Rittenhouse

2013 Summer Screening Guide!

Cheap Date Philadelphia is happy to bring back one of its most popular posts: a night-by-night guide to what’s screening in the city this summer, where, and when. Creating this list is a labor of love for me, but the finish product always makes me feel so lucky to live in a city with so much fabulous FREE summer programming for all (unless otherwise noted).   Happy viewing, all, and don’t forget to BYO Blanket!    As always, please let me know if I’ve missed anything – I’ll be updating this post throughout the summer.   June 18: For A Few Dollars More at Dock Street Brewing Co. (8:00pm, indoors, $1 off drafts and pies) June 20: Punk Jews Documentary at Shivtei Yeshuron (i.e. The Little Shul) for Hidden City festival (indoors, 8:00pm, $10) June 20: Revenge of the Nerds at Drexel Park (9:00pm) June 20: Despicable Me at Grays Ferry Crescent Esplanade…

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Introducing: Top 5’s! My top picks for cheap fun in Philadelphia.

Introducing: Top 5’s! My top picks for cheap fun in Philadelphia.

First up: Top 5 spots for FREE live music!* The Curtis Institute. Talented young musicians perform solo and chamber pieces nearly every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during recital season at Field Concert Hall in Rittenhouse Square. Fiume. This tiny West Philly hot spot hosts a blue grass night every Thursday featuring the band City-Wide Specials. Bob and Barbara’s. Every Friday and Saturday, from 9:30 to close, veteran jazz musicians, The Crowd Pleasers, bring down the house. The Kimmel Center. Their “Free at the Kimmel” series features a wide variety of musical acts, with most events taking place Saturday or Sunday afternoons. World Cafe Live. Every Friday afternoon at noon, you can get up close and personal with bands big and small, local and national. A great segue to a lunch date, or skip lunch and enjoy a naughty mid-day drink at the bar! *Top 5′s are listed in no particular order…

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This Summer’s Sit-in Movies: BYO Blanket!

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One of my favorite cheap dates this time of year is to take a blanket and some treats to one of the many outdoor movie screenings that take place all over Philly all through the summer months.  I said it once, and I’ll say it again: There is something undeniably romantic about cuddling up after the sun goes down, sharing some candy and maybe a clandestine bottle of wine or beer, and taking in an outdoor movie on a hot summer night. And from the looks of this handy-dandy list I’ve prepared − complete with titles and times! – this is a date you can enjoy almost any given night of the summer! Choose from Blockbusters at Penn’s Landing, classic favorites at Schuylkill Banks and Liberty Lands Park, Indie hits at the Piazza, films with local ties at Headhouse Square and more!  There is literally something happening almost every single night, and they…

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Weekend Jazz Nights at Bob & Barbara’s

Weekend Jazz Nights at Bob & Barbara’s

Bob & Barbara’s, located at 1509 South Street, is not only a classic dive bar, but practically a Philadelphia historic landmark. If you haven’t been there yet, chances are you’ve at least heard of it, and if you’re the one introducing your date to Bob and Barbara’s for the first time, it’s going to be a date to remember. With walls heavy with vintage Pabst’s Blue Ribbon beer paraphernalia, a rowdy bar, and a venerable jazz tradition going back over twenty years, weekends at Bob and Barbara’s may feel more like a rite of passage than a date.  For example, a PBR pounder and shot of Jim Bean might not be the classiest of choices on most dates, but at Bob and Barbara’s it’s just what you order – every time.  It’s also a great spot for a group date, as my cohort discovered on a recent Friday night. How cheap we talkin’: Entry is FREE!…

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Hear a Free Recital at the Curtis Institute

Hear a Free Recital at the Curtis Institute

Did you know that one of the world’s leading music conservatories is located in Philadelphia, and that their uber-talented students showcase their talents every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening throughout the school year at recitals that are free and open to the public? Neither did I, until I went on a date there a few weeks ago. The students are from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, and their recitals are performed an intimate 240-person auditorium (Field Concert Hall) (handicapped accessible) located in the Institute’s “main building” – a gorgeously preserved 19th century mansion located at 1726 Locust Street, near the south-east corner of Rittenhouse Square park.   My date and I dressed up special for the occasion (think fine wool suit, cufflinks, swishy dress, pointy heels) and met for a pre-concert drink at the swanky Bar 210 at Lacroix across the park.  The location was certainly convenient, and their happy-hour (5-7pm)…

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Magazines and Munchies at Rittenhouse Square

Magazines and Munchies at Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square park, between 18th and 19th streets on Walnut, is a tree-filled haven of green in the middle of Center City’s busy downtown shopping district.  It is also a centrally located and easily accessible place to bring a blanket and some snacks and have a picnic.  But before setting up camp, stop in across the street at Barnes and Noble and pick out some fun magazines to read from or a book of crossword puzzles to work on together after you get bored of people and/or cloud watching. How cheap we talkin’: $30 or less. Magazines, $12-$15, for 3.  Snacks: $15 or less. Why this will impress your date: Good elocution skills are sexy. The Inside Game: Cherries are portable and delicious, but they are not an ideal date food, because, well, they inevitably involve spitting.  Also, do not picnic on fleece blankets if you can help it.  Apparently…

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