BY AARON STELLA Northern Liberties‘ Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus is a proverb incarnate, which says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” And perhaps an appropriate addition would be, “Or else you’re going to miss out.” Ortlieb’s is a legendary jazz bar well-settled and well-aged into the 3rd Street hill of NoLibs-where local legends come to jam. Jazz luminaries like Jimmy Oliver, Mickey Roker, Mike Boone and, one of my personal favorites, Sid Simmons ignite Ortlieb’s speak-easy environs aflame while cooling the mood with their virtuoso strains. Sundays from 8pm-12am are devoted to jam sessions with the Roger Prieto Quartet, and Tuesdays during the same hours it’s jammin’ with Ortlieb’s Hausband. You can also catch some unsung local talent during scattered open-mic nights throughout the week. Ortlieb’s happy hour, Tues-Fri 5-7pm, is one of the best in the city.

BY AARON STELLA Northern Liberties has enjoyed many modern revamps of the traditional gastropub in the past 4-5 years. North 3rd has the best of what both gastropubs and friendly neighborhood bars have to offer. And it’s all Philadelphia all the time. The dark wood interior is adorned in a grab-bag of spiritist artifacts and the perpetual aftermath of a Mardi Gras party. Although the décor is not so much meant to theme the bar than have it emanate a sense of cordiality. North 3rd boasts of an array of local brews, from hoppy to smooth, from amber to ecru, and all spices and viscosities across the board.

BY AARON STELLA Rittenhouse residents patronize Monk’s Café for two reasons: their tour de monde of brews containing more than 250 beers, and their mussels, which are arguably the best and most affordable in the city. The beer menu is hardly your standard order wash of local and imported; it’s a phalanx of curios, obscure as they’re beautiful, and refined and they’re diverse. Such that Monk’s appropriately titles their beer list, “The Beer Bible.” You could probably dream up some beer with random attributes and find it or something scarily similar to it at Monk’s. And the quaint cafe treats imbibing beer with same care that the brew masters took concocting them. All beer’s are served in precisely shaped glasses or are decantered for maximum flavor and breathing effect. Now for the food. After the braised veal cheeks, country terrine, a smattering of burger stacks and the seitan cheese steak, there are the mussels.

AARON STELLA The mélange of entertainment enterprises that comprise Old City’s corridors wouldn’t be the same without the dive-bar sensation The Khyber. As one of the original rock venues in the city, The Khyber has stood the test of time, and continues to deftly accommodate their patron’s voracious appetites with the continuous blare of rock ‘n’ roll and a limitless supply of premium brews. Like any dive bar, the Khyber doesn’t so much concern itself with décor; however, that doesn’t mean it lacks atmosphere. The bar relies more on the people than the wallpaper to make their bar, not to mention their veteran and cordial staff.