December 15, 2011
Questlove is everywhere these days: New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Ad Week, making headlines on Late Night… And now Bon Appétit, as Questlove’s suddenly famous fried chicken comes in at #15 in the mag’s list of the “25 Things to Eat, Drink and Cook in 2012.” The Roots’ drummer has a made a quick splash in the food world after debuting his “Love Drumstick” this fall. What is the “Drumstick” you ask? A gourmet piece of Creole-seasoned, buttermilk fried chicken, sourced locally from Lancaster County. The food truck project is still in the works. [Bon Appétit]
December 14, 2011
The Mann Center has just announced the first show for their upcoming 2012 summer concert season and it’s a good one. Foster The People will be playing The Mann on June 14, 2012, with special guests Tokyo Police Club. Foster The People shot to fame this year, largely on the back of their triple-platinum single “Pumped Up Kicks” (video below). This coming summer, the band will wrap up 18 months of touring by playing iconic amphitheaters around the country including Philly’s own Mann Center. Tickets for the show go on sale January 20. [Mann Center] (more…)
December 14, 2011
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is set to open at the Franklin Institute’s Tuttleman IMAX Theater this Thursday, December 15, a full six days before the film’s nationwide release on December 21. What’s more, the Tuttleman IMAX is the only movie theater in the Philadelphia area that will be showing the much anticipated six-minute prologue to Christopher Nolan’s new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, preceeding each MI4 screening. Don’t sleep on this one. Trailer below. [The Franklin Institute] (more…)
December 13, 2011
Food & Wine Magazine has released a list of the 50 Best Bars in the country and representing Philadelphia are two of our finest: Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. in Rittenhouse and Southwark in Queen Village. At The Franklin, F&W recommends “tasty new inventions like the Peckinpah (mezcal, rum, lime juice and blackberry-habanero syrup).” The mag calls Southwark “a pioneer in the resurgence of classic cocktails in Philadelphia,” one that “specializes in old-time drinks like Sazeracs, Jupiters and Mary Pickfords.” Two very solid picks. [Food & Wine]
December 9, 2011
Chef Garces will be opening an Amada, a Village Whiskey and a Distrito Cantina at the new Revel Resort & Casino coming to Atlantic City’s boardwalk this spring. (Left courtesy Garces Group; right courtesy Revel)
Jose Garces is continuing to expand his restaurant empire, announcing yesterday that he will open three new restaurants in Atlantic City this spring. All three restaurants will be located in the giant new Revel casino/resort/hotel that is opening in Atlantic City this spring.
Drawing from his incredibly popular and successful Philadelphia concepts, Chef Garces will open Amada, an authentic Andalusian tapas bar; Village Whiskey, serving spirits and artfully crafted cocktails alongside American dishes and amazing burgers; and Distrito Cantina, a festive margarita bar with a selection of 100 tequilas and modern Mexican street food from a Guapos Tacos take-out window.
Revel is going to be a major new destination on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. Garces’ three restaurants will be joined by nearly a dozen other restaurants, three clubs, more than 1,000 guest rooms, retail shops, a 28,000-square-foot spa, two theaters that seat 5,500 and 500 guests respectively and a 150,000-square-foot casino.
Check out a video of Chef Garces previewing his Revel restaurants below.
Meanwhile, back at home, we are still very much looking forward to the opening of Chef Garces’ next Philadelphia restaurant, the sure-to-be-amazing Frohman’s Wursthaus in Midtown Village next year. Hopefully, he doesn’t keep us waiting too much longer.
Garces Group [Official Site]
November 29, 2011
Talk about multitasking.
When not busy playing in epic Thanksgiving football rivalries, giving talks about his brand new cook book at the Free Library, dishing to GQ an insider’s tour of food and drink spots around town, or prepping to open a much anticipated new Italian gastropub and restaurant on North Broad, Marc Vetri finds a little spare time to pitch Philadelphia to television stars.
Over the weekend, Marc Vetri tweeted at Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations asking him to consider shooting something in Philadelphia for his new show on the Travel Channel called The Layover.
Bourdain replied, “@marcvetri Philly is a definite for near future. Hear great things about your place!”
“A definite” sounds pretty promising to us. After all, Bourdain did recently tell Grub Street that he was looking forward to filming a show here…
Chef Vetri, great work. Keep it up. All of it.
@MarcVetri [Twitter]
@NoReservations [Twitter]
November 1, 2011
If you want to get a glimpse at the process of designing the new Barnes Foundation, architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien will be in town to give a behind-the-scenes look at the building of the new Barnes. (Images courtesy The Barnes Foundation)
Awesome (architecture) event alert: Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the architects of the new Barnes Foundation on the Parkway, will be coming to the Free Library of Philadelphia for a special evening discussion and presentation about the building of the new Barnes.
In September 2007, Williams and Tsien were chosen by the Barnes Foundation to create the new campus on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In October 2009, the design for the new building was revealed. And in May of 2012, the brand new Barnes will finally open its doors to the public.
At this special event at the Free Library, entitled “Gallery in a Garden, Garden in a Gallery: The Building of the Philadelphia Barnes Foundation,” the audience will get a special inside look at the design process of the entire project.
Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien will discuss the project’s lifespan in detail: the design concept that won the commission, the detailed planning of the project, and the challenges met along the way, in a revealing and fascinating behind-the-scenes presentation.
Background About The Project
The new Philadelphia campus of the Barnes Foundation is the first major addition to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in more than sixty years and will become a vital part of the city’s cultural corridor. The lecture’s title, “Gallery in a Garden, Garden in a Gallery” hints at the architects’ original concept for the new Barnes.
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, in conjunction with landscape architect Laurie Olin, conceived a “gallery in a garden,” consisting of a series of distinct outdoor areas that would unfold to visitors as they approached the building, passing through the public gardens and entry atrium en route to the galleries.
Said Billie Tsien of the design: “We hope that visitors will be able to relax, drop their shoulders and leave the outside world behind when they enter the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. When they do, they will discover a place with a highly personal feeling, where the brilliance of the art collection and the distinctive hang are fully respected.”
You can read more about the plans for the May 2012 Barnes opening here.
To get a behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating process of designing the new Barnes, however, you’re going to want to attend this event. Tickets, just $7, are available online.
Gallery in a Garden, Garden in a Gallery: The Building of the Philadelphia Barnes Foundation
When: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 7 p.m.
Where: Free Library of Philadelphia, Central Branch
Cost: $7 General Admission
More info: www.freelibrary.org
Check out an original concept drawing for the new Barnes below.
October 31, 2011
The Today Show was in town last week to film a segment at Eastern State Penitentiary with the crew from the the SyFy Channel’s popular show Ghost Hunters. The two-part segment aired over the weekend.
Lester Holt and crew first checked out the penitentiary in the daylight and then returned for a spooky after-hours tour of the cells decked out with proper ghost hunting equipment.
Were there any ghost sightings? Watch the clip below to find out.
Part two of the visit is embedded below.
Happy Halloween!
Today Show Visits Eastern State Penitentiary For Halloween [MSNBC]
October 21, 2011
What lurks in the shadows of the Penn Museum?
Well, if you watch the video above, you may start to think ghosts do.
The Museum’s Young Friends are hosting a very cool event this weekend, what they’re calling “a once-in-a-lifetime paranormal investigation of the galleries and their ghostly inhabitants.”
The Free Spirit Paranormal Investigators will attempt to shed some light on what lurks in the dark as they introduce visitors to their investigation techniques and equipment before taking the Young Friends on an investigation of the Museum.
Spooky stuff.
We See Dead People
Where: Penn Museum
When: Saturday, October 22, 6 p.m.
Cost: $5-$10
More info: penn.museum
October 15, 2011
The Philadelphia Union can clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie Saturday against Toronto FC at their regular season home finale at the gorgeous PPL Park on the Chester waterfront. (Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union)
The Philadelphia Union will play their regular season home finale today at PPL Park at 4 p.m.
The Union are in first place in the Eastern Conference and are unbeaten in their last seven matches (3-0-4).
And with a win (or tie) on Saturday, the Union will clinch a spot in the MLS Playoffs.
Go Union! DOOP!
Philadelphia Union vs. Toronto FC
When: Saturday, October 15, 4 p.m.
Where: PPL Park
More info: philadelphiaunion.com
