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The cheese is available now, only until supplies last.
(Photo courtesy Di Bruno Bros.)

Art in the Age artist collective and spirit maker has partnered with Di Bruno Bros. to release a limited edition ROOT washed Winnimere cheese cleverly titled Rootmere.

This semi-soft, cow’s milk cheese is produced by Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farms. During its maturation of about two months, it is regularly brushed with Art in the Age’s ROOT liqueur.

Inspiration for the cheese comes from the Swiss cheese Forsterkase. In the same style, each specimen of Winnimere is encircled in a strip of spruce bark which is cut from trees on Jasper Hill’s land. The binding helps maintain the shape of the cheese as well as impart a delicious woody flavor.

When ripe, the interior is smooth and velvety, with tastes of milk, grass, almonds and the wood from the spruce bark.

The ROOT Washed Winnimere Cheese will be sold exclusively, and for a limited time, by Di Bruno Bros. The cheese is priced at $29.99 per pound.

Di Bruno Bros. and Art in the Age will be sampling the cheese for the public on April 9 (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at Di Bruno Bros.’ newest store at the Ardmore Farmers Market.

Winnimere Cheese [Di Bruno Bros.]

Celebrate Kimpton's 30th birthday with month-long specials. (Photo courtesy Hotel Palomar)

On April 1, Hotel Palomar’s parent company Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will mark a major milestone: its 30th anniversary.

To celebrate 30 years of “hospitality with personality,” Kimpton is offering special birthday-themed events, perks and promotions at Hotel Palomar, including:

• Birthday Cheers Happy Hour, April 1: Kimpton will extend its signature wine hour for a two hour celebration in which guests can enjoy complimentary cupcakes and special wine selections.

• “WRITE Here, RIGHT Now” Birthday Contest: Beginning April 1, Kimpton invites its Facebook fans to tell their favorite birthday story by submitting a poem, haiku, sonnet or funny rhyme, along with a picture, for a chance to win a one-night getaway at any Kimpton hotel. The 30 winning submissions, as selected by Facebook fan votes and a panel of judges, will win a night on Kimpton.

• Birthday Spa Bonus: Add 30 free minutes to a 50 minute in-room massage booked throughout the month of April. Mention the code “30th Birthday” when booking.

• KimptonStyle Savings: From April 1–14, all purchases made on KimptonStyle.com (categories range from bed & bath products to pet items to travel) will include a 30% discount. No promotional code is required.

Hotel Palomar Philadelphia
117 S. 17th Street
www.hotelpalomar-philadelphia.com

Main Line Restaurant Week kicks off April 4 this year, and lasts through April 10.

AroundMainLine.com organized the first Main Line Restaurant Week in fall of 2010, and it was a booming success.

This year, diners have the option of choosing three-course prix-fixe meals from dozens of restaurants, ranging from $20 to $50 dollars.

Click here for the list of participating restaurants.

There’s a little something for everyone—from a $20 straight-forward meal at a Villanova sports bar to a lavish $50 menu at White Dog Wayne. And AroundMainLine.com has paired up with Open Table to make reserving tables easy — you can make reservations here.

Main Line Restaurant Week
When: April 4-10
Where: Restaurants around the western Philadelphia suburban region
Cost: $20, $30, $40 or $50
More info: www.mainlinerestaurantweek.com

This event is the letters' first presentation to the public. (Photo courtesy Space 1026)

Beginning this Friday, April 1, Space 1026 gallery will provide a rare glimpse into beloved cartoonist, Charles M. Schulz’s, life and private thoughts in the early 1970s, with letters he wrote to native Philadelphian Tracey Claudius.

This unique exhibition marks the first time the letters will be presented to the public.

During the 70s, the Peanuts cartoonist wrote nearly one hundred poignant and heartfelt letters to his then-girlfriend Claudius, which not only bear testimony to their warm and affectionate two-year relationship, but offer a tender glimpse at the mind that created an international institution.

The collection displays this written correspondence between Schulz and Claudius, as well as her inspiration for some of his most famous comic strips.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 1 from 7-10 p.m., and the exhibition itself will be on display until April 29.

This is a Love Letter: Personal Correspondences from Charles M. Schulz
When: April 1-29 (opening reception April 1, 7-10 p.m.)
Where: Space 1026, 1026 Arch Street, 2nd Floor
Cost: FREE
More Info: www.space1026.com

PIFA is programming the Kimmel Center lobby to be the activity-filled epicenter of the festival, with daily happy hours, french lessons, free performances, twice-nightly light shows and more. (Photo by R. Kennedy for PIFA)

The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) is fast approaching; the three-and-a-half-week arts festival kicks off April 7, just a week away.

The physical focal point of the city-wide celebration of arts and culture will be the Kimmel Center, which is in the process of being gloriously transformed into a faux-City of Light.

Check out our guide to the Kimmel Center’s Commonwealth Plaza as the major PIFA destination:

Eiffel Tower

• An 81-foot light-filled Eiffel Tower soars to the sky, with trains and planes zooming overhead. A twice nightly spectacle (7 and 10 p.m.) with 6,000 light bulbs will bring the Tower and Plaza to life in a dazzling light and sound show. DAILY.

Food and Drink

• French food: A stylized Parisian food cart in the Plaza will serve fresh crêpes by Wolfgang Puck Catering, open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. DAILY. You can also get pastries, hot chocolate and more at the PECO bar in the plaza whenever events are taking place at the Kimmel Center. Wolfgang Puck Catering will also be hosting Le PIFA Bistro, a temporary casual Parisian inspired buffet, in the Lounge by Wolfgang Puck event space on the center’s second floor. It’s open on the weekends just for the run of PIFA (Friday, Saturday, Sunday for dinner 5:30-8:30 p.m. ($38); brunch on Sunday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ($24)).

• French wine and spirits tastings: Thursdays-Saturdays 5-7 p.m. and Sundays 2-4 p.m., you can enjoy free tastings courtesy of PA Wine & Spirits at the plaza wine kiosk, which will be open for your purchases Thursdays-Saturdays 4-8 p.m. and Sundays 1-5 p.m.

Details on performances and other events at the plaza, below, plus one more great photo of the lobby. (All events are free unless otherwise noted.)

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Enjoy fresh, seasonal fare in honor of spring. (Photo courtesy Stella Blu)

Stella Blu welcomes April with a special “Spring Fling” menu.

The menu features the bright flavors of this new season, including ingredients like asparagus, beets, radicchio, arugula and spring peas.

Choose two courses for $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

There are a total of 10 dishes to choose from (think chicken breast with herbed mustard butter; fresh pasta with fava beans, tomato and Italian sausage; and asparagus and mushroom tart with gruyere cheese) so there’s something to please every palate.

The menu is available for dinner April 1-30. Stella Blu’s a la carte menu will also be offered.

Call (610) 825-7060 for reservations.

Stella Blu
101 Ford Street, West Conshohocken
www.stellablurestaurant.com

The Arden is home to some of the city's best children's theater programming. (Photo courtesy Arden)

The name Hans Christian Andersen is synonymous with fairy tales; after all, this dashing Dane wrote more than 150 of them. Those fanciful tales, written in the 1800s, are still wildly popular enough to be feted at the Arden Theatre Company’s International Children’s Book Day, April 2, which happens to coincide with the author’s birthday.

This fun family affair includes a storytelling station featuring oldies but goodies, like the Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Arden actors plus special guests all pitch in to recite the tales with great gusto.

More good times come by way of a film screening of The Little Mermaid, face painting, crafts and tasty treats. And if you’ve got a budding thespian, be sure to buy tickets to the raffle, where you can win an Arden Drama School One-Day Workshop.

The celebration is an ideal precursor to an upcoming Arden musical production of Andersen’s The Flea and The Professor, running May 4-June 12. Anyone who attends this Book Day-Birthday celebration gets a $5 discounts off Flea tickets as well as discounted subscriptions to next season’s Arden’s Children Theatre.

Reservations to the April 2 celebration are encouraged as space is limited; call the Arden box office at (215) 922-1122 to reserve your place.

International Children’s Book Day and Hans Christian Andersen’s Birthday Celebration
When: Saturday, April 2, 4:30-7 p.m.
Where: Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second Street
Cost: Free
More info: www.ardentheatre.org

'Uricure: In the Major Drugstores and Pharmacies' 1910-11 by Leonetto Cappiello, © Artists Rights Society (ARS). (Image courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art)

Health for Sale: Posters from the William H. Helfand Collection, on display at the Philadelphia Museum Of Art beginning April 2, presents some 50 health-related posters, their subjects ranging from medical conferences, good hygiene and pharmaceuticals to spurious cures.

The posters are drawn from the personal collection of William H. Helfand, who has been amassing medical fine prints, drawings, caricatures, trade cards, posters and ephemera since the mid-1950s.

Posters have long been a favorite and bold form of medical advertising, using punchy slogans to capture the public’s attention, plus humor, satire and caricature that sells products, promotes pharmacies, or warns against social evils like alcoholism, marijuana and venereal disease.

The exhibition coincides with several international medical conventions in Philadelphia scheduled during April and May.

While you’re at the museum, don’t miss the other headlining exhibits: Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion and Paris Through The Window: Marc Chagall And His Circle.

Health for Sale: Posters from the William H. Helfand Collection
When: April 2–July 31
Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Cost: Adults $16, Seniors (65+) $14, Students $12, Children (13-18) $12, Children (12 and under) Free
More info: www.philamuseum.org

Ruben Amaro of the Phillies is currently the only Latino GM in Major League Baseball. (Photo courtesy the Philadelphia Phillies)

[This is the tenth and final installment of our ¡Philly Te Ama! Video Series that spotlights noteworthy Latinos with a connection to Philadelphia in order to learn more about why they love it here.]

In the past nine weeks the Philly Te Ama video series has focused on food, music, arts and culture, entertainment and more. What better timing to close the series than with someone who has a very major role with our beloved Phillies, kicking off their 2011 season this Friday?

Ruben Amaro, Jr. has impeccable timing. Less than two years after being named senior vice president and general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, the Phils boasted the best record in the majors for the first time in history and played in their third straight National League Championship Series.

In the video below, Amaro talks about his role as the only Latino General Manager in the MLB, how the city has changed in the past few years and his favorite things to do including visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art (as well as running up the steps). He also talks about the Phillies’ players as role models and inspiration to other young aspiring baseball players.

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Gunners Run, the newest bar/eatery to hit the Piazza at Schmidt’s, has been (softly) open now for about two weeks, but they’re hosting an official Grand Opening party this Thursday night, March 31, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

The party is open to the public. There will be live music, drink specials, prizes, giveaways and guest D.J.’s all night.

Gunners Run is a collaborative effort between regional concert promoter Bryan Dilworth, tattoo artist and Olde City Tattoo owner Jason Goldberg, music booking agent Tim Borror and chef Shawn Sollberger (formerly of Capital Grille and Ravenna). It’s a feast for the eyes as much as the palate, with eclectic local artwork and a massive historical map of Philadelphia, printed across the wall of the restaurant.

The menu is contemporary American, with dishes like a tuna BLT and a bacon cheeseburger, plus a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar. And Gunners will bring live music to both the bar and the stage located outdoors in the Piazza.

Kick it all off tomorrow night!

Gunners Run Grand Opening Party
Where: 1001 N. 2nd Street
When: Thursday, March 31, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.
Cost: FREE
More info: www.gunnersrun.com