How we’re celebrating Restaurant Week
The fall edition of Restaurant Week is about to kick off. From Sept. 13 to 25, enjoy specials at dozens of Center City restaurants – three-course dinners for only $35, and, at a few places, three-course lunches for $20 per person. Visitphilly.com has more details, and centercityphila.org has a complete list of participating restaurants. Don’t forget that the special prices do not include alcoholic beverages, tax or gratuity. Here are a few of the places we’re hitting up, along with more details.
a.kitchen + bar
a.kitchen + a.bar are both contemporary American restaurants located in AKA Rittenhouse Square in the heart of Center City. a.kitchen boasts one of the country’s most innovative wine and spirits programs and has been named One of America’s Best Wine Restaurants by Wine Enthusiast and received the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator. 135 S. 18th St. | 215.825.7030 | akitchenandbar.com
Bud & Marilyn’s
This is the place for great food plus drink with genuine hospitality in the neighborhood. It is American inspired and focuses on simple, well-prepared comfort food. 1234 Locust St. | 215.546.2220 | budandmarilyns.com
Gabi
Gabi is an authentic, all-day French café in the heart of Center City. Its goal is simple – to provide fast, affordable and delectable French café cuisine. Gabi will have all of the classics: onion soup and beef tartare, salads Niçoise and Lyonnaise, well as French sandwiches like Pan Bagnat and Croque Madame. 339 North Broad Street | 215.375.7744 | www.gabirestaurant.com
Melograno BYOB
Roman-born Chef Gianluca Demontis creates fresh memorable dishes in his kitchen in Rittenhouse Square. Melograno is a staple in Philadelphia’s famous and ever-growing food scene. 2012 Sansom St. | 215.875.8116 | melogranophilly.com
Parking
Restaurant Week deals don’t end with the meals. Throughout the promotion, patrons can park for $9 or less at participating parking lots and facilities between 4:45 p.m. and 1 a.m. by presenting a voucher from participating Center City District Restaurant Week eateries. Visitphilly.com has a list.
Win free dinners
Center City District Restaurant Week patrons also have a chance to win dinner once a week for a year at select Center City restaurants. More details are available on the Center City District Restaurant Week website. Sign up for email alerts, filled with promotions and event info, and be entered for a chance to win the Fall 2020 CCD Restaurant Week contest. Four grand prize winners will receive twelve $50 gift cards at select Center City restaurants.
More ways to enjoy food
No worries if you can’t make it to Restaurant Week. There are all kinds of food and drink opportunities coming up – some you even can participate in yourself.
Jazz night
Join Brut Lounge & Enigma Restaurant in Feasterville Trevose for “Jazz Night” on Sept. 14 from 7-8:30pm. The event, which will also be live-streamed from Metronome Facebook page, will feature world-class jazz artists, including Denise King, a Philly native with a world-class reputation as she has performed on stages in Paris and Japan. 146 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville.
Evening in Franklin Square
On Sept. 17, Historic Philadelphia will host the annual Evening in Franklin Square fundraiser. Because the park was forced to close its doors until mid-July in response to COVID-19, the annual tradition will continue virtually. The program will last from 5:30 – 6:30pm and include live activities such as the Parx Square Derby, Silent Auction and special guests throughout the evening, hosted by 6abc’s Rick Williams. Guests will receive a delicious five-course meal delivered to their homes in time for the event. The elegant Party Box for two includes charcuterie, shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, a duet of organic free-range chicken breast and Atlantic salmon, and Frangelico cheesecake. For more information and to purchase tickets or sponsorship packages, visit historicphiladelphia.org.
Dinner and movie
Urban Farmer, Philadelphia’s “rustic chic” modern American steakhouse, and The Logan Hotel, have announced Outdoor Dinner & A Movie, featuring a three-course menu and classics from the ‘80s and ‘90s in The Logan Hotel Courtyard, every Thursday from Sept. 10 to Oct. 1 from 6:30-10pm. Guests will enjoy a three-course menu from Urban Farmer Executive Chef Sonny Ingui plus popcorn, snacks, and more under the stars while watching classics such as “The Wedding Singer” and “Back to the Future” on an oversized projector screen. Check out exploretock.com for tickets. $75 to $100.
A Second Helping of Restaurant History
Weeknights at the Wagner’s fall 2020 season opens with a smorgasbord of restaurant stories from Elliott Shore and Katie Rawson, authors of “Dining Out: A Global History of Restaurants.” Come to the virtual table for more restaurant history, including their definition of a restaurant, ethnic restaurants through the ages, a look at Philadelphia’s restaurant history, grand hotels, restaurant chains and moveable restaurant feasts. Presented by Wagner Free Institute of Science. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 6:30 – 7:45pm | Free | eventbrite.com
A Taste of the Caribbean
Dreaming of an island getaway? Be transported through cooking and experience a taste of the Caribbean at home. Chef Shayla will lead a plant-forward cooking class featuring the tropical flavors of the Caribbean. Participants will receive a grocery and equipment list a week prior, for those who would like to cook along. For more information, email kitchen@freelibrary.org. Presented by Culinary Literacy Center. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 6 – 7pm | $10 | eventbrite.com
Sopa de Lentejas y Chorizo
Join Jezabel Careaga, Philadelphia-based entrepreneur and chef, for a virtual cooking class featuring an Argentinian staple: Sopa de Lentejas y Chorizo (Spanish sausage and lentils soup). Participants will receive a grocery and equipment list a week prior, for those who would like to cook along. After intensive training and a very formative work experience in an 800-room hotel in Miami, she moved to Philadelphia to start her own business, Jezabel’s Café, which opened its doors in June 2010. Presented by Culinary Literacy Center. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 6 – 7:30pm | $20 | eventbrite.com
How we’re enjoying the arts
It’s definitely time to celebrate the arts in Philly. In addition to all things Fringe, there are a number of events scheduled for the coming weeks.
Doah Lee: Hate Alphabet
Hate Alphabet contains many meanings, referring all at once to Doah Lee’s frustration in learning a new language, to the hostility that she saw brought to bear against fellow non-native speakers when their struggles with language marked them as immigrants, and to the anger she felt in witnessing this mistreatment. On view until Sept. 25. Virtual artist talk on Sept. 12 from 4-5pm. Fjordspace.com
‘Undisciplined Pleasures, Vigilant Defiance’
Twelve Gates Arts presents “Undisciplined Pleasures, Vigilant Defiance,” Sarah Khan’s solo show, curated by Anna Arabindan Kesson. Inspired by the Sultanate miniature paintings in the 16th-century Central Indian cookbook “The Book of Delights” written for Sultan Ghiyath Shah (1469-1500), Khan has radically reimagined the Sultan’s harem comprised of African, Arab, Turkic, and Central Asian women in the recouped “City of Joy.” In a series of 10 editioned prints, Khan offers an alternative universe where assertive, empowered women, no longer in positions of servitude, engage and care for each other. Twelve Gates Arts. On view till Sept. 19 | 106 North 2nd Street | twelvegatesarts.org.
‘Futures Passed’
In their first collaboration, artists Roxana Azar and Alex Kovacs position their opposite material and aesthetic sensibilities in a series of installation vignettes. These pairings transform and complement the individual pieces within, creating new shrines and portals that are dislocated from specific historical or cultural context; simultaneous artifacts and futuristic discoveries. Until Sept. 19. Paradigm Gallery, 746 South 4th Street | paradigmarts.org
Julie Alexander – ‘React and Reveal’
This show has been extended through Thursday, Sept. 17. “React and Reveal” showcases Alexander’s attentive and responsive printmaking process, which motivates a playful, highly imaginative and deeply cathartic approach to engage with materials and create images. This process instills a balance of exerting control and embracing chance. This leads to revelations as the artist constructs each piece, providing an energetic momentum that spurs visual content from one image to the next. Artspace 1241 | 1241 Carpenter Street | 1241carpenter.com
Rittenhouse art
This year, due to COVID-19, the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show will be virtual, with 101 artists from all over the U.S. and Canada showing their original artwork online, Sept. 10-13. Artwork will be available for purchase throughout the weekend on the RSFAS online gallery at rittenhousesquareart.com. Special artists’ appearances, such as art technique demonstrations, artist interviews, interactive art sessions, and video conferencing with individual artists by Zoom will occur virtually throughout the event. Art patrons will experience the live events throughout the show, Sept. 10-13, by visiting the website.
‘A Month of Sundays’
Take It Away Dance returns to the Philly Fringe Festival for “A Month of Sundays,” a tap dance and jazz music concert live-streamed every Sunday afternoon, during the Fringe. Each week, a new show. Each week, anything can happen. For this four-show run, the group will present new choreography that features the music of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones and Ray Brown. To keep it fresh each week, special guests will drop by every Sunday…and get ready, because they will take your music requests throughout the show. Fringarts.com
Virtual events coming up soon
Virtual events continue to be the mainstay as the economy and venues slowly begin to reopen. Here are some of our favorites. Visit eventbrite.com for all of the details, ticket info and more.
Philadelphia online meet-up
Discuss Philadelphia’s cultural significance, musical landscape and the importance of networking in the community! Panelists: Chill Moody – artist and entrepreneur, Ash Kernen – entertainment attorney, Yaya – founder of TRFE, Karas Lamb – music journalist, Julian King – singer, The Bul Bey – artist, Brandon Nales – head of content and artist relations for the Digilogue. Thursday, Sept. 10, 7 – 8:30pm. Free
Art and Social Responsibility Today
Two outstanding artists talk about making art for public spaces and the relationship between art-making and the political and social events occurring around them. Karyn Olivier is an artist, Pew Fellow and associate professor of Sculpture at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University. Ken Lum is an artist, writer, Pew Fellow and Marilyn Jordan Taylor Presidential Professor and Chair of Fine Arts at Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania. Presented by Artblog. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 6:30 – 7:30 | Donations
Charles Latham and the Borrowed Band
After a decade of wandering, from Philadelphia to Nashville to Memphis to the U.K., singer-songwriter Charles Latham returned to North Carolina in late 2014, laying roots down in Durham. Latham wields an acid tongue and a poison pen, crafting social criticism, tragicomic narratives, and brutal self-analysis into ramshackle country-rock songs. Join the band for this album release party. Friday, Sept. 18, 7 – 8:30pm | Donations
Design to Disrupt & Reimagine Education
Thought leaders Neferteri Strickland and Benita Gordon have come together to cultivate the COVID collision of entrepreneurship and education. As a Design to Disrupt and Reimagine Education solution, the Edupreneur Roundtable is an interactive conversation series designed to support education stakeholders from the idea to pitch phases. Presented by Venture Café Philadelphia. Thursday, Sept. 10, 5 – 6pm | Free
Dox Thrash House Preservation Campaign
The historic home and legacy of prolific African American printmaker Dox Thrash, located in Sharswood, are threatened. For the past four years, a group of volunteers has been planning a campaign to open an arts and social services hub within the Thrash house. This summer, they launched the Black Futures Campaign with a goal of raising $100k toward their vision. Join for a discussion of the project. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 5 – 6pm | Free
Recovery and Renaissance for North Broad
Many planners and designers have considered how to successfully pivot, grow, and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but how can we ensure that the recovery is inclusive? Shalimar Thomas, director of The North Broad Street Renaissance, a nonprofit and Special Services District, will bring her knowledge and experience of inclusive growth along the North Broad Street Corridor to a discussion of lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. She will examine how current development can promote inclusive recovery and benefit the future of the corridor and greater Philadelphia. Presented by Design Advocacy Group. Tuesday, Sept. 15, 10am – 11:30pm | Free
