University City

Harvest Seasonal Bar & Grill  
While Harvest Seasonal Bar and Grill is primarily focused on dining and happy hours, on Thursday nights the place turns into a crowded attraction supported by two full-service bars and a spacious dance floor. Harvest is located at 40th and Walnut, which makes it walking distance from both Upenn and Drexel. What makes the place so special on Thursday nights? $3 Long Island iced teas. At other places, a Long Island can go from anywhere between eight to thirteen dollars, and this promotion has drawn in even crowds from Temple on a weekly basis. The set up of Harvest is unique. It has two floors with a spacious dancing area on the second level. The atmosphere has an old-fashioned feel with dim lighting, while the dance floor takes on a contemporary feel with strobe lights and a disco ball. There is an outdoor patio with chairs and fire pits that become very popular during the fall and early winter. On top of this, drinks are cheap. Aside from the Long Islands, other drinks are also very affordable. Moreover, there isn’t a cover charge, so one can actually enjoy multiple drinks for less than ten dollars. Prior to last week, Harvest’s Long Island deal only goes until midnight, but recently has changed until 1am. The dining aspect actually has strong reviews with a combination of American, Asian, and Mexican cuisines. Food costs between ten to twenty dollars. Overall, Harvest is a popular spot on Thursday nights, but doesn’t provide the same party feel on other nights. Even on Friday and Saturday nights, it is more of a relaxed dine and sip environment. The Drexel crowd that visits Harvest usually uses the setting as a pregame prior to visiting places like Cavs. Although the crowd is very diverse because of the college factor, the most patrons are twenty-one to twenty-five years old. The noise level on Thursday nights is quite high and the second floor area is not a good area to have a conversation. With all this said, Harvest does provide a fun college-bar experience. 

Cavs

Cavanaugh’s Restaurant & Sports Bar, commonly known as Cavs, is a go-to spot on Thursday nights. It is located at 39th street between Chestnut and Walnut. Cavs has one full-service bar, which is in the middle of the restaurant and is accessible from all sides. Above the bar are multiple TVs that display various sports networks. Sunday through Wednesday, the venue operates until midnight. Although Cavs is open until 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights, Thursday is the most popular because of an established college tradition. Drexel students are the predominant customers on these nights. Patrons generally arrive at midnight, after visiting nearby places like Harvest, Blarney Stone, and Tap House. Entry to Cavs is three dollars. Aside from this, drinks are cheap, where a pitcher of domestic beer will only cost seven dollars. The same goes for well drinks, and even shot prices are reduced. Thus, Cavs is great for patrons with tighter budgets. On Thursday nights, half the restaurant turns into a dance floor. The DJ plays a mix of rap, hip hop, and electronic dance music. Cavs is also known for its block parties during St. Patrick’s Day weekends. In terms of food, Cavs serves American cuisine including burgers, wings, sandwiches, pizzas, and salads. The restaurant has a strong 4.5/5 rating on Grubhub. Drink and food specials are available daily throughout the week. Cavs also provides catering service. The primary limitation to Cavs is space. Especially on Thursday nights, Cavs becomes crowded quickly. Patrons don’t have much moving space and ordering drinks can take up to twenty minutes. Because of the capacity concern, the wait outside can also be long. Another limitation is the high noise level, which can make it difficult to have a conversation. However, Cavs ultimately provides an intense college party experience.   

Blarney Stone 
Blarney Stone, more commonly known as Blarneys, is a college bar located at 39th and Sansom. Like Harvest, Blarneys is a popular place to pregame at. The bar offers a wide selection of brews as well as American cuisine, including burgers, sandwiches, and cheesesteaks. Blarneys also offer patrons pool tables and karaoke. The bar operates until 2 am throughout the week. Thursday nights tend to be the most crowded because of the well drinks for fifty cents deal. Upon paying the five dollar cover, patrons are handed a cup that should be used for the duration of the deal. The promotion ends at midnight. Even then, Blarneys pricing is on the cheaper side, with beers and standard mix drinks costing between three to six dollars. Blarneys design has a wood cabin feel to it. The bar is adjacent to the entrance, but patrons can also order drinks from the bar through an open window from the second floor as well. The dance floor is on the second level. It is spacious and the surrounding tables provide customers with another hang-out area. The music mainly consists of hip hop and EDM. The noise level is also not as high as other places, which makes it better for conversations. Overall, the capacity limit is much smaller compared to Harvest, Cavs, and Smokes. On Thursday and Friday nights, the first floor gets very crowded and the entry wait can take fifteen minutes. On these nights, it starts to get packed around ten and clears up closer to eleven thirty. The crowd is mostly college students from Drexel and Upenn with exceptions of working adults on other nights. The service is efficient when it comes to food and drinks. With all this said, Blarneys offers a cool interactive experience for college students with a tighter budget.       

   


    

Smokes
Smokey Joe’s, better known as “Smokes” is a tavern located next to Harvest on 40th street between Locust and Walnut. The old-fashioned tavern focuses on beer, drinks, and Italian food including pastas as well as pizzas. “Smokes” is very popular every night from Wednesday through Saturday. The main bar is large and accessible from all sides. There is a second bar on the side that serves only beer. Cover is one dollar on most nights. However, on Wednesday nights, the cover is five dollars because of the fifty cent drinks promotional deal that lasts until midnight. There is a spacious dance floor and about fifteen tables for patrons to sit and drink at. The main bar is surrounded by high chairs that allow for conversations. In terms of pricing, “Smokes” is affordable like the other University City attractions. A highlight of the bar is service speed. Unlike neighboring places, “Smokes’” main bar has four to five bartenders. Thus, even on crowded nights, it is easy to get drinks. Furthermore, the tavern is known for not watering down drinks. The crowd mainly consists of Upenn students. The DJ plays a mixture of top-100 hits along with hip hop and rock. “Smokes” is the oldest bar on Penn’s campus – 80 years. The tavern operates until 2 am throughout the week. Weekly specials are available Sundays through Thursdays. “Smokes” also has daily events such as open-mic, live music, and quizzo. The tavern has a very happy and friendly atmosphere. The one limitation is space. “Smokes” fills up fast on Wednesday nights and on weekends. One common issue among patrons has been getting stepped on because of tight areas. Thus, having dirty shoes by the end of the night isn’t uncommon. Overall, “Smokes” provides a vibrant tavern experience, which is evident from its historic reputation.

(Photo Credit: Chris Chang)