PHS beer gardens coming to South St. and Viaduct Rail Park

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society again will oversee two pop-up beer gardens this summer, joining a growing list of outdoor drinking and gathering spots.

Returning for a third year is the one at 1438 South St., and new this year will be one at Viaduct Rail Park, 10th and Hamilton Streets, part of a creative reuse of the old Reading rail trestle in the Callowhill neighborhood (in effect, Philadelphia's answer to New York's High Line).

The pop-ups are due to run June 1 to Sept. 30, but will soft-open during the week before.

PHS Pop Up Garden at South Street – opens officially at 5:30 p.m. June 1.

The Khyber Pass Pub folks will be behind the craft beers, cocktails, and a menu reflecting South Philadelphia's culinary diversity (sweet potato summer rolls with chipotle-hoisin sauce, Italian charcuterie and cheese with roasted olives, artichoke salad, pickled mushrooms and fig toast, bacon guacamole, fire-toasted salsa and spicy corn chips). There also will be events with visiting brewers. Among the features will be a Botanical Bar, "Margarita Mondays" with Mexican foods; "Brewsday Tuesdays," highlighting breweries, special releases, chef collaborations, and live music and games; "South Street Gulps" on Wednesdays, featuring sangria, Hendricks Gin and Tito's Handmade Vodka cocktails, and craft drafts.

Karen Regan, of Tallulah & Bird, who decorated the garden last year, will partner with Jeff Regan of Regan Construction to do new installations based on plants and trees, including an illuminated mulberry tree.

Hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 2 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

PHS Pop Up Garden at the Viaduct Rail Park – opens first week of June

The new PHS pop-up at the Viaduct Rail Park, whose opening celebration will start at 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 10, will have food from chefs Jason Cichonski (ELA and Gaslight) and Sylva Senat (Dos Tacos and the future Maison) and management from HFA Bridge.

The menu will include something called a Bun Box (a selection of steamed buns), guacamole (smashed avocado, lime, black truffle cream, kim chi salsa and chips); a Buffalo chicken nugget boa (crispy chicken, hot sauce, Bayley Hazen blue cheese and celery); tikka masala curry; and warm churros (with ginger-cinnamon-sugar and salted sweet sesame dulce de leche).

The bar will have six taps and canned beers; wines; and cocktails including Blood Orange Margarita, Fish House Punch, Pimm's Cup, and Summer Sangria. Special themed dinners and events, including a '90s night and acoustic musical performances, are planned throughout the season.

Walter Hood's design of the Viaduct Rail Park merges the overhead rail structure with green urban space. PHS is working with the Friends of the Rail Park and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Not surprisingly, PHS is into the park for its native horticulture: red cedars, staghorn sumac, serviceberry trees and viburnum, and perennials including asters, ferns, foxglove, great blue lobelia, bee balm, blue gramma grass, golden ragwort, rudbeckia, and common rush.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania will provide archival images of the Reading line mounted in the garden gallery. The pop up will also feature the new ball-toss game Stones, created by the Philly Stones League, which borrows from bocce, chess, and other games.

Victory Brewing Company will offer a PHS Beer - an American wheat ale with orange blossom honey - at both locations.

Hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 2 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Stay tuned for other pop-up gardens, including a "portable" one in various Fairmount Park locations sponsored by the City of Philadelphia.