Dock Street Brewing Company
If you’re a fan of Dock Street’s brews (and we are), you can’t get any closer to the source than this. Obviously, you’re coming for the beer, but the menu is surprisingly good, too.

Golf course architecture buffs will enjoy a round at Philly muni Cobbs Creek, designed by Hugh Wilson a mere 4 years after he laid out Merion.  It's in muni shape, and been slightly rerouted, but under the dirt patches are a few charming strategy holes.

Watkins Drinkery
It’s a South Philly version of a neighborhood gastropub, with pool, darts, good stiff drinks, and a game-heavy bar-food menu that makes you feel like a lion with a bear’s head who’s eating every animal nature ever devised.

Fat Guy says: Set up a Rocky Balboa day, South Philly style.  Kick start your day with pre-Noon beers at South Philly sportsbar icon Chickie & Pete's (named the Best Sportsbar In North America by ESPN) for an orgy of plasmas, crab fries, and buffalo chicken fingers.  Then play a beer-soaked round at South Philly muni Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Park (more for it's location next to the stadium complex than the golf).  For an early dinner, hit nearby upper-mid-scale South Philly Italian icon Poppi's.  Then pop over to the stadium complex for pre-game happy hour with the uber-hottie waitstaff at McFadden's, which is part of the Phillies' Citizen's Bank Park.  From there, take in a Phillies/Eagles/Flyers/Sixers game, or minor league/sports teams The Phantoms (hockey), Wings (LAX), and Soul (Arena football).  Crash at the Holiday Inn at the stadium complex.  The best part:  You can do all of the above with easy cheap cab rides and Chickie & Pete's free stadium shuttle.

North Philly

McMenamin’s Tavern
If you’re looking for a crowd to watch the Eagles game with in Mount Airy, this is the spot. It’s loud, it’s crowded, and the staff seems always on the edge of collapse, but the beer list is fantastic, and the food is almost as good.7170 Germantown Avenue, 215-247-9920

Main Line 'Burbs

Victory Brewing Company
A serious beer drinker living too close to Victory Brewing Company’s bar is like David Duchovny living down the street from a whorehouse: fun, sure, but it’s not going to lead to anything good.

Less than a mile from Victory is Philly's best public access approximation of Philly's classic famed U.S. Open venues like Merion, Aronomink, and Philadelphia Cricket Club.  Tee it up at Downingtown Country Club, a George Fazio design.

Flying Pig Saloon
If you like beer, need a proper pub like most people need oxygen, have some kind of weird pig fetish and live in Malvern, you’re probably already a regular at the Pig. If not, it’s worth it for the good juke, the 25 beers on tap and the nearly 200 bottles behind the bar.121 East King Street, Malvern. 610-578-9208

McKenzie Brew House
A microbrewery and restaurant for Malvern beer snobs and burger-seekers.

Play Pickering Valley GC (www.golfpickeringvalley.com).  Family-owned, but a good layout and good value in decent shape, with great use of the hills it's routed over.

King Of Prussia/422 West Corridor

Drake Tavern
If you judge a bar by the number of TVs it has, the Drake is your Nirvana—an archetypal after-work sports bar with an outdoor deck and a decent selection of microbrews.

Pickering Creek Inn
A charming spot outside the city, and perfect for beer people who want to watch the Phillies: They’ve got a great list, knowledgeable bartenders, TVs, and plenty of new friends for you.

For two good values, play Westover in Norristown, a classic George Fazio design in surprisingly good shape for the greens fees.  Or try Turtle Creek in Limerick.  Built on a former turf farm by former turf farmers.  Most of the layout is farmland links, other than 3 holes routed through a woodsy hollow, and the tricky par-5 18th with a downhill water carry approach from a downhill lie.

South Jersey Suburbs

Chickie’s & Pete’s
There are Philly expats who cross state lines just to get a drink and some crabfries at the original Chickie’s & Pete’s, in Mayfair. Spend a night here when the Phils or Eagles are playing and you’ll understand why.

The Boat House
Imagine getting drunk at your great-grandpa’s house—if your great-grandpa lived in a shack in New Jersey and was a former boat captain. Just an awesome old bar with great classic cocktails and plenty of boat-y decor on the walls.8 Coryell Street, Lambertville, 609-397-2244.

Fat Guy's favorite Philly area course is Scotland Run (www.scotlandrun.com) in Williamstown NJ.  Diabolical architect Stephen Kay twisted the routing through the New Jersey pine barrens and a former sand quarry. By borrowing design elements from both Old Tom Morris' Prestwick and legendary nearby Pine Valley, Kay achieves the same Stateside visual stratosphere as Mike Stranz' target masterpiece Tobacco Road (Sanford, NC). A study in extremes, the Run offers numerous quirky elements such as clifftop tees, cape holes over yawning sand pits 3 stories deep (don't worry, there's a staircase if you don't clear the carry--but you still gotta play it), dual greens, blind shots, stacked sod pot bunkers, railroad tie walls as crossing hazards, and sandy lies next to a rusting steamshovel or an old airplane from a small nearby airport. Cart paths spill randomly into massive, free-range waste bunkers, adding to the sense of adventure. The dog right par-5 18th, with water creeping in off the tee and an uphill approach over a sand cliff, is a memorable finish. Whether going for it or laying up, the second swing on the 18th is one of the most nerve-racking middle shots anywhere. The overall experience at Scotland Run is closer to X-Box golf than traditional links. But for the adventurous, this is the most grin-inducing 18 daily fee holes the Philadelphia area has to offer.

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Philly Mag's Original List, broken down by category

COCKTAIL BARS

The Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co.
Drinks like the Cowboy Killer and Oh, Sweet Nothing will change the way you think about cocktails forever. And the fact that you get to drink them underground and in the dark just makes them double-awesome.

Oyster House
Yeah, we know damn well that a few Oyster House Punches will lay us out flat, but we just can’t stop drinking them.

Alma de Cuba
The vibe was super-cool 10 years ago. Not so much today. But Alma is still the standby for groups who want one more drink at the end of the night. Inevitably, they end up having more than one more.

The Farmers’ Cabinet
This place is what would happen if Ridley Scott were directing a happy hour for beer snobs, cocktail historians, Jazz Age hep cats and righteous old drunks. It’s one of the strangest and most amazing places to have a drink in Philly right now.

Southwark
One of the very few classic cocktail bars in the city that can make a $15 drink that’s worth every penny.

Parc
It’s the beautiful atmosphere that makes the $11 cocktails go down easier. And if you ever need a temporary escape, the Parisian bar here might be one of the least Philly-feeling places in the entire city.

Rouge
Yes, it’s a mash-up of prowling cougars, rich socialites and Ed Hardy-wearing jackasses, but there’s no better place for watching the Rittenhouse society set get bombed on glasses of rosé and heavy pours from the bar.

Zahav
Most people go here for the duck hearts and lamb’s tongue. We go for the bar; it’s one of the most underrated in town.

Caribou Café
Parc too snooty? Go here instead. It’s got the same Gallic soul and French cocktails, but without the pretension.

Varga Bar
The pinup girls on the ceiling are like muses swirling round the heads of good drinkers, and the black-and-white Deco styling makes you feel classy even if you’re drinking merlot with an ice cube in it.

Tryst
Terrible name, but a good bar in the former Bar Lyonnaise space below Le Bec-Fin. If this is Georges Perrier’s attempt at attracting a younger demographic, it’s working, with its swanky take on non-Prohibition-era cocktailing.

Ranstead Room
Think of it as a grittier, more authentic backup when you can’t get into Franklin Mortgage. A perfect makeout bar because it’s pitch-black and has pictures of boobs everywhere—plus, the craft cocktails are delicious and will knock you flat.2013 Ranstead Street, 215-563-3330.

Pub & Kitchen
A place that’s serious about its food and drink, but still remembers that the reason people go out drinking in the first place is to have some fun.

Twenty Manning Grill
After a couple cocktails at the bar, being here is like drinking in a cloud of cotton candy and beautiful people.

A.Kitchen
While the main action at A.Kitchen might be happening among the local celebrities on the floor, those who really know what they like hide out at the bar for excellent cocktails that perfectly marry classicism and modern mixology.

Continental Midtown
Perfect for precisely two things: 1) as a spot to drink martinis; and 2) as a spot to drink enough martinis that you won’t be bothered by the fact that you’re drinking with the crowd that frequents the Continental.

Village Whiskey
It’s small, it’s crowded, and getting through the door on a busy night can be a nightmare. But in the off-hours, this is actually one of our favorite places in the city to drink, because there’s nothing in the world that pairs quite so well as a $70 pour of whiskey, neat, and a $3 order of tater tots.

Georges’
Perrier has always claimed this is his “casual” restaurant. It isn’t. But having a drink at the well-appointed bar can be.

Sassafras
An oasis of sanity and refinement in Old City. Where neighborhood grown-ups come to drink something that doesn’t come in a 40-ounce can spiked with caffeine.

Square 1682
There’s not much that can make us drink in a hotel bar, but this place sometimes offers specials that are irresistible: hot toddies on a freezing January day, champagne cocktails in the middle of February. If you’re in the mood to feel fancy, you could do a lot worse than drinking here.

nineteen
Six-dollar cocktails at the happy hour here (atop the Bellevue) are the perfect way to feel like a classy gent while getting loaded on less than $20.

Anton’s at The Swan
Like partying at some musty old English manor house, but down the back stairs, with the servants.

Paramour
Finally, a hotel bar swanky enough to truly call the Main Line home.

CRAFT BEER

Silk City
There are those among us who would sooner die than drink inside Silk City, but we love sitting out in the beer garden. It’s always a friendly mix of people, and good for large groups.

Triumph Brewing Company
The brunch stout is like drinking a small fishbowl of warm French toast.

Victory Brewing Company
A serious beer drinker living too close to Victory Brewing Company’s bar is like David Duchovny living down the street from a whorehouse: fun, sure, but it’s not going to lead to anything good.

Belgian Cafe
Everyone loves the beer and mussels at Monk’s, but the Belgian has the advantage of being just as good and only half as crowded.

The Pineville Tavern
The place was built in 1742, and it still feels like if you squint just right, you can see Ben Franklin and George Washington hoisting tankards in the corner—only without all the cheesy Disney World fakeness of drinking at City Tavern.

McKenzie Brew House
A microbrewery and restaurant for Malvern beer snobs and burger-seekers.

Monk’s Cafe
Because when that bus drove through it last year, our first worry was actually the beer collection.

Good Dog
It’s mostly a hipster gathering place these days, but the beers are still great, the menu is killer, and if you time it just right, you can have the entire third floor to yourself.

Standard Tap
As good for draft beers on Saturday night as it is for brunch on Sunday morning. If they put out cots, some of us would just live here on the weekends.

Dock Street Brewing Company
If you’re a fan of Dock Street’s brews (and we are), you can’t get any closer to the source than this. Obviously, you’re coming for the beer, but the menu is surprisingly good, too.

Grace Tavern
With a great beer list and a full menu served till 2 a.m. (which means frites and sausages right up until last call), Grace is the neighborhood bar you wish was in your neighborhood. It might also be the only place in town that makes us excited to eat green beans.

Brauhaus Schmitz
Where else, Renaissance Faires aside, can you order an authentic German beer served in a massive stein and brought to you by waitresses in St. Pauli Girl outfits?

GASTROPUBS

Flying Pig Saloon
If you like beer, need a proper pub like most people need oxygen, have some kind of weird pig fetish and live in Malvern, you’re probably already a regular at the Pig. If not, it’s worth it for the good juke, the 25 beers on tap and the nearly 200 bottles behind the bar.121 East King Street, Malvern. 610-578-9208

Coco’s
If you spend any time in the city, you’ve probably walked by this dive-gone-gastropub a million times without even noticing it. We love it because it’s got some soul—and because the Center City hipsters haven’t discovered it. Yet.

Resurrection Ale House
Sure, it’s a path well traveled, but there’s something to be said about a dependable bar where every beer you order will be interesting and any menu item will be completely delicious.

The Bards
This is where you go when you want something to eat with all those drinks—an indie Irish pub with a solid menu and real Irish people managing it and working the bar. Also a great place to get some work done (thanks to the free wi-fi) while knocking back a couple pints.

St. Stephen’s Green
Philly is full of gastropubs, but it’s rare to find a place that gets all three elements—the atmosphere, the food and the drinks—right. St. Stephen’s does.

Watkins Drinkery
It’s a South Philly version of a neighborhood gastropub, with pool, darts, good stiff drinks, and a game-heavy bar-food menu that makes you feel like a lion with a bear’s head who’s eating every animal nature ever devised.

The Dandelion
Of all the British pubs in this city full of British pubs, the Dandelion is the one that hits closest to home for expat royalists and those who love them.

London Grill
The Bloody Mary bar will change your life.

Teresa’s Next Door
Dirty mussels with applewood smoked bacon, a bit of cheese from the impressive board, and 26 beers on tap (including one nitro and two hand-pumps): The only thing better is the staffers’ commitment to serving only what they know and truly love—no matter how weird or unpopular.

DIVE BARS

Oscar’s
It’s a hellhole, yes, but one that’s barely changed in all the years we’ve been drinking in it. And it’s one where everybody—from the corporate honchos to the hipsters to the skateboard kids to the old men with their behinds glued to the stools—gets along. Always.1524 Sansom Street, 215-972-9938.

McGlinchey’s
The waitstaff here is surly as hell—and sometimes that’s exactly what we want to be around. Also, it doesn’t hurt that you can smoke inside, because it makes the place feel like an actual bar rather than some fake, politically correct appletini theme park.259 South 15th Street, 215-735-1259.

Dirty Frank’s
It’s aptly named, the bartenders are angry all the time, they don’t take credit cards, the beer list is nothing special. It’s dark and crowded with people in for a real drink, and it has dartboards. It’s the best dive bar in town.347 South 13th Street, 215-732-5010.

The El Bar
A Fishtown favorite. We go for the drinks but love it for theStar Wars pinball machine.1356 North Front Street, 215-634-6430.

McKenna’s Bar
Also known as the Aldine, it’s perfect as ground zero for a Mayfair bar crawl. And with the Mayfair Diner across the street, you never have to wonder where your last-call pancakes will be coming from.7322 Frankford Avenue, 215-332-3230.

Bob & Barbara’s Lounge
A classic dive, full of PBR, problem drinkers and history. This is where the Citywide Special was invented, and the best way to drink here is to slap $3.50 on the bar, ask for one, drink it down, and repeat all night.1509 South Street, 215-545-4511.

NEIGHBORHOOD HAUNTS

Fiume
A tiny little whiskey bar set atop an Ethiopian restaurant in West Philly. Absolutely beloved by serious drinkers, whiskey freaks and cocktail hunters. Not bad for the beer drinkers, either. Absolutely ignored by everyone else.229 South 45th Street, second floor.

Friday Saturday Sunday
Only the upstairs Tank Bar, where the glowing marine fish tank, the claustrophobic proportions of the place, and the crowd of middle-aged solo-drinkers make you feel like you’ve slipped out of reality and walked into some late-’90s music video.

Molly Maguire’s
Perfectly Irish. Smithwick's? Check. Live Irish music tearing it up? You bet. Our friends pouring us into a cab when, after five Jamesons, we pick a fight with a light fixture? That’s just how we know it’s Friday.

The Sidecar
So tiny, but such a nice selection of drinks. And despite being packed with non-neighborhood people, it somehow maintains the vibe of the neighborhood bar it wants to be.

Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar
If you must do karaoke, Ray’s is the only acceptable place in the city to do it. Also, if you must start drinking at 7 a.m., Ray’s is one of the very few bars in the world that can make you proud to have gotten out of bed so early.

Black Sheep
So many people we know had their last first date here.

Knock
Like Cheers for the gays, only with karaoke.

Pub on Passyunk East
Known to most as the P.O.P.E., it's an unassuming corner joint with a truly rad beer selection. Avoid the tables if you can, but a seat at the bar is totally worth fighting for.

The Boat House
Imagine getting drunk at your great-grandpa’s house—if your great-grandpa lived in a shack in New Jersey and was a former boat captain. Just an awesome old bar with great classic cocktails and plenty of boat-y decor on the walls.8 Coryell Street, Lambertville, 609-397-2244.

Old Guard House Inn
Very old-school. Very Main Line. As a matter of fact, when they were building the old school on the Main Line, the Old Guard House is where all the construction workers drank and ate schnitzel.

Clam Tavern
A nautically themed bar in Delco that we frequent for the $5 Beefeater martinis and the thought that if times ever get desperate enough and we get drunk enough, we might try robbing the nearest bank with one of the swordfish heads mounted at the end of the bar.

Fox & Hound
A chain, yes, but one with a great Tuesday special: $2 drafts, with 30 on tap. Only place in town to drink Harp or Guinness at two bucks a go.

The Raven
It’s older than dirt and is constantly being bought and sold and bought again, but it has some of the nicest bartenders on Earth—and it doesn’t price-gouge like some of the other boy bars in town.

Tequilas
It’s nice to have a place named for what it does best.

Pen and Pencil Club
A quasi-private club and notorious late-night hang for reporters, restaurant crews and working media professionals? Well, we know where we’ll be spending our nights from now on

Sweeney’s Saloon
Every drinking city needs to have a Moe’s Tavern. This is Philly’s.13639 Philmont Avenue, 215-677-3177.

McNally’s Tavern
The quintessential cozy neighborhood pub, with good sandwiches—including the world-famous Schmitter—to boot.

Locust Rendezvous
Some places, you go for the cocktails. Some places, you go for the beer. Some places, you go for the service or the vibe, or to be with the cocktail waitress you’re secretly in love with. The ’Vous? We go because it’s cheap.

Ivy Inn
The shuffleboard authority around Philly, for those who like games to distract them from their drinking.

Continental Tavern

Small and friendly and perfectly un-fancy without being a suburban Oscar’s—just the place to grab a beer with the locals.

Midtown Diner
The perfect escape from work. A mid-afternoon seat at the bar, three innings of the Phils, and the best thing is, you’ll never get caught, because no one you know comes here.28 South 18th Street, 215-567-5144.

The Greeks
A great mix of working-class folks who haven’t set foot in Center City in two decades and professionals who recently moved to the ’burbs and can’t find anywhere else to go for an after-work drink.

Percy Street BBQ
If you like your beer in cans, Percy Street has more than 60 behind the bar. And if you like your canned beer with pickle juice and BBQ sauce, order the Hillbilly Gatorade. You’ll thank us later.

Royal Tavern
The bar you want to wake up in once you become the kind of person who wakes up in bars.

WINE BARS

Tria
According to one regular, “Though I’ll drink by myself pretty much anywhere, I truly believe Tria is the best place in the city for a woman to drink alone. It attracts the most harmless jerks of any wine bar in the city.”

Tinto
A great place for drinking wine, especially if you can get the railing seat that looks out on 20th. Just settle in and watch the world go by.

Positano Coast
They serve their wine in carafes with peaches on the bottom, and we love that. Eating the wine-soaked peaches at the end? We love that even more.

Chick’s Café & Wine Bar
You’ve walked by it a hundred times. Now it’s time to step inside.

SPORTS BARS

McMenamin’s Tavern
If you’re looking for a crowd to watch the Eagles game with in Mount Airy, this is the spot. It’s loud, it’s crowded, and the staff seems always on the edge of collapse, but the beer list is fantastic, and the food is almost as good.7170 Germantown Avenue, 215-247-9920.

Pickering Creek Inn
A charming spot outside the city, and perfect for beer people who want to watch the Phillies: They’ve got a great list, knowledgeable bartenders, TVs, and plenty of new friends for you.

Drake Tavern
If you judge a bar by the number of TVs it has, the Drake is your Nirvana—an archetypal after-work sports bar with an outdoor deck and a decent selection of microbrews.

Chickie’s & Pete’s
There are Philly expats who cross state lines just to get a drink and some crabfries at the original Chickie’s & Pete’s, in Mayfair. Spend a night here when the Phils or Eagles are playing and you’ll understand why.

700 Club
The best Philly soccer bar housed in a former chicken slaughterhouse.