…and that is what this thread is for, to hash out the details to achieve the proper end result. Ted has what I beleive is valuable insight on Laurel. We can continue the discussion.
Yea…we have plenty plenty of options.
There’s a byob at 1620 South Street that I have dined at many times, Miles Table. http://milestable.com/ Pricing is very reasonable, the food is high quality, and the nice woman who runs the dining room would enjoy staying till at least 9:00 or perhaps 9:30 to try some of the wines. MT could easily accomodate 8 to 12.
So why Miles Table, other than great food, reasonable price, and could seat 8 to 12? Well, MT is a bock away from the legendary Philadelphia dive bar Bob and Barbara’s which has live music that starts at 9:30 or so on a Friday night. http://bobandbarbaras.com/ B and B’s was recognized by the Guardian as one of the top 10 bars in Philly. Top 10 bars in Philadelphia | Philadelphia holidays | The Guardian
I have taken many an out of town guest, including Californians, to B and B’s after a byob event to experience the music and the “friendly melting pot of well lubricated peoples”. (Feel free to chime in Buddy) There are other byobs very close by that we could choose instead of MT such as Entree, Pumpkin and Russet. A few more blocks away there are the Rittenhouse area byobs such as Mellagrano. All of these places are less than a mile and well within stumbling distance from the Marriott.
Ok. I just talked myself into going to MT and B and B’s tomorrow night!
What does that mean Ted? Both Will and Laurel are on Passyunk Ave, and you are definitely not eating on the sidewalk lol. Laurel is a fairly sexy space. IIRC, the small patio is behind, next to the kitchen, so not exposed to the street. Although I haven’t been since they opened ITV next door, so I guess things could have changed.
Has anyone done the patio at Laurel? The one time we had reservations for it, it rained, so we went to Pickled Heron instead (RIP).
Was just at Will last Sunday. The soft shell crab is killer. 
Didn’t know about the patio.
Out of the above named selections Chris mentioned Entrée or Mellagrano look good to me. Another one that I found that I like the menu even slightly better, is Casta Diva. As Brian has indicated he will defer to the locals, and Chris appears to be somewhat flexible, do you have a preference between any of these 3 Ted ?
A couple of my other favorite byob spots on East Passyunk Ave are Noord (Joncarl is the nicest chef in Philly) and Fond (at least I think they still do byob with corkage, but you should check).
Or I just went to Park Place, which Craig LaBan gave 3 bells to, just over the bridge in Mechanicsville NJ (short 25 min drive). That was just spectacular!
Also went to Serpico this last trip, although I didn’t byob. As I remember, you can byob with corkage. Fantastic restaurant. Peter Serpico was David Chang’s right hand and opened Momofuko Ko (for which he got a James Beard Award and 2 Michelin Stars).
Can’t believe no one has mentioned Bibou either. The ultimate Philly BYOB. Although you’d have to call the restaurant yesterday to get a reservation this big.
According to Robert Parker, “It might be the best French bistro in the entire country…[The] snail ragout, boudin noir, terrine en crout, out-of-this-world beef marrow bones as well as superb stuffed pig’s feet with foie gras over a bed of black lentils had me in Rabelaisien Nirvana.”
Although I still love Blackfish in Conshohocken. Chip has treated us so well over the years. I used to got to Blackfish and Bibou each 7 or 8 times a year when I lived down there.
Count me in, assuming no travel comes up.
All of the places mentioned are great.
I also forgot to mention my friends Dennis and Windy Kanagie from NJ who regularly attend my Ct offlines wish to join. From S Jersey, this is a piece of cake. We are currently at 9 people which is a decent number. I propose we either consider the event the event full or allow one more, as from experience with 12 people you get miniscule pours, unless the group feels differently,
I’m not so sure about this Dennis character but if you vouch for him I guess it’s OK. 
He doubles as Cranburgundy on Cellartracker.
I updated the OP wth the roster. Once you guys finsih arguing over where to eat I’ll add that as well. I have the theme set as Blind Bdx vs California Cabs
Looking forward to this.
Well I am not too sure about this Dennis character either, even though I know him well ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
I do know that he DOES bring great wines and that his bride Windy is quite charming.
Certainly not arguing about the restaurant, just trying to make everyone happy. Not always easy, but with Chris’s advice and taking location, food quality, and budget into consideration it looks like we have a winner. Stay tuned to this channel. Part of the decision was proximity to Bob and Barbs, which several of us wish to check out after dinner.
I very much look forward to meeting everyone, even if we went to Tony Luke’s on Oregon and only had cheesteaks to go wit (sic) the wines.
Hey good wine and good company works even with a killer cheesesteak, although maybe not the ideal pairing. It looked like we were all set to go to Entree byob, and then a double edged sword sliced that apart. Turns out it is restaurant week, which is a good deal, all the partcipipating restaurants want to turn the table 3 times in the evening, so we could only stay 2 hours. Can’t blame them.
I just spoke to Benjamin at Will byob they are not doing restaurant week so it’s not quite as inexpensive, but we can probably have the table for 3 hours or more. I think he mentioned there were 3 different prix fixe options each with multiple choices, but the tarriff nowhere near the 7 course previously mentioned. With this large a group he also mentioned the chef could likely accommodate special requests. Benjamin is getting back to me with more details shortly.
For anyone that wants to join at Bob and Barbs famous dive bar after for music etc it’s a short subway or lyft ride.
If it is Will – add my wife.
She and Chris are good buddies.
Will is outstanding, would definitely be supportive of that!
Where there’s Will there’s a way. Book it Dano!
OP updated to reflect venue, roster and theme. We’re not putting a price cap on the wines are we?
I’d follow the theme
Don’t mind contributing a bubbly in the ‘required’ range 
I just dropped Dennis a line, and he replied he is still interested, but will give final confirmation in a few days, when he is certain. I will book the reservation today for 10 with the understanding that we might be tweeking the number shortly.
“We’re not putting a price cap on wines are we ?”
I love this question , as it is a fair one. At our offlines in Ct. our general rule is bring the best you can, and try to share something special. For some of us that means an extremely good $80- $100 btl and for others we bring wines that are in the $200 + range and sometimes things like Materium or MacDonald. If others want to make the range $100 plus that’s great, or if folks are more comfortable in a more moderate range, no worries. I can fit into any niche. It’s important whatever we decide, that we are totally inclusive. I will bring 2 btls as, I always do. 1 of them for the theme and the 2nd, either a 2nd btl of bubbly if we are 10 people, or if we end up with 8 then probably a btl of Sauternes.
The reason I asked is because sometimes there are conditions such as under $100 or a price range to try to keep things competitively fair when comparing two different regions. I’m good with bring what you enjoy and what you think the others will also enjoy.
As we are doing this blind, we should probably have each person simply declare which they are bringing a Cali Cab or a Bordeaux, if we want an equal mix. I already know which category for you Brian !