Nestled in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, North 3rd is a gastropub named after its location. Known as Nerd Street, North Third Street has given way to the growth of many tech startups in the area, and, as a result, North 3rd does a bang up business.

The space is colorful with a dark attitude, and shelters walls full of mischievous looking masks, taxidermy, avant-garde art, and christmas lights strung about at random. The establishment has two bars and ample seating inside and out.

North 3rd offers a happy hour and dinner, but my favorite time to go is brunch. Soaked with sunlight during the early weekend afternoons, brunch at North 3rd is quite a pleasing experience. Monster Bloody Marys and French Mimosas are perfected classics served alongside an excellent list of signature cocktails. Decadent specials are chalked upon their daily blackboard with delights like Sweet Corn Pancakes, served with toasted almonds, blackberry coulis, and local maple syrup.

If I don’t order a special, I usually go with the Fried Chicken and Waffles. The chicken is juicy, crisp, and glazed in a maple Tabasco sauce. The dish comes with two over easy fried eggs, two buttermilk waffles, and a good portion roasted breakfast potatoes. I also enjoy the Omelet Verde, a delicious combination of cilantro, queso fresco, jalapeños, chorizo sausage, scallions, and guacamole. The Biscuits & Gravy dish, which transplanted Southerners crave to order, is a favorite of my friends.

Picutred above: Fried Chicken and Waffles