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Korean short rib tacos, Photo by Meal Ticket

By now you’ve maybe heard about Meritage bringing back Ansill’s famous Korean short rib tacos. If not, well, now you have.

The delectable short rib tacos are available now through Saturday, February 27th, and cost $3 a pop. According to Meal Ticket, the “tacos are a melange of marinated short rib, Korean BBQ sauce and kimchi on a crispy flour tortilla.”

Sounds delicious? That’s because they are. For more on Meritage, visit their official website.

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

[ via Meal Ticket ]

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

Next Wednesday, February 24th, the Philadelphia Film Society are presenting the next installment in their filmadelphiaCLASSICS screening series.

Stop by the Prince Music Theater in Center City for food, drinks, and a screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The event starts at 6pm, and all attendees will automatically be entered to win a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver heart necklace, valued at nearly $400.

Tickets for the evening cost $45, which includes food, drink, and the screening. Guests can look forward to a bar full of wine and beer, as well as nibbles catered by Whole Foods.

If you’re bringing a +1 with you to the event, you can purchase additional tickets at the door for only $8. You can register and purchase tickets online here.

An Evening With Audrey
Wednesday, February 24th, 7pm
$40

Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 569-9700
www.princemusictheater.org

Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé

I know, I know. Restaurant Week is long over. But worry not, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion has the same deal all winter long.

For $35 you can enjoy Roy’s 3-course Winter Prix Fixe menu. The winter menu bonds fresh, savory ingredients to create marvelous new preparations inspired by the chilly weather outside.

The menu items are either warm in temperature, hot in spices, or simply rich in Hawaiian/Asian influence to remind you that there are places in this world not experiencing below 30 temps and mounds of snow.

The Hawaiian atmosphere inside Roy’s is a good start. You will be surrounded by friendly servers, warm air and aromas, and of course bamboo and flowers galore. I can attest to any dish with Roy’s tiger shrimp, and one of the prix fixe entrée choices, the Tender Braised Beef Short Ribs is just as mouth-watering as it sounds.

Also, a nice perk of the winter prix fixe menu is that as a dessert option it includes Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé, and it is TO DIE FOR and their most popular sweet treat.

With dinner, indulge in a glass of wine from Roy’s very extravagant list, or try one of their traditional sake’s. You can certainly afford it with this deal! Think warm. Think Hawaiian. Aloha.

Check out the menu after the jump!

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion
124 South 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 988-1814
www.roysrestaurant.com

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Oran Etkin, Photo courtesy the Please Touch Museum

With the Please Touch Museum’s Junior Jazz Festival in full swing, it only makes sense that they start throwing serious jazz concerts. And on Sunday, February 28th, you can catch one of the first.

Putumayo Kids is celebrating the release of Jazz Playground, a collection of international jazz songs for children, and performing at the Please Touch Museum on Sunday at 1pm and again at 3pm.

The concert is free with museum admission, and features critically acclaimed clarinetist Oran Etkin.

Please Touch Museum
4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 581-3181
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

Kes Khemnu as Simon/Rex/Jesse and Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. as Lewis in Arden Theatre Company's production of Blue Door. Photo by Mark Garvin

The events of the Arden Theater Company’s production of Blue Door span four generations and well over 100 years. But the story itself all takes place during one sleepless night in the mind of Lewis, an affluent black professor approaching retirement who finds himself abandoned by his wife on the eve of the Million Man March in 1995. As Lewis (played dominantly by Johnnie Hobbs Jr.) contemplates his life and the sacrifices he’s made to his own culture and heritage in the name of success, he’s visited by his father and his father’s fathers, all portrayed by Kew Khemnu.

The play is driven by monologues and pantomimes, traded between the two actors, portraying crucial moments in Lewis’ life and the lives of his immediate ancestors. Perched on an elevated bedroom set, insulated by towering book shelves, Hobbs as Lewis recalls snippets of his life experiences, from the first time he understood he and his white wife didn’t see the world the same way to his realization of the subtle racism within the academic world. Meanwhile, Khemnu, using only a wooden chair as a prop, acts out the memories of Lewis’ fathers — from his great-grandfather’s first moments of freedom to his father’s often-misguided attempts to give Lewis a life better than his own.

Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. as Lewis and Kes Khemnu as Simon/Rex/Jesse in Arden Theatre Company's production of Blue Door. Photo by Mark Garvin.

It’s a clever story-telling device to have Lewis, a preeminent scholar on the far-out mathematics of time and our perception of it, haunted and inspired by ghostly figures from his family’s tumultuous past — kind of like if Ebeneezer Scrooge had been a quantum physicist.

But it’s really the high-energy performances from both actors that keep the play energetic and engaging. Both actors vary their delivery and intensity well, and the transitions between scenes work thanks to skillful direction from Walter Dallas. The resulting production is surprisingly humorous and uplifting at times, especially for a show about one man’s efforts to ignore the history and culture of his own family. But learning to embrace all aspects of your heritage — both the good and the bad — and incorporate them into your own identify is at the heart of what Blue Door is all about.

Blue Door
Now through March 21st, 2010

Arden Theatre Company
40 N. 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 922-1122
www.ardentheatre.org

Every year, the 11th Hour Theatre Company throws a wild rock concert to raise funds for the troupe. This year, the concert hits World Cafe Live.

The fundraiser, Philly Rocks Your Playlist, kicks on Monday, February 22nd, at 7pm. Last year, guests at the fundraiser voted for what songs they’d like to hear at the next event. The polls showed that audience wanted modern and classic rock hits, so the 11th Hour Theatre Company is delivering. I’ve got no idea what they’re performing though, the company won’t reveal the set list until the night of the show.

Tickets are only $20, which enters you into a raffle to win Phillies tickets, rock and roll memorabilia, and more. Funds raised will support the company and their upcoming Spring show, the Philadelphia premiere of the off-Broadway smash, Rooms.

You can purchase tickets via the 11th Hour Theatre Company’s official website, here.

World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 222-1400
www.worldcafelive.com

Every Wednesday, Bridget Foy’s on South Street features a $10 ‘Beer & Burger’ special, from 7pm – 10pm, upstairs at the Copper Bar. The special is simply that. A burger, a beer, $10.

What sort of burgers are we talking about here? Have a look at the burger menu.

New Mexico
Roasted green chilies, pepperjack, chipotle aioli

Head House Market
Herb Mayo, gruyere, mushroom, fried egg

Standard Burger
Wisconsin cheddar, shaved romaine, tomato, red onion

Turkey Burger
Cranberry relish, avocado aioli, Gruyere, alfalfa sprouts

Veggie Burger
House-made black bean veggie patty, mushrooms, peto aioli, spinach, gruyere

As for the beers that are a part of the $10 deal, you’ll have your choice between Dogfish Head 60 Min. IPA, Philadelphia Brewing Co. Kenzinger, Yunegling Lager, Stout’s Scarlet lady, and two seasonal rotating taps.

Bridget Foy’s
200 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-2306
(215) 922-1813
www.bridgetfoys.com

The "A Flower For You" Mural

With the Philadelphia Flower Show coming up, lots of local Philadelphia establishments are getting ready with appropriate specials, deals, and events. The Rittenhouse 1715 has a wonderful hotel package booked around the flower show, restaurants are introducing themed cocktails and meals, and now Mural Arts has a special Flower Show themed tour lined up.

Starting Sunday, February 28th and running through Sunday, March 7th, Mural Arts will begin their Murals & Gardens Tours. These limited tours highlight murals sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Tickets are $46 and include one-day admission to the Flower Show. Tours last about 90 minutes. For more information, visit Mural Arts’ official website.

Murals & Gardens Tours
Sunday February 28 through Sunday, March 7, 2010 · 10:00 am
$46.00 (Includes tour and one-day admission to the Flower Show)

Mural Arts Program
www.muralarts.org

Philadelphia International Flower Show
www.theflowershow.com

American Philosophical Society Museum

Philadelphia composers and poets have created original works inspired by the words and images of Charles Darwin, and the American Philosophical Society wants you to come hear them.

The APS is hosting two concerts this Friday and Sunday, showcasing the works of local composers David Carpenter, Andrew Litts, Ian Munro, Daniel Nelson, and Daniel Shapiro. Local poets Beth Feldman Brandt, Jose Cedillos, and Cort Day will be reading, and the concert will debut the premiere of Darwiniana, a multimedia work by Maurice Wright.

Expect a fancy wine reception, private guided tours of the Darwin exhibition, and more. Guests can also look forward to a half-hour of music and poetry before the concert, where they can meet the composers and poets.

For more information and tickets, visit the APS’ official website.

Darwin Concert @ the APS’ Benjamin Franklin Hall
Friday, February 19th, 2010, 8pm
Sunday, February 21st, 2010, 2pm

American Philosophical Society
105 South 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
(215) 599-4415
www.amphilsoc.org

Monk's Duck Salad

Just the fact that Monk’s Cafe uses the phrase “Beer Emporium” in their name is reason enough to visit. They have 200+ bottled beers on hand at any given time, 350 throughout the year, and have been named one of the “Top 10 Places in the World to Have a Beer before You Die” by All About Beer Magazine. That definitely seals the deal for most beer lovers, but I’m not going to talk about the beer. I’m not even going to talk about the mussels and pomme frites, which seems to be one of Monk’s most popular dishes. There are two things I go to Monk’s for. The duck salad and the music.

Almost every time I visit Monk’s, I order hot tea and the duck salad with a roll. The tea is a nice selection of Tazo, and I like to go with the Calm herbal infusion, but there are a handful of varieties to choose from.

All the elements of the salad are neatly arranged on the plate; mixed baby greens with a light vinaigrette, dried cranberries, spiced walnuts, goat cheese, and sliced duck breast. The ingredient list isn’t very long but it’s everything you need in a lunch. The greens are crisp with a light sweetness, the cranberries are tart and chewy, the walnuts caramelized and crunchy, the goat cheese creamy with just a bit of tang.

The star of the show is the duck – nicely seared on the outside with a touch of earthy charcoal flavor, tender and buttery on the inside with a richness that makes the whole salad quite luscious.

While you’re enjoying your food and sipping your tea, or beer, if you prefer, take a listen to the steady flow of awesomeness pouring from the speakers. The Cafe always seems to play a constant stream of great tunes. Totally worth the visit every time.

Monk’s Cafe
264 S 16th St, Philadelphia, P.A. 19102
(215) 545-7005
www.monkscafe.com