Lesbian
Trans
People of Color
Drag Queen/KingI managed to wonder way down south to a really neat little place called the Ugly American bar and restaurant.
1100 South Front Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.336.1100
Bar hours:
Mon–Fri: 5 PM–2 AM
Sat: 12 PM–2 AM
Sun: 11 AM–2 AM
For some reason when ever I think of that name the song Young American by David Bowie, but that’s a personal issue. The Ugly American [formerly La Vigna] is out of the way so you won’t just wonder by the place when you’re down town shopping or out bar hopping on a Saturday night. It requires taking the 57 bus down to second and federal or jumping in a cab. I would never recommend you drive anywhere when you’re out drinking so for safety sake we’ll assume that you’re walking or taking some other form of transportation than driving in your vehicle.
It’s located in the area of town where I95 looks like an endless raised highway going either direction. Its also where the waterfront and the warehouses seem to go on and on. That area always gave me the creeps, but I realized when I was walking around down there that there really are no people there to be afraid of. Big empty buildings after hours are nothing to be feared, it’s the strange people that are scary. I found this area well policed, well lit and very reassuring as a pedestrian. The bar was positioned on the corner of Front and Federal St. It has a small bar appearance from the out side and a small bar feel on the inside.
The floors are done in large earth color tiles and the walls are done in terracotta and dark cherry colors. The restrooms are very nice also (big +). When you walk in, the room features a bar to the left with the standard variety of spirits on the wall framed in classic dark wood with a mirror and back lighting. Happy hour is 5:30 PM–6:30 PM and 10 PM–11 PM and features extensive food and drink specials including $3 Walt Whitman pints and $12 hot smoke salmon salad. Here’s a link to their beer menu. It’s splendid.
Third Thursdays is posted on their event page as a social mixer where people can get together and talk without loud music and spectators. I was really excited to go. I realized when I got there that it was a lesbian mixer, and they didn’t post that on the page. One of my friends had arrived before me and met up with another of our group and were perched at the end of the bar when I arrived. I walked in and said “oh” this is a lesbian event, I hope they don’t mind all these gay men in here. As always my friends and I manage to sit down next to someone amazingly friendly and eager to talk and share stories. I was really pleased with the ladies in attendance who we all found sincere and friendly. One after another welcomed us and asked us who we were and where we were from. They all seemed to be welcoming and have a genuine interest in the spirit of the event which was mixing socially and creating network connections. I traded cards with a number of wonderful people from town. We sampled the hot smoke salmon salad for $12 and I drank a $3 Walt Whitman white ale. The food was such that should have been 3 or 4 times the price. It was really well prepared. I made it out alive having met some wonderful women in our lesbian community and sampled great cuisine. I recommend this location to anyone looking to get out of the bright lights and clamor of old city. It’s a quiet bar with great atmosphere. The lighting is dim and the music is set low. The bar tenders weren’t much for conversation, but that was understandable as the place had almost 15o people in it. All in All this is a solid establishment and I highly recommend it.
1. Environment-10
2. Staff-8
3. Patrons-10
4. Prices-10
5. Product Quality-10
6. Over all Experience-10
I rate the Ugly American Bar and Restaurant 9.6 or 10
Go there love it and tell a friend.
