn.museum.
Longwood Gardens
Philly has some beloved, beautiful fountains. But you have to go out to Longwood Gardens to see what a real fountain display is all about. Their main fountain garden includes almost 2,000 fountain jets, synchronized music, and remarkable landscape design. Look for fireworks nights into October and make it a twofer. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348, longwoodgardens.org.
Alpine Arnica Deep Tissue Massage at the Logan
Ignore the dim lights, soft music and aromatic oils; you’re not here to relax. You’re here to work—or, rather, be worked on, with a massage so deep, so laser-like in its knot-obliterating precision, that you’ll leave 80 glorious minutes later feeling far less hunched and more, well, human. 1 Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA 19103, curiocollection3.hilton.com/en/hotels/pennsylvania/the-logan-philadelphia-curio-collection-by-hilton-PHLQQQQ/index.html.
Famous 4th Street Delicatessen
Sure, they've got the best Jewish deli sandwiches and free pickle bowl around. And don't miss the humongous crinkle-cut steak fries. But what cinches the deal are the free-with-an-eat-in-lunch fresh chocolate chip cookies. If they moved onto the Main Line, they'd put Hymie's and Murray's out of business in a week. 700 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, famous4thstreetdelicatessen.com.
Estia
We’re not saying you must go here. Because if you did, we’d no longer be able to walk in and get a table, a drink, a plate of grilled Mediterranean sardines, some langoustines and dolmades whenever we want. So no, seriously. We hear the Hard Rock Café on Market Street is super good. Go there instead. 1405 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, estiarestaurant.com/philadelphia-pa/philadelphia-pa.asp,.
The Orange Loop
The locus of A.C.’s comeback can be found in the Orange Loop, a collection of restaurants and bars plus a music venue, a yoga studio, and a hip cafe along the beach blocks of Tennessee Avenue, St. James Place and New York Avenue (a.k.a. the orange properties in Monopoly). Many additional projects are in the works, including a shipping-container hotel! visitorangeloop.com.
Style by Blain
Aside from being one of the best-dressed and best-named business owners in the city, Voltaire Blain has an unusually welcoming store — a historic Chestnut Hill home where the shoes are displayed not on racks, but on a pool table — and an equally impressive collection: Styleshoes by Alden, Paraboot, and Gaziano and Girling, some of which he designed himself. 8433 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118, stylebyblain.com.
DJ Sara Sherr
Escape frat-boy "Freebird" karaoke hell with this friendly, tattooed, pixie-haired gal of 40, who does actually have "Freebird" in her vast songbook, but also lots of B-sides, rare cuts and other music-nerd tracks. Venues include Tabu, P.O.P.E. and 12 Steps Down; connect with Sara Sherr via facebook.com/singyourlifekaraoke. 00000, facebook.com/singyourlifekaraoke.
DiCostanzas Italian Sandwiches
It's probably not on your beaten path, this sandwich shop with a Boothwyn address (GPS tip: actually not in Boothwyn more like Upper Chichester), but you won't regret the detour. Salty prosciutto, capicola, ham and salami add up to an Italian hoagie so gratifying that the owners have made a business actually shipping them to fans around the country. 1930 Market Street, Boothwyn, PA 19061, .