Though Boardwalk is the most sought after of Monopoly lots, the oft-overlooked Water Works is truly the most fertile property—but not until you break the rules by converting four houses into one fine restaurant. Experience the favorable outcome of this bold move with today's deal: for $25, you get a four-course prix-fixe dinner at Water Works Restaurant and Lounge in Fairmount, a $50 value. The specialty prix-fixe menu is only available Tuesday–Friday and Sunday; your Groupon is coincidentally only good on the same days, which works out nicely, like a baby penguin catching a ride on the back of a passing ice turtle. Reservations aren't required but are highly encouraged.
The prix-fixe menu is in constant rotation depending on the available ingredients and Magic 8-Ball of Executive Chef Darryl Harmon. Though the menu is always subject to change, current first-course options include soup du jour or a Water Works salad followed by a sorbet selection. Entrees include pan-seared airline chicken breast, grilled salmon, or risotto du jour. For the most important course, dessert, you'll just have to be surprised with the chef's duo, just like when you were surprised to wake up with your hair on backwards. As a lifelong culinary enthusiast, Darryl draws upon years of experience in preparing and eating to plate his creative take on American fare.
The restaurant sits on a historic patch of Philly that once housed one of the nation's first municipal water-delivery systems. In the many years since the booming heyday of people drinking lots of water, the area transitioned from delivering water to providing majestic eye candy. While you enjoy the delicate dinner before you, soak in the sights of Boathouse Row and the beauteous Schuylkill River, home of the Schuylkill river dolphins and their melodious moon-moaning. Smooth music provides the auditory backdrop to complete the five-sense stimulation associated with a trip to Water Works.
Reviews
Philadelphia magazine loves the view from the terrace at Water Works, awarding the restaurant Best Upscale Outdoor Scene, and the magazine's reviewers rate it 6.3 out of 10 overall:
- We were all tremendously impressed with the service. Our waiter was remarkably pleasant, knowledgeable, and helpful…Lastly, you just can't beat the location! It's absolutely perfect. – Vicki
Citysearchers give it three stars, praising the views from the glassed-in terrace:
- The best part of the Waterworks is the romantic atmosphere on the glass in deck area over looking the river, with the smooth live music playing in the background. It is beautiful on a nice evening with the one you love. – sweetlb, Citysearch
Groupon Says
Here Come the Water Works
Finally, the phrase "Water Works" will have a positive connotation in your life, instead of an associating with your sarcastic uncle saying "Here come the water works" to absolve himself after making you cry. But if you still can't shake those old grudges, there are a number of ways you can make even your most thick-skinned enemies cry like a baby on an airplane.
- If you find your downstairs neighbors complain about every little sound and footstep, just use a little psychology—the psychology of dog-kidnapping. The poor sound insulation will allow them to hear every delighted bark, pant, or wag as their beloved canine pal grows to love you in their stead and forget his old life like a dream upon waking, for dogs know only the sublime "now."
- Take your enemy out for Japanese food under the ruse of proposing a truce. While they are distracted by helping Hello Kitty find the rice ball on the placemat maze, slip into the kitchen and replace their scoop of green-tea ice cream with a tennis-ball-sized scoop of wasabi. When the ice cream arrives, wait until they raise a bite to their lips and then shout, "Wait!" Take the ice cream from them and sniff it cautiously. "Just as I thought," you should say. "Wasabi. Someone here has it in for you." Your enemy will be so distraught by the Japanese restaurant's betrayal that they will weep openly, allowing you to videotape it for social-networking purposes.
- Remember that sarcastic uncle? At next year's annual Thanksgiving family paint-ball game, pretend to be feeling unwell and excuse yourself from the proceedings. Just when your uncle thinks he has the upper hand, emerge silently from the bushes behind him and press your dry-erase marker cleanly against the back of his neck. Say something to imply that his years of heckling have made you completely unhinged, such as, "Who's the uncle now?" or "I want to see you panic like a plastic bag caught on a weathervane." In exchange for your not firing, he will volunteer to chop onions for the stuffing, which will most likely cause him to cry. Happy Thanksgiving!
Comment on our feelings board
