Jaunted

--The New York Times Sunday Styles Section declared Philadelphia the "Sixth Borough", but the Pennsylvania Society holds in annual meetings in New York City, and the author of the Times article admitted selling Philadelphia to New Yorkers was "like giving a dog a pill".

--Stephen Starr is opening outposts of his Philadelphia restaurants Morimoto and Buddakan here in New York City to a wave of positive press coverage, but he was last widely inked for selling a $100 Cheesesteak (replete with foie gras, kobe beef, and truffles) at his restaurant Barclay Prime.

--A bright spot? Philadelphia's hotels! There's a wealth of luxury riches, and weekend rates at the Sofitel go as low as $165/night.

--Philadelphia directed funding to attract gay tourists ("Get Your History Straight But your Nightlife Gay"), but one state representative fired off a memo, complaining they were funding "immoral behaviors". Maybe the 30% increase in tourist dollars since the campaign would make him feel differently?

Full side by side travel media, web finds below. The truth, as always, probably lies somewhere in between.

	Travel Media	Interweb
Overall	National Geographic Traveler says: Next Great City: Philly, Really	Internet Entrepreneur Joel Comm: Apart from historic downtown, Philadelphia is not a pretty city. It is dirty, run-down, poorly kept.
Selling Philly Hype	NYTimes on selling Philly to New Yorkers: It’s kind of like when you give a dog a pill–you wrap it in something you know they like, such as cheese.	New Yorkers: Grrr.
Dining	gophila.com on cheesesteak: Those who think cheesesteak when thinking Philly food: Think again.	Philly's hottest restauranteur : "I believe you will have the rich guy in there who will say, 'Cheesesteaks for the table. And buy one for the guy over there.
Hotels	USA TODAY talks Park Hyatt Philly: delivers the elegance and luxury of a bygone era, with its marble staircase, and ornate ceiling scrollwork in its lobby and ballrooms that glitter with crystal chandeliers and intricate lighting designed by Thomas Edison. Each guest room was recently refurbished with top-of-the-line décor and bedding, and business amenities such as computer data ports.	Reviewer Talks Park Hyatt Philly: The room was tiny with barely enough room to walk in between the bed and the tv stand. The A/C seemed broken; it was set to 50 but felt like 80. The room smelled musty. It obviously had not been recently renovated.
Nightlife	gophila.com says: Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay	A Pennsylvania State Representative says: "We should not ask constituents to fund behavior that is against their religious and moral beliefs."

[Update: More interweb chatter on the overratedness of Morimoto and Buddakan...]

[Geno's Image via public good/Flickr]