The Grape Room

I've only lived in Manayunk for three years, so I did not know about the original Grape Room in Manayunk. I'm not sure why it shut down, but the new version opened earlier this year and it is a really chill place. I think having a live music venue in the neighborhood is a huge plus. And although craft beer plus local live music is usually a good equation for an influx of hipsters (no one wants that), Grape Room seems to be a place void of overwhelming pretentiousness and skinny jeans.

I was there last night for an open mic night and discovered that they had a good amount of craft beers on tap and several more in bottles. From what I remember these are the beers they had on tap;

• Troegs Dreamweaver
• Magic Hat #9
• Victory Pils
• Dock Street Pumpkin Ale
• One or two more that I am blanking on
• They also had Lionshead and Dogfish Head in bottles

I ordered a Magic Hat #9 and bellied up to the bar where I could see the small stage. The open mic night was relaxed, and the crowd seemed to be a lot of regular open mic-ers because a lot of the people knew each other and it seemed like I was the only one in there that wasn't performing at some point during the night. There was pretty good music all around, mostly originals, including a good dose of folksy stuff. They have the open mic night every Monday, and it started around 9:30; it's definitely worth a visit if you are looking for a low-key atmosphere. They also have regular shows, usually with a $5 cover almost every other day of the week. For a list of shows go to their website, http://graperoommusic.wordpress.com/

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