Bishops Collar

The Bishop's Collar is a new pub to hit the Fairmount Park/Art Museum section of Philadelphia. It opened in the Spring of 1999. The set-up of the Bishop's Collar is rather simple and predicated by it's row home (or townhouse) structure: One long, but narrow room.

You can enter the Bishop's Collar from either Fairmount or 24th Street. Entering from Fairmount Ave, you have a grand dark wood bar off to your right spanning half the length of the room. On the left hand wall there are a couple of tables and, it can't be, a church pew! It's probably a toss up on how many hypocrites sat in that pew compared to how many will! In the back half of the room, are approximately 10 tables/chairs. It is in this area where the live music is played.

On the night that we visited, there was a small blues band churning out the Robert Johnson and Howling Wolf standards. With The Bishop's Collar being so narrow , the band could have turned down their amps slightly, so that the customers could converse without having to shout out their thoughts. I'm a big fan of the blues, but it's better when it's not quite that loud. The Bishop's Collar's promises that live music will be an integral part of their atmosphere, and I for one am glad to hear that! A good pub deserves good entertainment to accompany the good brews.

On nights when there is no live music, a CD Jukebox provides the musical ambiance. Above the bar, in opposite corners, are 2 TV's which are mostly tuned into ESPN. But with a little cajoling you could probably convince the bartenders to switch the station to whichever local game is hot that night.

They keep about 10 brews on tap, Guinness, Bass, Yuengling, Sam Adams and a few other choice brews. You'll have a hard time going thirsty here because the eager staff does an excellent job of pouring the pints in record time. I just hate it at other bars/pubs, where I have to wave my 20 dollar bill in the air just to get the barkeep's attention.

In recent years, the Fairmount Ave/Art Museum area has become popular real estate. Doctors, lawyers and other professional types who work in center city are finding it more convenient to live just beyond the shadow of the skyscrapers. In light of this fact, a new parking lot was built in Feb 2000 at the corner of 23rd and Fairmount Ave. If you're willing to spend the $5 for the night, you'll find the lot much more calming than combing the streets for a spot.

The crowd at the Bishop's Collar ranges from college age all the way up to people in their 30's. It's a nice friendly sort, grateful to have a nice bar in this neck of Philly. It's the sort of place you can go to, and let your hair down, so to speak.

And where do you get a name like The Bishop's Collar? It's an expression (used on the other side of the pond) for a perfectly poured pint of Guinness: you have the murky brown effervescent portion, capped by the white frothy head. The white frothy head brings to mind a bishop's collar. There ya go, ya learned something today. Now hurry up and go head over to The Bishop's Collar and don't forget to tell them who sent you.

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