Uwishunu.com

The hotel offers 10 tea flavors, ranging from vanilla bean to ginger twist to pear caramel.
(Photo courtesy Rittenhouse Hotel)

In honor of Prince William’s pending nuptials to Kate Middleton, The Rittenhouse Hotel is offering a variety of afternoon teas in the Mary Cassatt Tea Room and Garden from now through the end of May.

Indulge your inner royal with The Royal Wedding Commemorative Tea for $38.50 per person, The Prince William Tea for $24.95 per person, or The Princess Kate Tea for $29.95 per person. Each includes a variety of tea sandwiches, freshly baked scones, tarts, pastries, and your choice of fine teas. Tea is served from 2-5 p.m. seven days a week.

Plus: order the Commemorative Tea and receive a Lacroix chocolate box with four chocolates flavored Earl Gray (for the prince) and Chestnut Honey (for his betrothed), with both of their initials engraved on each chocolate.

The Royal Wedding will take place at the famed Westminster Abbey with more than 1,900 guests expected. Watch the ceremony live on Friday, April 29 at 5:30 a.m. at Lacroix inside the hotel, which will host a Royal Wedding English Breakfast complete with crumpets, grilled tomatoes, English sausages, bacon, eggs and much more ($25).

And if you really want to play prince or princess for the day? The hotel is offering an overnight Royal Wedding Package For Two for $337, including accommodations in a Superior Room, as well as two seats at the Royal Wedding Breakfast and screening party. Call (215) 546-9000 for reservations.

Royal Wedding Breakfast and Screening
Where: Lacroix Restaurant, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square
When: April 29, 5:30 a.m.
Cost: $25
More info: www.lacroixrestaurant.com

The 2008 Comcast Center by Robert A. M. Stern Architects is included on both Best Of lists.
(Photo courtesy Flickr user kingfal)

Two national websites, Arch Daily, a major editorial architecture website, and popular design blog Apartment Therapy, both recently offered spotlight guides to the most stunning architecture in Philadelphia.

According to Arch Daily, “The list of influential architects that have either worked, studied, or taught in Philadelphia is perhaps the only list that challenges the numbers of Founding Fathers that descended on this city of Brotherly Love.”

Indeed, our architectural treasures tend to be undersung (although we did recently feature a Northern Liberties house given a major nod by Architectural Record).

Apartment Therapy listed 12 architectural gems (click here) and Arch Daily listed 12 notable spots (click here).

Featured buildings include the Comcast Center, Cira Centre, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, National Museum of American Jewish History, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Urban Outfitters Corporate Campus and many more.

Looking good, Philadelphia!

Architecture City Guide: Philadelphia [Arch Daily]
The Philadelphia Architecture Guide [Apartment Therapy]

Don't miss out on Zahav's special annual Passover menu. (Photo by J. Varney courtesy Zahav)

From Monday, April 18 through Tuesday, April 26, Chef Michael Solomonov will serve a Passover Feast at his modern Israeli restaurant Zahav.

Featuring the chef’s innovative takes on Jewish staples, as well as Israeli-inspired dishes, the delicious festive menu will be $42 per person (not including tax and gratuity).

Enjoyable for guests both Jewish and not, the Passover Menu will include: Salatim and Hummus served with hand-made matzah; Matzah Ball Soup with smoked chicken and ramps; Gefilte Fish “Escabeche” with fiddleheads and artichokes; Hamachi carpaccio and tartare with beets and horseradish; Brisket “Mina” with coffee, morels and charoset jus; and Rose Hip Macaroons with pistachio frozen custard.

The restaurant’s welcoming feel was inspired by Jerusalem’s terraced Old City, so you’re sure to dine in total comfort.

Zahav Passover Feast
When: April 18-26
Where: 237 St. James Place
Cost: $42
More info: www.zahavrestaurant.com

The third annual Fishtown Shad Fest will be held Saturday, April 23 at the beautiful Penn Treaty Park along the Delaware River.

The festival’s purpose is to celebrate the historical and environmental significance of Fishtown, one of Philadelphia’s oldest riverfront neighborhoods. The celebration raises money for the Friends of Penn Treaty Park.

Activities include live music, local arts and crafts vendors, a moonbounce, environment education kiosks, kids activities and food. Click here for a list of musicians performing.

The Kenzinger Challenge Run is a main component of Shad Fest; it’s a three mile non-competitive scavenger hunt highlighting Fishtown’s and Kensington’s breweries and taverns. Using a map and questionnaire, runners go to various points collecting historical information and performing various activities (including a Beer Boot Camp at Philadelphia Brewing Company.)

Register online through April 22 for $20 + $2 fee ($1 of which TicketLeap will be donating back to Friends of Penn Treaty Park). On-site, day-of registration is $25 and will open at 11 a.m (run begins at noon).

Fishtown Shad Fest
When: Saturday, April 23
Where: Penn Treaty Park, Delaware Avenue and Beach Street
Cost: $20-$25 for Kenzinger Challenge Run; Shad Fest free
More info: www.fishtownshadfest.org

Our sister site, Philly 360°, is offering the chance to win a special PIFA prize package, which includes tickets to see Questlove of The Roots and hip hop dance company Rennie Harris Puremovement perform, April 16-17 at the Kimmel Center.

In addition to the tickets, the contest winner will also receive passes to the African American Museum, transportation, a two-night hotel stay and more. The contest ends April 1; check out the prize details below.

One winner to receive:

- Transportation to and from Philadelphia via train
- Two night stay at the DoubleTree By Hilton Philadelphia Center City
- A pair of tickets to see Rennie Harris Puremovement on April 16
- A pair of tickets to see Questlove of The Roots perform with Keren Ann on April 17
- Admission to The African American Museum in Philadelphia for the Free to Be exhibition
- Restaurant gift certificate to a local restaurant

Even if you’re from Philadelphia, you can still enter the contest — the grand prize would make a great local weekend getaway!

Head over to Philly 360° for more information and to enter the giveaway.

PIFA Contest: Enter For Your Chance To Win Tickets To See Questlove of The Roots And Rennie Harris Puremovement Perform In Philly [Philly 360]

University of the Arts, the nation’s first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts, will feature hundreds of original artworks by students, faculty and alumni with the return of ArtUnleashed, April 14-16.

The annual art exhibition and sale supports scholarship funds for UArts students, and is a wonderful opportunity for the community to explore a wide variety of one-of-a-kind art pieces, including paintings, sculptures, prints, jewelry, ceramics, photography, digital and mixed media and more.

Don’t miss out on this unique chance to experience the extraordinary talent and the passionate faces behind the art, all while fostering the continued success of future local artists!

Click here to view a virtual gallery of artworks on sale.

ArtUnleashed
Where: University of the Arts’ Hamilton Hall, 320 S. Broad Street
When: April 14-16, noon-6 p.m.
Cost: FREE
More info: www.my.uarts.edu/artsale

 
From the Wall Street Journal to the Los Angeles Times to USA Today, and as of last night NBC Nightly News, the National Constitution Center’s groundbreaking Art of the American Soldier exhibition has garnered critical acclaim since debuting at the Center on September 24, 2010.

Art of the American Soldier unveils more than 250 powerful works of art in various mediums created by American soldiers in the line of duty, drawn from the Army’s rarely seen collection of over 15,000 paintings and sketches.

The artwork, spanning from World War I to the present, captures the everyday lives of American soldiers, from deployment and camp life to the battlefield, telling their stories in a way no newsreel or photograph ever could.

You have three more days to check out this landmark exhibition. Don’t miss it!

Art of the American Soldier
When: Now through March 31
Where: National Constitution Center, 525 Arch Street
Cost: $12 for adults; $11 for seniors 65+; $8 for children 4-12; veterans/military families receive $2 off; active military and children 3 and under are free
More info: www.constitutioncenter.org

Celebrate the beauty of spring at the Morris Arboretum. (Photo by Judy Miller for Morris Arboretum)

A sure sign spring has sprung is when you start seeing the pretty blooms of cherry blossoms. The Morris Arboretum has seen the signs: it’s holding its annual Japanese Cherry Blossom Celebration, happening on two Saturdays, April 2 and April 9.

Presented in partnership with the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, the arboretum offers the opportunity to see the blossoms as they appear on 35 varieties of cherry trees.

Some of these trees have a heritage that dates back to the early 20th century, when John and Lydia Morris (founders of the arboretum) first planted the seeds for what is now one of the region’s finest garden collections of Japanese plants.

The Celebration’s events on April 2 include an origami program by author and internationally recognized origami expert Barbara Pearl, a performance by the Hob Daiko Drummers and a special tour of the arboretum’s various Japanese elements, such as the contemplative rock garden and the sumptuous greenhouse fernery.

The Japanese Garden Elements Tour reprises on the 9th, when you can also catch demonstrations of the sophisticated art of Japanese swordplay known as Ken Jutsu, as well as a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Looks like some intriguing yin and yang, for sure.

Japanese Cherry Blossom Celebration
Where: Morris Arboretum, 100 E. Northwestern Avenue
When: April 2 and April 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: Included with general admission ( Youth (ages 3-17)/Students $7, Adults $16, Seniors $14)
More information: www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum

The much-heralded Fish and Chips entrée at Dandelion combines Chatham cod with twice fried Idaho potatoes, and come with housemade ketchup and tartar sauce. (Photo courtesy Dandelion)

Two big reviews just landed for Stephen Starr’s newest restaurant, Dandelion on Rittenhouse Square, and both of them are pretty good.

Craig LaBan of The Philadelphia Inquirer dropped a Three-Bell review on Dandelion this Sunday, praising everything from the secluded nooks and room temperature cask beer to the “individuality and craft” in the hearty British fare from Chef Robert Aikens. An excerpt:

But something almost magical has transpired inside this ornately detailed corner of connected old townhouses just north of Rittenhouse Square. Over the last few months, what debuted in the eyes of many observers as just as another “Disneyfied” theme restaurant, all-Englanded out with flea-market knickknacks and quaint sayings about “Faith” over the blazing hearth, has quickly become a very real and special Philadelphia place.

And in the April issue of Philadelphia Magazine, on newsstands now, Trey Popp gives Dandelion three stars as well, saying “the Dandelion epitomizes the best of British pub fare.”

With Dandelion clearly hitting its stride, Stephen Starr has already moved on to his next project — the super-restaurateur is scheduled to open his newest Philadelphia restaurant, Talula’s Garden, later this week.

Philadelphia’s Dandelion offers classic British food, served in a warren of cozy nooks [Philadelphia Inquirer]
The English accent is spot-on at Stephen Starr’s latest restaurant [Philadelphia Magazine]

Celebrate Button the hippo's birthday April 16-May 1. (Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC)

Adventure Aquarium is feting Button the hippo’s birthday with more larger-than-life festivities than ever before, with “Button’s Birthday Bash”, April 16-May 1.

From exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of Button’s night quarters to hippo-themed arts and crafts presented by A.C. Moore, there will be activities galore to entertain kids of all ages.

Join a cavalcade of roaming stilt walkers, jugglers, face painters and other circus performers as they take over Adventure Aquarium’s Rotunda each day throughout the celebration.

And what birthday is complete without birthday cake? The festivities culminate with the aquarium’s popular cake presentation, as guests sing “Happy Birthday” to Button while she feasts on her own specially-designed, hippo-friendly birthday cake. Afterwards, stop by the Feeding Frenzy Café to purchase desserts for yourself, including hippo cupcakes and cookies. Each guest will receive a hippo party hat! This event happens twice daily throughout the celebration.

Don’t forget to leave a personalized birthday wish for Button on the gigantic coloring wall presented by Crayola.

Tickets are available online.

Button’s Birthday Bash
When: April 16-May 1
Where: Adventure Aquarium, 1 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ
Cost: Around $24.55 for adults, $19.20 for children
More info: www.adventureaquarium.com