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Meritage, the cute and classy wine bar and restaurant in Rittenhouse Square, has just gone through a major overhaul. It has a new chef, a new look, and new budget-friendly drink and dining menus.

A veteran of Susanna Foo and Le Bec Fin, new executive chef Anne Elizabeth Coll certainly knows her stuff. Drawing on past experience, her vision for Meritage’s new menu mixes French techniques with Asian-influenced flavors to create truly unique and decadent dishes. Walk past the hopping bar area to the swankily spare dining room beyond, which is fresh off the heels of a total renovation. Once seated, flip open that wine list. At first glance I was daunted by the overwhelming list of impressive bottles, but the last few pages offer a newly expanded list of $8 wines by the glass, as well as some special cocktails. The “Irene Somethin’ Somethin’” is a good choice if you’re in a cocktail mood. It’s delicious and fruity, made with fresh squeezed juices.

Mertiage’s menu is divided into “Snacks,” “Small Plates,” and “Large Plates.” The large plates are like your standard entrees, and there’s only a handful of them. The way to go here is definitely to sample a smattering the smaller dishes. With snacks ranging from just $4 to $6 and small plates from $6 to $13, you can try all sorts of little bits of fanciness without breaking the bank. Whether you’re ordering thhe Corn and Crab Custard (my absolute favorite) or the Fois Gras, it’s all delicious.

Seared Diver Scallops

I’m a big scallop fan, and when I saw seared Cape May Diver Scallops on the Small Plates menu I couldn’t resist. Presented beautifully, with a swirl of lightly curried cauliflower puree and a Thai Basil emulsion, the three giant scallops were succulent and filling. The show-stealing appetizer, though, was the Tuna Tartare (my mother’s choice again… I should really start listening to her more). Topped with soy wasabi foam, organic micro greens, and an adorable fried quail egg, the mound of blood-red tuna looked almost too good to eat. But once I started, I couldn’t stop.  I also tried the Ginger Glazed BBQ Scottish Salmon, which was superbly prepared and melted in my mouth. The dish, which has a subtle kick, re-invents salmon – don’t reject it because you think you know it.

Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention dessert. The whole dessert menu is tempting, but don’t debate: go for the Chocolate Banana Flourless Torte. A mound of intense chocolate, caramelized bananas, and a plate dotted with delicious salted caramel… it puts your typical chocolate dessert to shame.

Oh, and you know restaurant week is going on, right? Check out their special menu on their website.

Meritage Restaurant and Wine Bar
500 S 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 985-1922
www.meritagephiladelphia.com

With such beautiful fall foliage in Bucks County, why not take a leisurely bike ride? (Photo by B. Krist)

Fall Events in Philadelphia [gophila.com]

College Day! Our friends over at Campus Philly have created a Philadelphia tradition, partnering with a wealth of museums throughout the city, giving new college students an opportunity to explore Philadelphia on a budget. They do this every year, and it’s always an event to look forward to.

Several Philadelphia museums will be offering up free admission for students with a college ID. This includes the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design, The Franklin Institute, and The Academy of Natural Sciences.

In addition to free admission to these museums, there are all kinds of discounts being offered up through out the city. Discounts on CDs at Repo Records on South St, 25% off at the Curiosity Shoppe on 4th, free coffee mugs at the ICA, $5 yoga classes at Studio 34 in West Philly… the list goes on and on. Check out the full list here, sorted by neighborhood and category.

College Day: Saturday September 26, 2009
www.campusphilly.org/collegeday

(Clockwise from left) An Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field; the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Festival; and the Philadelphia Marathon (Photos by R. Kennedy, Andrew Czudak and M. Kennedy)

Here in Philadelphia, fall is a sports enthusiast’s bread and butter. In addition to the amazing spectator action (Eagles games, the Army/Navy Game and, with any luck, Phillies playoff games), there are ample opportunities to compete, yourself: there’s the Philadelphia Marathon, plus a time-honored regatta and a Chinese boat race dating back to 278 B.C.

We’ve compiled our Top Five Fall Sports in Philadelphia over on gophila.com, detailing where and when to lace up, don your eye black or just sing “Fly, Eagles, Fly.” Here’s to all good plays!

Top Five Fall Sports in Philadelphia [gophila.com]

We’ve all likely thought at one time or another that life seems like a circus. For Lorenzo Pisoni it’s the gosh darn truth. Or at least it was—his father Larry, founded the Pickle Family Circus. Little Lorenzo joined the family business as a toddler and subsequently spent many years as a clown, which, as you might imagine, can provide fodder for many a tale.

Pisoni tells a whole bunch of ‘em in the autobiographical one-man show Humor Abuse, which he says, is a celebratory “homage to my father and what he created…. He was one of the founders of this new kind of clown movement in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and I thought that was an extraordinary thing to do.” Rather than portray the then-popular flower squirting horn-honking clown, Pisoni’s dad, along with Bill Irwin and Geoff Hoyle, adopted a Euro-style approach to clowning based on metaphor, pathos and storytelling. A deeper clown, if you will.

An award-winning memoir interspersed with clowning bits, Pisoni juggles, pratfalls and dodges falling sandbags to illustrate certain real-life episodes. Other times projected photos embellish a story, a device Pisoni uses “when there are things I’m saying where you might think I’m lying, I have visual proof.”

Lest the title leads you to think the man is peeved over his unconventional upbringing, rest assured he’s got no axe to grind, “It’s not a therapy session,” he asserts. “It’s more about what one goes through to be funny.”

Humor Abuse
September 25 through Oct. 25, 2009

Suzanne Roberts Theater
Broad & Lombard Streets, Philadelphia, PA
www.philadelphiatheatercompany.org

Okay, as a German American, I can say with a clear conscience that German food is lacking in imagination. I’ve tried to love it, really, I have. But in the end, I’ve asked it if we could just be friends.

On the other hand, early German Americans, and there were a bazillion of us thanks to free farmland being given away in the very fertile colony of Pennsylvania, seemed to be full of inspiration, whimsy and flights of fancy when it came to decorating the otherwise visually bland world of Colonial America. They decorated EVERYTHING. Blanket chests, family bibles, marriage certificates, house blessings, broadsides… you name it.

All that 18th and early 19th century German American folk art is known as “Fraktur”, and our beloved Philadelphia Free Library is holding a symposium on this very influential local phenomenon. Many of their fraktur treasures will be on display, and local artists and art teachers, as well as those who love the arts and local history, should get a real kick out of both the exhibition and the symposium.

Get your quills and brushes, scribes and whittling knives tuned up for action! The exhibit is on display Monday through Friday, 9am to 5PM.

Free Library of Philadelphia
1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 686-5416
www.freelibrary.org

Photos clockwise from left: Courtesy of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail; by M. McClellan for GPTMC; and by G. Widman for GPTMC

Fall officially starts tomorrow, which means that the harvest season is upon us. Farms, markets, orchards and wineries all across the Philadelphia region are planning a number of festivals to celebrate the abundance of autumn and all the delicious food and drink they’ve been growing and producing all summer long.

We’ve rounded up a number of our favorite festivals and celebrations and put them all together in one handy little article so that you don’t have to miss a single one. Check out our Top Five Harvest Festivals article and start marking your calendars accordingly, as you don’t want to miss a moment of all the delicious fun there is to be had.

Top Five Harvest Festivals [gophila.com]

Art displays at the 2008 Festival (photo courtesy of the New Hope Chamber of Commerce)

Searching for an excuse to spend some time outside in the gorgeous fall weather this weekend? Look no further than the New Hope Outdoor Arts and Crafts Festival, to be held this Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27.

Located on New Hope’s lovely Main Street, this festival takes place rain or shine and plays host to more than 125 artisans and craftspeople from up and down the east coast. You’ll also find a number of local food vendors, as well as live music, craft demonstrations and some projects designed to interest the younger set.

Music at the 2008 Festival (photo courtesy the New Hope Chamber of Commerce)

This festival runs 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday. For answers to commonly asked questions about New Hope, click here. To see a slideshow of photos from last year’s festival click here.

New Hope Outdoor Arts and Crafts Festival
Main Street, New Hope, PA
Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27

This Wednesday, September 23rd, the folks who brought you Kensington’s Memphis Taproom and West Philly’s wildly popular Local 44, are opening up another sure-to-be excellent establishment… the Resurrection Ale House. This beer bistro, which sits on the corner of Catharine and Grays Ferry, promises 12 draft beers, one beer engine, and nearly 40 bottled beers.

Grub Street Philadelphia has a sneak peak at the delicious looking menu. Check it out! Previews of the menu will be served all night long on Wednesday, with the full kitchen menu starting on Thursday.

Visit their official website for more details about the opening draft beer list and to scope out some behind-the-scenes construction photos.

Resurrection Ale House
2425 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 735-2202
www.resurrectionalehouse.com

Paired with a mint sauce, Zahav's fried cauliflower is one of the Israeli restaurant's most exquisite dishes. Zahav is now accepting lunch reservations for Restaurant Week. (Photo by J. Varney for Zahav)

Zahav [gophila.com]