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More Philly Photos Just For You

November 21, 2006 at 5:32 PM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that. Our thoughts are scattered below. Enjoy.

Head on over the the Jaunted Flickr pool to view a batch of new pictures not included in our Philadelphia Field Trip posts. From brunch to art to street art and back to brunch again, it's a small but satisfying sample of what Philly has to offer (we were there for fewer than 48 hours, after all).

Final thoughts on Philly? If you're a New Yorker with a chip on your shoulder, it could be hard to stomach. Let the embarassment of the New York Times' "6th borough" headline go, because Philadelphia doesn't think it's New York, and it doesn't want to be either. Philly's pretty big, but still a small town at heart. The music and dining scenes are certainly bustling, though, and not in a trying-too-hard way. A new BYOB is usually just a step away, and it isn't as hard as it once was to find a good show to go to every night of the week. We won't be moving there, but wouldn't mind returning for some shopping and a meal.

We may be back home now, but we still welcome your Philly tips with open arms. Leave 'em in the comments or send to tips [at] jaunted [d-o-t] com.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]

PhillyStyle: Brunch at Sabrina's

November 15, 2006 at 11:56 AM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that.  Our thoughts are scattered below.  Enjoy.

Philadelphia is at no shortage for good french toast, but Sabrina's is one of the city's most popular places to eat it and other brunch goodness. Also a BYOB, Sabrina's is the tradition to Rx's hippie crunch. The wait at Sabrina's can be brutal, but if you arrive early, say around 8 am, you can avoid the worst of it.

On the menu are several decadent varieties of french toast, most stuffed to the gills with fruit and farmer's cheese. You can also get pancakes, eggs, and more lunch-like sandwiches. It's hard to go wrong here, though even "healthy" options like the egg whites are quite buttery, but Sabrina's pretty much does its bread products best. Just the mention of it to our Philly friends prompted stories of all the varieties of french toast they'd eaten there in the past.

As a bonus, you can catch some of Philly's scariest street art right around the corner on 9th street. The entire Italian Market area, within which Sabrina's is located, is full of murals. Check out our favorite piece after the jump.

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PhillyStyle: Tacconelli's Pizza

November 13, 2006 at 11:54 AM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that. Our thoughts are scattered below. Enjoy.

Can you tell the difference between those two pizzas? No, but can you really tell the difference? It's not as simple as you think. One will get you a verbal lashing and the other won't. That would be the plain versus the spinach-mushroom-and-peppers, and it's the former that will keep your ass safe.

At Tacconelli's Pizza, a famous casual pizza joint in Philadelphia, it pays to plan ahead. In fact, as you may have heard, if you don't order your dough in advance here, you won't get any food, period. And because a major Tacconelli's strong point is the crispy, brick-oven-toasted crust of its pies, the menu specifically states that you basically aren't allowed to order more than three toppings on any one pizza. If you try to, your server will snap you back into place. Even the three-topping pie pictured above drew some hesitation from our waitress ("too many toppings and the crust starts to get soggy," she said), though she eventually let it slide because it was a three-vegetable pizza. She'd be happy to know that the crust on the plain did turn out to be the crispiest, and we ate three slices of it.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]

PhillyStyle: Drinks, Music & Eye Candy at Johnny Brenda's

November 10, 2006 at 10:07 AM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that. Our thoughts are scattered below. Enjoy.

Johnny Brenda's has been known as a popular tavern in Philly for a while, but it's just starting out as a venue for live music. Despite the newness of its club space, which opened in September, JB's is pulling in the choice bookings like it's a piece of cake. Philebrity calls the new live space "a long-in-coming home" for the surrounding Fishtown and Northern Liberties neighborhoods.

Johnny Brenda's isn't the only option for shows in the Fishtown area, but it may be the nicest. The live space, which is housed on the second and third floors of the tavern building (the namesake bar is on the first), features a balcony and, thanks to that, an extra-high ceiling from the second floor. It's not too big for the small rock shows, but doesn't feel like a shoebox. While it's been done up nicely, it still retains some of the bar's grungy charm. Start your night out with a snack and drink at the bar, and move upstairs for the music (and more drinks if you wish). Bonus: keep an eye out for hottie co-owner William Reed--hey, we never said this was gonna be deep.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]

PhillyStyle: Chocolate Overload

November 9, 2006 at 2:06 PM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that. Our thoughts are scattered below. Enjoy.

One thing we heard from quite a few Philadelphians on our trip is that Philly doesn't really have many celebrities...besides Will Smith and ?uestlove. As a result, a lot of "local characters," such as bloggers and restaurant owners and the like, become Philly's celebrity equivalent. Joey Sweeney of Philebrity is one example we heard cited. Tom Block, though we didn't hear him specifically namechecked in those conversations, could certainly be another.

Block co-founded Thomas Sweet Ice Cream & Chocolate, a popular Jersey-based chain. He had plans to retire from the chocolate business, but before he could, his daughter Sara scooped him up for another venture. The two co-own and run Naked Chocolate, a Walnut Street desert café. The elder Block, thanks to his looks and jovial demeanor, reminds us of Willa Wonka and is definitely a treasure.

He and Sara serve up delicious hot chocolate, plus truffles and baked goods, all day. Naked Chocolate isn't a bakery in the traditional sense--they don't open super-early to offer muffins for your pre-work breakfast--but they do have a great brownie equivalent they like to call a "nudo." You can grab one with a coffee at 10 am, or come in after dinner to top off your food coma. We weren't able to see one for ourselves, but we hear Sara has also prepared Turkey-shaped blocks of chocolate in honor of Thanksgiving. Vegetarian, and SO much better than Tofurkey!

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]

PhillyStyle: Art Star

November 8, 2006 at 2:25 PM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that. Our thoughts are scattered below. Enjoy.

Art Star is an art gallery/design shop on Liberties Walk, a retail and residential development within Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood. The Walk is home to several other independent shops--no chains are allowed--and a built-in wifi signal. If those aren't good surroundings, we don't know what are. The shop is dedicated to local and emerging artists and whatever their wares may be: paintings, sweatshirts, plates, you name it.

Currently featured are the works of illustration whiz Jason Sho Green, in a show called "Mustaches & Other Musts." Exhibits rotate every six weeks, so you only have until November 19 to scope out and scoop up one of Green's works in person. Whether his bigger pieces are out of your budget or not, we recommend getting your holiday card shopping done during the show too. Green produces hilarious greeting cards with blank insides and faces that feature sentiments like "Thanks for Not Putting Babies in Me." For lovers of illustration and graphic art especially, his show, and Art Star itself, equals home.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]

PhillyStyle: City of Bloggerly Love

November 7, 2006 at 4:24 PM | 0 Comments


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that.  Our thoughts are scattered below.  Enjoy.

Philly's tourism board has jumped into the blog game with Uwishunu ("You Wish You Knew"), its newest online venture. Not to be outdone by all the other city blogs, they threw a party of their own at the Ironworks gym in Old City this past Friday night. It was a completely authentic experience, fresh smell of sweat included, perhaps because people really were working out during the party. If the party crowd serves as a trustworthy indication, Uwishunu's readers are young or young-ish, hip or at least apt to dress the part, and just as in love with free mini-pizza as you are.

The blog covers anything and everything Philadelphia, naturally, from the B.Y.O.B. scene to music to active pursuits and other urban miscellany. It's edited by the tourism board, but any old Philadelphian can submit a post by emailing them. You can even become a regular contributor, if you really love Philly and know your stuff. Hopes are high that locals will really make the blog their own by contributing posts and comments, setting it apart from the much-visited, but not as user-friendly likes of Philebrity and Phillyist. We say they could be onto something great, but you'll have to give them some time to build up their readership before you can really count on the blog for insider tips.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip coverage [Jaunted]

PhillyStyle: Rx Has Frittata, WiFi

November 6, 2006 at 3:56 PM | 1 Comment


At behest and via the courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Jaunted spent the weekend in 6th Borough for a sleepover and tour--meaning this trip was on Ben Franklin, Rocky, and Boyz II Men--or something like that. Our thoughts are scattered below. Enjoy.

Just yesterday we were consuming the above frittata at Rx. The restaurant is located in an adorable old house on a picturesque row of similarly cute dwellings in Philly's University City area. B.Y.O.B. joints are a dime a dozen in Philadelphia, and Rx is no exception: if you want to enjoy a mimosa with your brunch here, be prepared to bring the bubbly. If you prefer to get your kicks from coffee, Rx serves the good stuff in stainless steel mugs.

The restaurant is dedicated to local agriculture, and sources most of its food from local farmers. With the exception of a few items that customers demand--tomatoes year-round, for example--everything is not only local, but in season as well. A sample from November's dinner menu: Jersey fluke with local haricots verts and saffron shrimp risotto, listed at $18.

Rx also has free wifi, though it was so busy when we visited that we're not sure if they'd appreciate you plopping down with the laptop for an entire afternoon. We appreciate a note on the menu that reads "we can always come up with more vegetarian/vegan options if you need them," though we were told the breakfast tofu wasn't great. For brunch, why not go all-out and order the french toast? It isn't quite traditionally made, but if no one was around, we probably would have ordered an extra dish to go with our eggs. Toastporn and more after the jump.

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia Field Trip Coverage [Jaunted]

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