U Bar — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I'm in Philadelphia tonight, the city of brotherly love. I took the train up from Washington DC yesterday. I lived a year in each city during the late 80's and I wanted to see my old homes and reconnect with old friends that survived the AIDS crisis. I had AirBNB'ed a room on Locust street.

Apparently the owner doesn't always have onsite staff; at night you can only access the building via a coded key pad. When I arrived I realized my access code was incorrect. It was dark and cold. My 2011 iPhone 7S had finally given up the ghost. I couldn't reach anyone, and no one could reach me. It was very distressing and I felt lonely and afraid.

There is a cute little restaurant on the corner of Locust & 13th. Bud & Marilyns. A young lady hosting there allowed me the use of the restaurants telephone to call AirBNB and the host. The calls lasted at least 10 minutes, being on hold, explaining the situation.... you know how it is. It didn't look like the restaurant manager was impressed by the young lady's generosity to an out-of-town stranger bearing luggage and frustration. The issue could not be resolved, it was too late, so she stored my bags as I sought an alternative for the night. She sent me next door to U-Bar. They have wi-fi which a bartender allowed me to use.

When the barman understood my plight and saw that I was getting nowhere fast he offered to find me a BNB for the night. He did so; I collected my luggage and moved in. Through the night AirBNB pleaded my case with the host. They were eventually able to get me a new access code. I woke up this morning in one BNB and was able to check-in to another.

In the late 80's when I first moved to Philadelphia I lived in this neighbourhood. That was the first time in my life that I felt completely alone. It took months to adjust to living in the northeast US. I may have disparaged the city at times but I realized today what fine people I lived amongst.

I am so grateful to these two people who demonstrated the very best in America. Kudos to them, I don't know their names and they won't know mine; that doesn't matter, but I feel such gratitude that I ask you, dear friends, for a small favour.

Please, if you're ever in Philadelphia, have a drink at U-bar, and dinner at Bud & Marilyns. I did both tonight. You will have a wonderful time. In this way you can help me acknowledge these people for their love of this lonely brother on a cold winters night.

And if you know anyone that collects...

The worst experience I have ever had at a bar in my life. My friend and I walked into the bar, looked at the specials board and then walked over to the corner of the bar. When the bartender (Tod) came over, we asked if it was still Happy Hour, to which he said "No, Happy Hour is from 4 to 6" Ok no problem. I was driving so I said, "I will just have an ice water." The bartender got very aggressive and said "you have to order something if you want to stay." I was taken aback as no bartender has ever said this to me, so I explained that "my friend is drinking and I am not." In the next breath my friend ordered a Vodka Cranberry and then I supposing that he had gotten his way and could feel like an alpha male again, said "I would like an ice water." He took a haughty breath and quite loudly said "You need to order something or you can leave" My friend ordered another drink to appease this individual (much to my chagrin as I would have preferred to leave). This bartender's behavior was a display of appalling customer service. I do so wish 0 stars was an option because to be blunt, even Starbucks will give free ice water. Wouldn't go back to Ubar, and will definitely share this story....

I kid you not this was the worst bar experience I’ve ever had in my life. Mind you I’m not from Philly, so maybe this is how yall act and are okay with people talking to you and handling you like that— but my friend was just looking for his other card to pay because he had lost it, and the bar tender took the drinks from us and started yelling at us that it had been 15 minutes and if we weren’t paying then no drinks. I have NEVER had a bartender do that to me, and again maybe yall are just like that up here I don’t know, but one thing about it you do not talk to customers that way— we were in the middle of finding a solution, and he treated us so unkindly. He wore glasses and white hair and a beard. I don’t know who owns the bar, but maybe check your waiters to see if they have some manners. I was literally about to take my card out and everything. And ALSO my mouth was already on the straw, what was the point of taking the drink away, were you gonna give it to somebody else??? Like he just assumed we weren’t going to pay it was WEIRD energy. SO weird.

So yeah, go if you like being treated poorly and talked to...