A tale of two holiday parties...and more.

Well, to be honest, I have attended more than two holiday parties so far before the big day of joyous gifting giving. (Thank you to Adam & Courtney Najarian, Ann Tetreault and her husband, Adam. I had a very good time at your annual shindigs and hope to attend many more to come.) But I was invited to two parties by another husband and wife team to both of their establishments.
I've known Scott and Erin Wallace since the first ever Philly Beer Week kickoff in East Falls some years back. In fact, I began frequenting their first establishment, The Old Eagle Tavern, on the recommendation of Don Russell aka Joe Sixpack.
So yesterday, I decided to make a day of it in downtown Philly since a friend of mine was performing at Plays and Players. Don, who was plugging his latest book "What The Hell Am I Drinking?', was going to be at Devil's Den for their Happy Christanukkah event, which also featured Jeremy Cowah, founder/owner of Shmaltz Brewing Company, makers of He'Brew: The Chosen Beer & Coney Island Craft Lagers.
There were plenty of Christmas and He'Brew beers on special. In fact, there were special flights for both Christians and Jews but I felt that there was a missed opportunity as there was a third flight selection which I felt should have been called 'Flight of the Non-Believer' just for the heck of it.
I hadn't been to Devil's Den since the Doughnuts and Beer fundraiser in October. So it was only my second time in the establishment; but it was a blast. There were plenty of Christian and Jewish food delicacies on special but the bacon wrapped open-faced meatloaf sandwich was definitely worth having.
The Den is a nice establishment that has a very local clientele but definitely feels like a step up from the Eagle. There is more of a restaurant feel to the place. In fact, that Sunday seemed to have a fairly decent dinner crowd well after the Christanukkah event. While at the Den, Erin invited me to this evening's Festivus party at the Eagle.
The Eagle is a friendly neighborhood establishment that also offers a great beer selection. Like I said earlier, I've been a regular here for some time that even other regular patrons know me by my first name.
This party while not packed to the rafters was a heartfelt event, complete with Aluminum Pole. We chatted about last evening, especially which He'Brew that we enjoyed the most. We talked films...and the Bon Jovi death hoax.
And while there Erin invited me back to the Den on Wednesday for their 'Darkest Night' event which features rare and first-time beers in PA from Bell's Brewing. If you are a beer fan, this is a must attend event.
Sadly, I declined. It conflicted with my monthly meeting of the Christopher Morley Pipe Club of Philadelphia. Time to pull out the briar, it's cold outside.