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What do Schoolly D, dollar samosas and a parklet have in common?

August 3, 2011

stroll
Click to enlarge

They will all be on Baltimore Avenue tomorrow.

The monthly Baltimore Avenue Stroll, which runs tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., will feature the usual large selection of dollar items – from cans of beer and samosas to theater tickets and ice cream. But new additions include the city’s first “parklet,” which will be officially unveiled a few hours before the stroll begins. As we reported earlier, the parklet is on 43rd Street, adjacent to the Green Line Cafe.

As part of the celebration DJ Osagie will play some tunes in the parklet.

Speaking of music, there will be a lot of action at the west end of the stroll this time. None other than Schoolly D, a gangsta rap original, will be DJing outside Elena’s Soul, which will be serving dollar wings, yams, potato salad, mac and cheese. Schoolly D also has a song, “West Philly,” on the downloadable “West Philly Mix Tape.” You can pickup a card that gives you access to the download at the University City District table, which is usually located near the Calvary Center at 48th and Baltimore.

The Philly rock band The Makes will be performing and the new Mediterranean restaurant Aksum (4630 Baltimore Ave.) will participate in its first Dollar Stroll. There will likely be more food trucks in the mix this time too. For a rundown of vendors, click on the image.

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Ramadan hours for some spots start today

August 1, 2011

saad's
The sign on Saad’s door says it all.

Ramadan starts today and while we are happy that our Muslim friends and neighbors get to observe this holy month of fasting and prayer, we’re sad that a few of our favorite food spots will be closed or have their hours drastically curtailed.

Saad’s Halal Restaurant, for example, is closed this month. The following is a short list (for now) of Ramadan hours for neighborhood food spots. We will keep adding to it. If you know of any to add, please drop a comment below.

Saad’s Halal Restaurant (4500 Walnut St.)

Closed for the entire month.

Manakeesh Cafe and Bakery (4420 Walnut St.)

Opens at sunset each night. Each night includes a signature dish. See the Ramadan menu here (Facebook page).

Kabobeesh (4201 Chestnut St.)

Open regular hours. Free Iftar, the fast-breaking meal, for those fasting for the month.

Wah Gi Wah (4447 Chestnut St.)

Open regular hours.

 

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West Philly voted most underrated hood for food, Rave gets worst theater. Update: Honest Tom!

July 30, 2011

Philly

UPDATE: Holy Cow. We forgot Honest Tom. His rolling shop won “Best Food Truck.” They write: “Fish, plantain or chicken-and-pork tacos – it’s whatever you ate last that you’ll tell everyone you love best.”

Raise your hand and pat yourselves on the backs West Philly restauranteurs. Philadelphia Magazine named West Philadelphia the “Most Underrated Food Neighborhood” in its “Best of Philly” issue, which hit newsstands this week.

The blurb for the award reads: “Desi Chaat House. Kabobeesh. Vietnam Cafe. Abyssinia. Manakeesh. Vientiane. Gold Standard. Dock Street. Kilimanjaro. Heard enough? Next time you’re bored with the Philly food scene, buy a compass, turn west and start walking.”

Other West Philadelphia winners include the West Philly Tool Library (1314 S. 47th St.), which the magazine deservedly named “Best DIYers Secret.” Go check them out. They have a big new space now and more tools than you can shake a pipe wrench at.

Biba Wine Bar (3131 Walnut St.) and its sister establishment in Center City, Tria, were named best place to get a “Wine Education on the Cheap.” Speaking of potent potables, Capogiro (3925 Walnut St.) won for best “Use of a Liquor License” for its sorbet/alcohol combos.

Penn’s Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli won for best, ahem, “Westward Expander.” The magazine noted that he was “the brain behind a 30-year plan for campus and surrounding community that’s already boosted everything from retail to real estate to West Philly’s image.”

But Penn takes one in the bread basket in the “Worst of Philly” category for “Worst Movie Theater” for Rave (240 S. 40th St.), which is housed in a Penn-owned property. The blurb: “We thought the most obnoxious, cell-ohone using and downright rude crowd was at Riverview or Maybe Franklin Mills Mall. But it turns out that it is on Penn’s campus. For Shame.” Yikes.

 

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Inky article details the sweet life of Urban Apiaries

July 28, 2011

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a nice piece today on Urban Apiaries, the citywide honey operation co-owned by Annie Baum-Stein of Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave.).

Local cheese blogger Tenaya Darlington, aka Madame Fromage, penned the article, which details the “ultra local” honey – bottled by zip code – that Urban Apiaries will begin to sell next month. Honey made in the city, the article explains, often has more taste diversity than country honey because of the wide variety of flowers. Honey from the operations hives in Mt. Airy, for example, tastes different than that from the rooftop hives above Milk and Honey here in West Philly.

Click here for the entire article.

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In search of water ice

July 22, 2011

iceThe temperatures are expected to top 100 today and many people, kids and adults alike, will rush to water ice vending trucks and carts in the hood to stay cool.

But, if the trucks are not in sight where do you get your fix?

A couple of places that we like are located on Spruce Street (between 48th and 49th). Quick Stop Deli (4832 Spruce St) and Great Taste Chinese Food restaurant (right next door at 4834 Spruce St) have several flavors of water ice on tap.

If you know of any other shops or restaurants selling water ice please share information about them below. And by “water ice” we mean the delicious soft serve kind, not the pre-packaged one.

 

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A Bee-utiful Saturday in West Philly

July 16, 2011

beekeeping
Beekeeper Daniel Duffy explains the ins and outs of raising bees on Saturday in Woodlands Cemetery. (Photo by West Philly Local)

 

A few dozen of West Philly residents gathered near the community bee hives in Woodlands Cemetery on Saturday to learn about urban beekeeping and the subtleties of local as part of “Sustainable Saturdays,” a University City District program to highlight local food.

Local beekeeper Daniel Duffy provided those who attended a glimpse inside the hives at the Woodlands Cemetery Community Apiary, where amateur beekeepers are harvesting amazing honey and experimenting with ways to help strengthen the bee population. Bees have taken a beating in recent years. Populations have declined at alarming rates probably due to a combination of pesticides, monoculture farming and parasitic mites.

Luckily for city dwellers, bees often do better in town than in the country thanks to the diversity of flowers. Flowers from Clark Park, community gardens, flower boxes and Cobbs Creek, make for a variety of honey tints and textures. That diversity also makes for some interesting honey, which participants got to sample during Saturday’s event.

Urban Apiaries provided Saturday’s honey samples. Brought to you by the same folks who run Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave.), Urban Apiaries maintains a handful of apiaries (the official word for a cluster of hives) in the city, including one on top of Milk and Honey’s building and another on a warehouse roof in North Philly.

honey
Annie Baum-Stein of Milk and Honey Market passes out free samples of local honey.

 

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