PAX Unplugged 2019

http://unplugged.paxsite.com/

Tickets and hotels are live.

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Probably only going to be able to get there on Sunday this year, will be flying back from Florida on Saturday.

I’m waiting for the [E] signal to go up, myself.

It’s not a very hard journey from NYC, so I expect to attend. The question is how many days I’m able to attend, and how many Philly Cheesesteaks my heart can take.

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Now that I’m 37…

I can eat half a cheese steak. And no more than one per week…

Still waiting to buy tix till the full schedule is up. I will probably do 3 day, but my wife is a 1 or 2 day person depending on who’s talking when (you guys and Shut and Sitdown guys) and if there’s any really interesting talks/events on certain days.

Our tentative schedule is:

Friday: Tabletop noon-midnight
Saturday: Tabletop 10am-midnight
Sunday: Tabletop 10am-4pm, Omegaton Finale

1-4 panels TBD :wink:

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This is for anyone going, but if you are looking for any Philly recs outside the con for restaurants, bars, things to do I can provide a fair amount of info.

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I’m open to any suggestions, not that I dislike using Reading Terminal Market for 100% of my meals, but I would appreciate not having to navigate a sea of bodies every time.

This! I actually like a fair number of places at Reading Terminal Market (RTM), but never go during the con except for coffee because I know its gonna be filled with out of towners at the con with nowhere else to go.

If we are talking just purely walking distance than Chinatown is the only game in town for near the con food & drink. If you are open to using public transit for say breakfast or dinner than there are a lot more options.

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I do remember there was a decent Italian place up the road from RTM and a sports bar across the street from it, but I will have to see what’s available in Chinatown

My Chinatown recs, but first:

RULE 1: CASH - Chinatown is largely cash driven. There are some restaurants that take cards but they are few and far between. A lot of places will have their own thirdparty atm in house with the 3.50 fee to take out money so you’re better off getting cash ahead of time.

Restaurants

  1. Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House One of my fave places, great place to get various hand made noodles. Pretty casual.

  2. Dim Sum Garden probably my favorite Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling) place in the city. Also casual, also pretty busy usually.

  3. Sang Kee Peking Duck House My go-to place for duck in chinatown. Features a lot of Hong Kong style dishes.

  4. Bonchon - Philadelphia Casual Korean fried chicken place. They do strips, wings and spicy and soy.

  5. KC’s Pastries Last but not least. The cheapest/quickest option in chinatown and very tasty. You can walk in qith 10 bucks out walk out with a stupid amount of sweet and/or savory buns and breads.

Bars.

  1. Hop Sing Laundromat This is one of the strongest cocktail bars in the city, but Le the owner is extremely meticulous about everything. You probably need slacks and collared shirt to get in (sneakers were allowed a year or so ago). That said pretty big cocktail menu lots of options and decidedly the best “well” options for liquor in the city. (They are the largest consumer of Gosling’s Black Strap run in the state because its their well). NO PHONES, NO PHOTOS. If you are want a quiet, evening its cool but you gotta play by the rules.

  2. Bar-Ly Chinatown Basically a sports bar that happens to be in chinatown. Some drinks and food on the menu are of asian flavor, but plenty of usual bar food too. I’ve only gone here to kill time in a low-key setting, but its a casual place to get a drink.

  3. Yakitori Boy Its a karoke bar. Prices are fine all things considered. Large open bar area with karoke in front of the public or rent a room with friends for time stretches and get waiter service.

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You are probably talking about Maggiano’s Little Italy

Adding this here for reference too

I’m aware of Hop Sing and my curiosity is piqued, but I’m not about to pack extra clothes and shoes just to visit a bar.

Some of those places are no longer in business also, do not go to the ihop in center city (Go to a new city, but go to a chain place? Also its legendary for crazy stuff happening there at night).

Its probably going to be chilly so pants and a long sleeve shirt are not too much of an ask. Like I said sneakers are allowed now so its just look like casual friday office attire and you’ll get in. Alternatively if you want interesting cocktails and are willing to walk further or ride public I can throw a list at you.

I don’t think sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie are going to cut it.

I’m interested in the mystery and social media presence of the place, not bars or cocktails generally.

The post was made in 2018 so it does need to be updated but overall it is a good reference for planning.

I also can not find @Matt thread on him doing a food tour of the area on his twitter and his allegiance to the Sushi Burrito

There are some great interviews with Le in philly mag or the Inquirer. He’s certainly built up a mystique.