NEXT UP.. ERIN EXPRESS

Watching a Flyers game in Philadelphia takes more than finding a TV. It’s about being in a room where every goal gets a reaction and every bad call gets booed…you know, the fun stuff. Here’s where Flyers fans actually show up and cheer on the orange and black all the way through overtime.

Philadelphia loves turning food into an event. Restaurant Week season is officially here, and over the next few months, neighborhoods across the city are serving up prix-fixe menus that make trying new spots way more affordable and way more tempting.

Snow days were fun when you were a kid, but once you’re an adult? Possibily even better. Sure, there’s no school cancellation joy. But, if you plan it right, a snow day night out with warmth and places that feel intentional when the city is moving slower than usual, can put you right back in that headspace.

January doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give up on outdoor plans. It just means you have to be a little smarter about them. Philadelphia winters are unpredictable, but the city has mastered the art of the winter patio: heaters blasting and rooftops covered just enough to block the wind, leaving you with an experience that’s comfortable enough to not spend the whole night counting down until you can go back inside.

Dry January doesn’t have to mean opting out. Sometimes, it just means opting in differently.

For the first time ever, the city is hosting a Dry January Bar Crawl on Saturday, January 17th and Sunday, January 18th, turning an otherwise sleepy winter weekend into a choose-your-own, sober-ish adventure across some of the city’s best bars, breweries, and restaurants.

Sunday scaries don’t always look like panic. Sometimes they look like staring at your phone at 6:14 PM, knowing you don’t want to stay in, but absolutely do not want to go out either. You want people, maybe a drink. You want to feel like the weekend didn’t just vanish. You also want to be home at a reasonable hour, preferably with minimal regret.

Winter does something weird to social plans. No one wants to fully commit to a loud, packed night out, but staying home again somehow feels worse. You want to go somewhere, just not somewhere that requires shouting or standing the whole time.

Enter the third place bar.

You said you were doing Dry January. What you didn’t say was that you were staying home every weekend or suddenly becoming the kind of person who drinks tea at 8 PM and calls it a night.

This blog is for the people who are mostly committed. The ones who want to cut back without cutting off their social life. The ones who still want to go out, hear music and feel like the night went somewhere, even if they wake up the next morning without a headache.

New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia isn’t one-size-fits-all, and that’s exactly what makes it great. Some people want bottle service and a packed dance floor. Others are hunting for a perfectly mixed cocktail and a DJ that knows what they’re doing. Philadelphia delivers on all of it, but you just need to know where to look.