What should I see, do, eat and drink while I'm in Philly?

Monk's is great but isn't exactly a punk/dive bar, though it does have a good beer selection. http://www.yelp.com/biz/tattooed-mom-philadelphia fits the punk requirement pretty well. http://www.yelp.com/biz/bob-and-barbaras-philadelphia is a classic dive. Seconding La Colombe for the coffee. Go to the Mutter Museum, definitely! Philadelphia's Art Museum has a strong collection, too, and The Constitution Center is worth a visit. Oh, and this is the perfect time of year to visit the http://www.easternstate.org/. On preview I see someone mentioned the Philadelphia Brewing Company. http://www.yardsbrewing.com/tours.asp (of which the PBC is an offshoot) also offers tours on Saturdays. Happy birthday -- have fun!

I cant believe that you're going to Philly to celebrate your birthday, and no one has recommended http://www.thehappybirthdaybar.com/Page_1.php to you yet. It is divey and ridiculous, and they have karaoke on Friday nights.

the outskirts seemed to have some sort of Mad Max blight going on. Sorry, I have to strongly disagree. If you only stay downtown you are missing most of the charm of Philadelphia (West, South, and Northwest have a plethora of fabulous things)- and there are many, many areas that are not "blighted". Philly is the city of neighborhoods, with lots of nice ones. Even more run-down neighborhoods usually have fascinating things to see (hisotical architecture, murals).

Nthing Bob and Barbara's as a charming little dive. (http://twitter.com/#!/hodgman/statuses/27602962995) Just about any bar will have a decent selection, as Philly really is a beer town. In my area, I like http://www.gracetavern.com/ (good house-made veggie burger too), http://www.thesidecarbar.com/ (my veg SO really likes the mushroom dip), and http://www.resurrectionalehouse.com/. For pure, unending variety, Eulogy. For brewed on-site greatness, http://www.dockstreetbeer.com/. Horizons is really brilliant vegan food. They got a 27 in the most recent Zagat for good reason. (I'm going on Saturday and am psyched, despite enjoying the odd burger.) I also just had http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/8959654/philadelphia_pa/new_harmony_vegetarian_restaurant.html last night, which is great as well. Skip El Vez and Morimoto-- both are good, but overpriced. Go to the http://www.barnesfoundation.org/ while it's still in Merion. Seconding Mutter Museum if you like that sort of thing. Anywhere you can get a hotel will be fine. I personally wouldn't stay between 5th and 13th, Spruce to Market; not the nicest area. Rittenhouse or Old City, maybe even in West Philly/U. City around Penn, would be my choice.

Oh, also: I would avoid Old City (east of 5th, South St to Arch St) on Friday and Saturday nights. The atmosphere is... not great. A little douchey; crowded and loud and (no offense, Jerseyites) Jerseyish. In the way http://www.philebrity.com/2010/10/10/and-you-wonder-why-we-here-at-philebrity-often-view-this-entire-life-as-a-struggle-and-protest-against-the-douche-class/. (This is right outside of Eulogy.) On weekends, the much more low-key spots tend to be outside of Center City-- Northern Liberties for the hipsterly inclined, West Philly for the collegey, and, well... Grad Hospital is my neighborhood so I can't think of anything bad to say about it.

2. What are the best vegetarian/vegan or ethnic (thai, vietnamese, ethiopian, indian) restaurants? http://www.yelp.com/biz/abyssinia-philadelphia in West Philly for Ethiopian.

the top floors Oops, I meant the "rooms on the second floor are closing." The Barnes only has two stories.

1. If you go to Eastern State, consider Belgian Café instead of Monk's: it's a few blocks from ESP and is owned by the same guys, the beer selection is almost as large, and you'll (almost) never have a wait. Much more relaxed, too. 2. Horizons, as mentioned before. Lots of restaurants have good veg selections, though, and Sabrina's has a mean veggie cheesesteak. Try Pizzeria Stella for some terrific vegetarian pies. 3. Ultimo, for sure. Most coffee places in Philly suck: much more sceney than good coffee (includes La Colombe, Old City, Last Drop, Mugshots). Ultimo is great, Spruce St. has good coffee but terrible service, Lovers & Madmen in West Philly is good. Bodhi is just down the block from Stella, mentioned above. 5. Anywhere in Center City, really. There are some really cute B'n'B's in Old City (Thomas Bond House) and Wash West/Gayborhood (Alexander Inn). 6. Cold, but variable and not that bad. Could be sunny and 70's, or raining and 40's. Check the 10-day just before coming. I remember an 85-degree Halloween a few years ago. 7. Eastern State Penitentiary, and the Barnes Foundation, for sure (it's amazing, the top floors are closing in January in advance of the move to Philly, and the arboretum will be gorgeous with fall color when you're here). Call now for tickets, the next few weeks are filling quickly.

nth Capogiro gelato, Monk's (but try to avoid peak times bc they get hrs-long-wait-BUSY), reading terminal (Bassett's ice cream, Termini brothers' cannoli, apple dumpling with heavy cream from the Dutch Eating place) I would like to point out that strict vegetarians might not have many options at some of the vietnamese places (especially the pho places where all the broth is meat based). For coffee, I suggest http://www.rayscafe.com/ for their entertaining siphon coffee (it goes WHOOOOOOSH steamy steamy steam drip drip drip drip drip etc) but not for food (the food is ok but I think there are better places in Chinatown). I've been to the vegan Chinese places but would say that they are ok, but I think they are nowhere near as awesome as many other meat serving restaurants in the city. I would recommend getting delicious vegetarian things from non vegan restaurants (we have a lot of excellent byos- eg meme, melograno, mercato, matyson to name a few). nonfood- I like the Rodin museum bc it's small and contained and has one of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates_of_Hell.