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Tags: Food Travel / Restaurant Week / Restaurant Travel / Philadelphia Travel / Philadelphia Restaurants / Hotels / → All Tags

Some News From Philly That's Not World Series-Related

How do you enjoy Restaurant Week menus and prices without it actually being Restaurant Week? Well, if you're in Philadelphia, all you've got to do is book your hotel stay on withlove.gophila.com, and you'll receive all the details on the hotels where you can dine on discount prix-fixe menus through December 30.

Restaurants featured run the gamut, from super swish 4-course meals at Lacroix at The Rittenhouse to fresh Italian at Positano Coast. And since we promised Restaurant Week prices, you'll be happy to hear the the 3-to-4-course meals are all either $20, $30 or $35 per person. We're guessing that Lacroix is up at the $35 end, but menu choices aren't piddly; think "prime rib, crab imperial, handmade orecchiette and olive oil-poached Scottish salmon."

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What To Do Before, During, And After World Series Game 3 In Philadelphia

It's World Series time and things are all tied up at one game a piece after two nights of great pitching for both the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Now the players and fans are driving down the Jersey Turnpike to get ready for game three between the Yankees and Phillies on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. Loving you just as much we do baseball, we've put together some ideas for ways to stay entertained throughout your baseball-filled evening. Again, feel free to ignore all this advice below if you'd rather just watch the game. After all, that's what you paid for.

· Before The Game
The Phillies newish stadium is located in the middle of a huge parking lot that is shared by the city's other sports teams—so we’re thinking that most fans are going to drive to the game. Standard parking is $12 per car, but we’re a little suspicious that they could increase the charge since it is the World Series. Public transportation is available through SEPTA, but the workers might go on strike this weekend—so a car could be pretty handy. If you want some trains, the Broad Street Line is the best bet, just peep the schedule right here.

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Philly 360 Campaign Hopes To Attract African-American Visitors

When it comes to destinations, the new new thing is for a travel bureau to reach out to you as specifically as possible. Hey, you reading this blog! You want to go here! Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but we always like to see an interesting new campaign at work, like Philadelphia's "Philly 360°" campaign.

Philly 360° puts the city's African-American heritage front and center with videos and guides to jazz clubs and Underground Railroad sites. It's part of a larger micro-marketing campaign that includes ¡Philly Te Ama! (Latino Philadelphia) and We Your People, the LGBT Philadelphia promotions.

While the campaign focuses on black musicians, artists and trendsetters, anyone can enjoy shopping tips from Rakia Reynolds of Vibe Magazine or hear about ?uestlove's favorite hoagie joint. Kudos to Philly for thinking outside the box and outside Black History Month for this; after all, travel happens all year round.

Related Stories:
· Philly 360° Launch Page [GoPhila.com]
· Jaunted Does Lunch With ?uestlove of the Roots [Jaunted]
· Secret Sneaker Shopping in Philadelphia [Jaunted]

[Photo: micholitzii]

Tags: Movie Set Travel / Jaunted On Location / Pittsburgh Travel / Anne Hathaway / Jake Gyllenhaal / → All Tags

How To Be In A Movie With Jake Gyllenhaal And Anne Hathaway Next Week

Have you ever dreamt of sharing the big screen with Jake Gyllenhaal or Anne Hathaway? Who hasn't, right? Well, here's your chance! The pair have reunited for the new movie, "Love and Other Drugs," based on Jamie Reidy's memoir "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman," and they need 400 unpaid extras for a crowd scene filming in Pittsburgh, PA next week.

The scene will be a Pfizer rally shot inside Mellon Arena on October 13th. Anyone over 18 is eligible to participate without having to provide a head shot or resume, all you have to do is contact Matt Clancy at the Pittsburgh Film Office via email (mclancy(at)pghfilm.org) or by phone (412-261-2744) by the end of business today.

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Erie Kicks Off Eerie Horror Fest With 'The Lost Boys' Reunion

It just isn't Halloween until you've had a good dose of scary movies, and the The Eerie Film Festival in Erie, PA is serving up a roster guaranteed to keep you up at night.

This year's fest kicks off Thursday night with the British zombie film Colin, which caused quit a stir in Cannes this year. The movie, which producers claim cost a mere $70, is told from a zombie's perspective. In addition to Colin, the fest will screen more than a dozen horror movies; some are terrifying while some are kitschy, like the updated version of the classic horror flick Nosferatu in 3D.

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Tags: Literary Travel / Bram Stoker / Halloween Travel / Dracula / Vampire Travel / → All Tags

The Vampire Travel Seasons Begins In Philadelphia

Before Edward Cullen swept the field with his skinny sparkliness, Count Dracula was the nonpareil of dangerously irresistible vampires. But Philadelphia wants to introduce you to Dracula this Halloween, if you dare.

The Rosenbach Museum and Library's annual Dracula Festival allows the rare-books vault to bring forth Bram Stoker's original notes on his vampire creation, and in addition, they'll be hosting a free screening of the silent horror classic "Nosferatu" and a visit from Stoker's great-grandnephew to read from his vampire book. (Everyone's written one these days.) Outside Philly, the Tri-County Performing Arts Center will put on a stage version of "Dracula" (October 8-25, 245 E. High Street in Pottstown). If you prefer your vampires dancing, the Brandywine Ballet has you covered there on October 23-25.

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Hershey's Adds Make-Your-Own Chocolate Tour

Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the best factory tours the world over.

The branded town of Hershey, Pennsylvania already contains an amusement park and Hershey's Chocolate World, perhaps the closest analogue to Willy Wonka's factory after Cadbury World. But the American brand may have just pulled ahead with its newest attraction: Make your own chocolate!

Two new classes a day at the Hershey Chocolate Lab get visitors up close and personal with the company's tasty treats. Learn about the different varieties of cocoa beans and global tastes for the sweet stuff at "Planet Chocolate," or design your own blockbuster in "Build a Bar." (It's just like Build-a-Bear, but way more delicious.)

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Ex-Top Chef Contestant Heats Things Up in Philly, No Seitan in Sight

Pierced and tattooed to the nines, recently booted Top Chef contestant Jennifer Zavala claimed to have a fiery temper on the first episode of this season, but her dish—a disastrous seitan-stuffed pepper—was anything but hot and enticing. It looked and apparently tasted like a mealy, flavorless mess, which ultimately confused the judges and sent her packing.

But Zavala, like many other Top Chef hopefuls, isn't a culinary novice and won't be crying over her Santoku knife now that she's returned to Philadelphia. Hot like fire Zavala, whose cooking, we hope, doesn't always go the way of bland vegan fare, is a sous chef at Philly's Xochitl. Say it with us: so-cheet. There she helps whip up new Mexican cuisine that's familiar, but with a modern, elevated twist.

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Take an 'Always Sunny' Trip To Philadelphia

We're pained to admit that the Philadelphia shown in the F/X show "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" is only slightly realer than the New York of "Friends" or the Miami of "The Golden Girls." Still, even if you can't get a drink at Paddy's Pub, you can follow in their footsteps in the City of Brotherly Love (of the non-McPoyle kind).

If you haven't tuned in, the motley crew of "Always Sunny" run a fictional Irish bar in South Philly, which somehow leaves them time to insult and cheat anyone they possibly can. Philadelphia Tourism suggests Dirty Frank's in Center City (347 S. 13th St.) and the East Side Saloon (1823 W. Moyamensing Ave.), but any kind of dive that you can hang out in without getting thrown out of for saying something offensive would be a good bet.

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Tags: Drinking Travel / Drunk Travel / Bars / Prohibition / Drinking / Booze / Beer / → All Tags

Buy a Beer from the World's Oldest Bartender Before He Retires

All good things must come to an end, and such is the case with the bartending career of Angelo Cammarata. At 95 years young, he's the world's oldest bartender, but he plans to finally throw in the bar towel some time in the next couple of weeks. As an interesting AP story points out, Cammarata served his first drink - a bottle of Fort Pitt beer - at his father's grocery store just moments after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. He's been slinging the sauce ever since and only rarely indulges in alcohol himself, one of those secrets to a long life that we'd rather not hear on a Saturday.

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Anchors Aweigh: An Endangered Ocean Liner Up For Sale In Philly

Diners at IKEA look out at the SS United States

Buried deep beneath our professed love of air travel is a true loyalty to the history of transatlantic liners and travel by ship. After all, our grandparents came to the US on the liner SS Bremen and relatives later traveled on the grand SS United States, with both ships winning the coveted Blue Riband—an award for fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.

Although airplanes have long displaced boats as the preferred means of transatlantic travel, with ships relegated to pleasure cruises (even though Cunard makes a hearty effort to retain the grandeur), even the history of these beautiful behemoths is at stake.

Case in point: Just outside of Philadelphia's IKEA store along the river, sits the dilapidated hulk of the once-grand SS United States, her sleek lines and art deco appeal marred by rust and general lack of upkeep. Plopped in her spot at Pier 82 since 1996, the United States has been waiting and waiting for her owners, Star Cruise of Hong Kong (aka Norwegian Cruise Line) to make good on their promises to transform her into a Hawaii cruise ship.

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Tags: Best Factory Tours / Food Travel / Philadelphia Travel / → All Tags

Crunchy, Salty, and Fried Await You At The Herr's Snack Factory Tour

If you find yourself in Philadelphia and are coming up short on new things to do, you can always search for the origins of tortilla chips outside of the city. The Herr’s company in Nottingham is happy to show you around their digs—just think of it as a very technical episode of MTV Cribs. Discover where the fake cheese comes from and how it’s sprayed onto the chips. Best of all, the tour is totally free.

All tours last for about an hour, and all you have to do is call ahead and let them know that you are coming. They take a break for lunch everyday, so it’s best to schedule your trip for the morning or in the early afternoon. Oh, and Fridays are hit or miss, since they can’t guarantee that they’ll be making stuff on those days.

This isn’t some fake themed tour either; this is the real deal. There’s the authentic machinery and the people throwing your chips, pretzels, and other snacky goodness into their boxes for shipment. We aren’t sure if you’ll need to wear a hair net, but we can only hope that’s the case. Maybe if you’re polite they’ll even let you jump on the line and inspect the potatoes.

Related Stories:
· Herr's Snack Factory Tour [Official Site]
· Three Times The Fun With Blue Bell's Ice Cream Tours [Jaunted]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: typicalgenius]