Though it opened a few months ago, many West Philly Local readers may not be familiar with Hadramout Restaurant, a Yemeni eatery located at 136 S. 45th Street (between Walnut and Sansom, just across from the AICP mosque).

Hadramout serves generous portions of traditional Yemeni dishes, many of which feature ingredients and flavors not often seen in American eateries. Among these dishes are molokhia chicken (chicken with cooked greens), saltah with holba (beef stew with fenugreek topping, served with fresh-baked flatbread), haneeth (pressure-cooked lamb) and Yemeni milk tea (shahi haleeb). All the meat is halal, slaughtered in accordance with Islamic dietary law.

Hadramout offers both takeout and dine-in options, with delivery a possibility for the future. The restaurant is open until 10 at night, 7 days a week.

– Mike VanHelder

The City is ready to unveil the green infrastructure improvements at Malcolm X Park. New green tools installed at the park will manage approximately 84,000 gallons of stormwater runoff from surrounding streets each time the neighborhood gets an inch of rain.

The reconstruction of the sidewalks around the perimeter of the park also included planting nearly 30 new trees that are specially designed to hold enough stormwater to fill three water tanks the size of SEPTA buses. These trees will filter millions of gallons of captured runoff over the course of a year.

A special ribbon-cutting event with the participation of City officials and representatives of neighborhood organizations will take place tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 2), beginning at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a free concert featuring Tony “TNT” Jones & Beyond the Dream as part of the bi-weekly Jazz Heritage Series.  Continue Reading

The annual Street Movies! program by the West Philly-based media arts organization Scribe Video Center that celebrates the cultural histories of Philadelphia neighborhoods, returns this month for its 21st season. The program features free outdoor film screenings and live performances at public parks across the city. This year, Scribe will present a range of short films, from internationally recognized award-winning fiction, documentary, and animation to local community- and youth-produced works.

Live performances will be by some of our region’s most talented artists, including Philadelphia’s first Poet Laureate Sonia Sanchez (who will be at Malcolm X. Park!), poet and recording artist Ursula Rucker, experimental music project Moor Mother by Camae Ayewa, bomba and plena group Los Bomberos De La Calle, Chinese dance studio L&M Dance Studio, singer and sound artist Jacqueline Constance, award-winning lyricist and author Lyrispect, and dance group Cambodian American Girls Empowering (CAGE).  Continue Reading