March 18, 2009
For a limited time at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, you can enjoy a complete three-course meal featuring a salad, entrée, side dish and dessert for just $39.95.
The offer is good at both the Center City Philadelphia (Avenue of the Arts) and the King of Prussia Mall locations.
Full menu after the jump.
March 18, 2009
As the chilly days of winter are slowly fading away, I am beyond ready to officially welcome spring this Friday (March 20th is the first day of Spring!). So put away those heavy coats and that worn out hat, and celebrate the delicate blossoms, greener views and warmer temps this Friday from 5-8pm at a Spring Tea Party, presented by Teaspoons & Petals and Vintage Connection.
Raise your cup and greet spring with fine, loose leaf teas (from kokomo tea, cha cha tea, auraTeas) and cupcakes from Open Source Cupcakes . after you lick the frosting from your fingers and sip the last drop from the cup, treat your inner fashionista by browsing Vintage Connection’s new, Spring goodies that owner, Heather, hand picked for her store while on her spring fashion road trip. And if this day couldn’t get any sweeter, all vintage items are 20% off!
While you update your Spring wardrobe, take a peek at the haiku teaware (individual teacups and full sets) created by Alexis Siemons of Teaspoons & Petals. she will will displaying delicate cups and saucers featuring her original tea haiku, some of which are philly focused (“sitting with franklin-sipping on brotherly love-this is tea for two”). She will also be taking custom orders for any upcoming special events (Mother’s day, bridal showers, birthdays, etc).
So throw your Winter coat (that somewhat resembles a sleeping bag) into the back of your closet and enjoy an elegant evening at a spring tea party!
Vintage Connection
701 S. 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 528-1625
www.shopvintageconnection.com
March 18, 2009
Wynton Marsalis, performing at the Lincoln Center on Friday
FRIDAY
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Kimmel Center, Broad and Locust
The famous trumpeter and his big swing band. 8pm,
$36-$79.
Found in the Making – Films About Self-Taught Artists: Jerome Hill
International House, 3701 Chestnut
Four films (a full runtime of about 150 minutes) by Jerome Hill, including a diary piece on his family, hand-colored footage of a bullfight, a Christmas short, and a fiction about a boy’s afternoon. Program notes at the link above. 7pm, $7.
Intaglio a Go-Go – The 10th Annual Robert Looney Memorial Event
Central Library, 1901 Vine Street
Rob Looney started the Library’s print and picture collection. As part of his memorial, the Library is hosting a panel discussion by a group of printmakers who work in intaglio. 6pm, free.
SATURDAY
Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
The Fire, 4th and Gerard
It’s sort of unbelievable that this band still exists, what with the kid being like 15 and Youtube existing now, but there you go. They’re a three piece mom/dad/daughter band from way back in the year 2000 that project found footage and play songs about it. 9pm, $10.
March 18, 2009
Anyone who has tried to make sushi at home knows how difficult it can be to make something beautiful out of vinegared rice and nori. (How do all the sushi joints in the city make it seem so darned easy?) Luckily, Madame Saito, Philadelphia’s leading sushi instructor, is here to help. As part of the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival, the always-entertaining owner and chef of Le Champignon de Tokio, a French/Thai/Japanese fusion restaurant in Society Hill, will be offering two courses in which she’ll cover the whole tricky process of sushi construction. The two-hour courses will cover everything from rice preparation to final presentation and will culminate with everyone eating their new work.
Madame Saito knows her stuff. In addition to running a restaurant, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Sushi” has taught sushi at Temple for over 14 years, taking maki-making to new academic highs. Born in Japan, she studied at the Le Cordon Bleu and the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, and she always manages to combine her many interests with sushi (visit her website for more information on the Madame Saito Sushi and Ballroom Dancing Club).
March 18, 2009
Alban Berg’s German opera “Wozzeck,” presented for three performances by The Curtis Institute and the Opera Company of Philadelphia, is the most raw, accessible, and thoroughly disturbing opera I’ve seen “” and all in a good way. Stepping out of the mist blanketing Broad Street on Sunday afternoon and into The Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this unusual opera. It’s considered modern, with dissonant, almost startling music, and I knew this production, under the direction of Emma Griffin, would be modernized even further.
The Perelman Theater is relatively small for an opera venue, but the intimacy was quickly negated when the curtain rose and the ultra-sleek, towering, alienating set of bare white walls was revealed. The set changed little throughout the show, creating a deeply unsettling environment for deeply unsettling actions “” it was at times the exam room for a sadistic doctor conducting medical experiments (excellently performed by Evan Boyer, adding a humorous touch to the show), a forest populated by old tinsel-strewn Christmas trees and the creepiest bunch of masked children I’ve ever seen, the interior of a shabby apartment, and the murder scene: a lake in the woods.
Other elements added to the contemporary and disturbing atmosphere, including garish florescent signs and the mechanics’ jumpsuits worn by the chorus of soldiers and laborers.
March 17, 2009
I am a dedicated Philadelphian Brunch-ee. I rarely look forward to Friday and Saturday nights the same way I look forward to Saturday and Sunday afternoons– mostly because my A.M. includes frittatas and french toast.
With this in mind: The White Dog Cafe is an established lunchtime favorite in University City. But did you know it is a gem in the rocks for a late morning brunch, too?
I ordered the Crème Brulee Brioche French Toast. My favorite part of this dish was an unexpected but delicious surprise that was underneath the neatly cut french toast triangles: Mexican vanilla bean custard. Syrup aside, there were also candied marcona almonds, blackberries, raspberries, sweet sun dried cherries, and organic strawberries delicately placed along my plate. Delicious!
It was hard to pick– mostly because the brunch menu ranges from Smoked Salmon Benedict to Portabello Fries and Prince Edward Island Mussels, and could even accommodate a vegan palette (Sesame Crusted Tofu).
I’m also pleased to say that my entree, including two cups of coffee, was under $15. And did I mention that the White Dog Cafe supports Buy Fresh Buy Local and contributes 20% of pre-tax profit to non-profit projects, each year?
Now I can stomach that!
Brunch is served from 10:30am to 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 386-9224
www.whitedog.com
March 17, 2009
I’m not often at a loss for words when describing something, unless I’m truly impressed or therefore amazed. I didn’t expect to jump from my seat last Saturday evening upon arriving at the Wilma Theater on a very warm winter night here in Center City.
I was invited to review Wajdi Mouawad’s shocking theatrical production, Scorched “” playing in limited engagement through March 29 at the Wilma.
Mouawad’s journey of self discovery tells the story of two (twin) siblings who recently lost a mother they never truly knew. The brother and sister pair are instructed by the executor of their mother’s will to set forth on a journey to the turbulent Middle East to find their long lost brother and father. That is all I will disclose of the main plot for if I provide anymore information I will give away too much.
Beautifully well acted, touching and entertaining, Scorched touches you on so many levels “” shock, amazement, sadness and even comic relief. It’s amazing at how much you can walk away with from a production with few props, both stark and beautiful. We are too often concerned with special effects rather than plot.
The subtle use of the word “scorched” is used throughout the play, but as an audience member you become aware of not the word, but the scorched tempers amid family secrets, the scorched earth amid war, and scorched ideals that once held true, but no longer by the final act.
Kudos to Mouawad for a well written show and kudos to the Wilma Theater for a great production. Happy birthday Wilma, let’s hope for another 30!
Wilma Theatre
265 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 893-9456
www.wilmatheater.org
March 17, 2009
Let me say, first off, that I am a Wawa girl at heart. For two years in college, I lived off Wawa breakfast sandwiches and lemonade tea; I have vivid dreams about their fried ravioli. (Soooo good.) The day Wawa introduced their milkshake machine, I practically died of happiness.
Unfortunately, in my neighborhood (Center City/G-Ho border) there’s no Wawa, so whenever I’m in need of sandwich fix, or a quart of iced tea, I head to DELIcious Bites.
To call DELIcious Bites a Wawa spin-off would be totally unfair “” it’s more like Wawa’s sophisticated older cousin, who traded in her mac’n cheese and jalepeno pretzels for homemade panini and Korean barbeque salad. Both are incredible “” and the tuna club blows any Wawa shorti out of the water.
In addition to fresh sandwiches (all made with homemade salads and Boar’s head meats!), DELIcious Bites always carries fresh fruits and veggies, spices, cheese, fresh-cut flowers and coffee. Beverage coolers line the upstairs, and the downstairs is filled with miscellaneous groceries.
In the summer, DELIcious Bites sets out tables in the front, and unlike Wawa, there are never any bums lingering, looking for change. (Hopefully they don’t read this and get the idea!) The staff are super friendly and accommodating, and take extra care to pack each bag with napkins, silverware, and salt and pepper before sending you on your way.
On the weekends, DELIcious Bites is my go-to spot for breakfast sandwiches or quick lunches, and it never, ever disappoints. I might be raised a Wawa girl “” but DB’s delicious bites are quickly winning a place in my heart.
DELIcious Bites
1603 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 546-1860
March 17, 2009
Ever since Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze’s iconic love scene over a pottery wheel in the 1990 film Ghost, pottery has been a classic date choice. But in the last few years, the concept has been taken out of the studio and put into cutesy little shops where you can paint a mug for $20. The whole idea went from Swayze to crazy!
Everyone knows that, for real romance, you gotta get your hands dirty. That’s why the Clay Studio is offering you a real pottery date, complete with “ËœGhost’-approved pottery wheel.
Included in the $25 entrance fee are beer, wine, light fare, materials, glazing and firing of your artistic creations. The Clay Studio’s instructors will walk you through a few simple concepts of sculpture and then you will be free to mold a simple bowl or vase or design something completely new and different.
After your project has been molded and glazed, they need to be fired. All projects will be ready for pick-up in about 2 weeks. Come with a date, come with friends or mold a new friendship while you mold your clay.
Finally, an event for the real potheads out there. The Clay Studio’s Date Night is perfect for making a conversation piece. So get your Swayze on this Friday.
Date Night @ The Clay Studio
Friday, March 20, 2009 @ 7:00 pm
The Clay Studio
139 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-3453 x11 to Order Tix
March 17, 2009
Kung Fu Necktie, one of Fishtown’s fun, multi-purpose venues (bar, restaurant, live music venue and dance club) is happy to announce a new use: art gallery. Just above “The Necktie” is Shadow’s Space, a gallery space to showcase local and national contemporary artists. Seriously Stupididity is the space’s premier exhibition–curated by Adam Wallacavage and my friend Damian Weinkrantz.
This show, full of great artists (some of whom are my pals), will be on display starting March 18th and will span a number of genres and media. I’m definitely stopping by to welcome Shadow’s Space to the arts community and to see some great local art–you should too!
Seriously Stupididity
Opening Wednesday March 18, 2009, 8-10pm
Shadow’s Space
1248 N Front St, Philadelphia, PA 19122
(215) 291-4919
www.kungfunecktie.com
