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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."
Tags: Tourism Boards / Philadelphia Travel / Diverse Travel / → All Tags
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: Top Chef / Top Chef Travel / Philadelphia Travel / Food Travel / → All Tags
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.
Tags: Television Travel / It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia / Philadelphia Travel / → All Tags
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.
Tags: Ships / Philadelphia Travel / Travel News / Cruise Travel / → All Tags
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.
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: [Photo: typicalgenius]
· Herr's Snack Factory Tour [Official Site]
· Three Times The Fun With Blue Bell's Ice Cream Tours [Jaunted]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Celeb Travel / Music Travel / Concerts / Reese Witherspoon / Jake Gylenhaal / Elton John / Billy Joel / Philadelphia Travel / → All Tags
Reese and Jake See The Piano Men in Philly
Along with sun and sand and summer cocktails, summertime means great outdoor concerts and lovebirds Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon have been taking advantage of outdoor concerts from coast to coast.
Last month, the ridiculously good-looking duo were spotted at the Van Morrison concert at the Hollywood Bowl and this past Saturday, they took her two kids to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia.
JustJared.com says :
Deacon had the best view in the house, sitting stop Jake’s shoulders. During the 3-1/2 hour show, Elton dedicated the song “Tiny Dancer” to Reese, saying, “Reese, this one’s for you, girl.”
The happy family danced to “Crocodile Rock” with Reese and Jake bumping their hips together.
Bumping their hips together? Well, we guess they were trying to keep it all "kid-friendly."
Tags: Comfort Food Restaurants / Restaurants / Food Travel / Philadelphia Travel / → All Tags
All Mac-and-Cheese, All the Time
Here's a restaurant only the recession could create. Swallow Bistro opened a couple years back in Philadelphia's up-and-coming trendy neighborhood, Northern Liberties. But when the economy tanked last fall, the bistro's $15 entrees got a little hard for Philly diners to swallow, and the restaurant made a recession-era decision: they went all mac-and-cheese, all the time.
Yep, Swallow Bistro now exclusively serves this comfort food classic, made with your choice of cheeses, from good ol' American to foodie-r choices like gorgonzola or goat cheese, and topped with some pretty oddball options, like gyro meat, shrimp, and peas.
Some of that sounds a little kooky for us, but we could go for a bacon spinach and garlic plate, stat. Fortunately, you can design your own mac. Cheez fanatics can pair it with a side of nacho cheddar cheese fries, and if you're still craving comfort, there's brownie a la mode for dessert.
Related Stories:
· Swallow Bistro [Official Site]
· The Five Best Comfort Food Restaurants in New York [Jaunted]
· Recession Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Dan Callahan]
Tags: Back of the Envelope Guides / Film Festivals / Marc Webb / Joseph Gordon-Levitt / Zooey Deschanel / Alfre Woodard / Jeff Daniels / Philadelphia Travel / Film Festival Travel / Recession Travel / → All Tags
The Philadelphia Film Festival Begins Tonight
Today, The Philadelphia Film Festival and Cinefest 09 kicks off in Philadelphia. The 12-day festival includes several special events like awards ceremonies honoring Jeff Daniels and Alfre Woodard and Danger After Dark, a collection of the most horrifying genre films from around the world. In addition, Daniels will be attending a screening of his latest, The Answer Man, which also happens to be the opening film at the Sonoma International Film Festival next week.
Where to Stay:
You don’t have to worry so much about the cost of tickets to the festival because you can get a hotel room in the City of Brotherly Love for only a dollar a night. That’s right, The Alexander Inn is offering $1 rooms, Thursday-Sunday, through May 21st. Of course, there are stipulations. The rooms will only be confirmed with advanced reservations on a first-come, first-serve basis for the first night of the guests' stays and you may only make one reservation for one room during the promotion. To guarantee a reservation you can contact the inn by telephone at (215) 923-3535, or 1-877-253-9466.
Tags: Food Travel / Philadelphia Travel / Gelato / → All Tags
Philly's Anti-Cheesesteak: Capogiro Gelato
What you see above is a trio of scrumptiousness; a selection of true gelato in the palate-pleasing flavors of Pear Bourbon, Thai Coconut Milk and Dark Chocolate. At Philadelphia's Capogiro Gelato, a bevy of the brand's gelato and sorbetto flavors means that you are safely ensconced in within an anti-cheesesteak forcefield.
Capogiro is Philly's answer to the Pinkberry explosion of both coasts, except that Capo is keeping it real with straight-up homemade gelato available in more than just two measly flavors. With two locations of their own in Philly, one by Rittenhouse Square and the other in Midtown Village, Capogiro is more than just a tourist's pleasure.
The list of gelato varieties alone is enough to keep the locals addicted. We're not even going to get into the thrill of seasonal specialties, but we will divulge a few of their more exotic choices: lemon bourbon mint, sweet potato with pecan praline, rosemary honey goat's milk and ginger with sesame brittle. Of course they've got the classic Italian standbys like espresso, hazelnut and stracciatella (chocolate chip), but since we aren't in Rome, we don't always have to do as the Romans do.
Related Stories:
· Capogiro Gelato [Official Site]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Philadelphia Travel / Budget Travel / Bus Travel / Megabus / → All Tags
How To Spend a Weekend in Philly for Under $100
The Betsy Ross House
Taking a cue from guidebooks like Europe on $80 a Day, we set up a challenge to see if taking a weekend trip from New York City was feasible for under $100. Unlike those guidebooks, this amount was to mean everything from accommodations to transportation for one person on a quest to enjoy the city.
Utilizing specials like the Megabus sale and dining seasonally, which in Philadelphia means cheesesteak, we managed to make it in well under the mark at a total of $93.81. It's just more proof that the recession can't suffocate wanderlust if travel brands continue to offer discounts. So what did we do in Philly, anyway?
