So where are they and what are they doing?  I’ll sit here and pontificate with my Chestnut Delight (thanks to the Chestnut St. Smoke Shop WHAT!?).  Please join me and comment as I’ve only lived in this fine city for three years now.

The first thing I think of when I think of Philly is South Street.  It’s not a touristy thing; it’s me coming here with my buddies to skate and hook out of school when we were sixteen.  You can say what you want about it but driving two hours to spend the day skating at Love Park and cruising South Street was a teenager’s view of heaven in 1993.  So we were too young to be turning down fiends asking for change but it was exciting.  The spot where Johnny Rockets is now used to house an old-school Star Trek pinball machine and I played that thing for longer than I thought possible when I was sixteen and my parents thought I was spending the night at my buddy’s house a few doors down.

That was the same time The Roots were out in the street looking for their big break and it’s before Zipperhead had to move around the corner.  It’s a time when a guy in the street would say “spare some change so I can get drunk and high?” and that seemed like the funniest thing in the world.  It’s a time when I first drank Brass Monkey and The Beasties were on 24/7.

Yeah, it’s a bit silly to romanticize.  But it’s my formative years.  It’s a good bit before I started getting really into food.  It’s disconcerting to walk down those same streets and see people following in the shadows of those memories.  South Street’s been ripped up.  All of the old trees were just replanted, the old stores are gone and riding a skateboard down the street used to be like riding an asphalt wave.  But those just got ripped out too.

So where does that leave us now?  Well South Street has lost all its romanticism and we’re going to have to wait another 10 years before those trees grow back.  The 9th Street Market has a hole every other shop.  But if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel it might be T & P Fine Art Gallery.

See, Los Angeles and San Francisco and New York have had wonderful modern art (pop) galleries like this for a long time. Philly has Olde City, a collaboration of the B&T crowd, bad restaurants that the Jersey crowd goes to on the weekend, and some really expensive galleries. Philly just isn’t big enough to support all of its artists in a tiny grouping of expensive blocks. Sure there are some well-to-do artists that get to show in places in Olde City but Philly, the birthing ground of Cornbread, has no place to show *street* artists. People that might not get a buy-in to expensive shows in Olde City.

So where better for the nascent underground/sticker/graffiti art scene than the remnants of an immigrant market built around the needs of locals? The Italian Market has the makings of an emergent underground art scene. It’s close to Center City, the rent is cheap and it already gets a ton of foot traffic. What’s to stop T & P from leading the charge?

The space is long and thin, with floor to ceiling pillars and tin ceilings. The walls are a soft yellow and banquets in a micro-fiber burgundy somehow manage to not make you think of McDonald’s-despite this being one of her least favorite colour combinations. The general decor is thoughtfully contrived and does not, unlike Parc, force you to think about how many workmen it took to recreate some fanciful ideal of an authentic French bistro.

The tables have white marble tops and clawfeet. There are photographs nicely framed on the wall and some authentic accoutrements are present without being overboard. The bar in the front has no seats but there are a number of two-tops at which couples can sit without being in the mix of patrons at the front door. It’s cozy and despite being completely packed at 60 diners in the main room manages to be very comfortable for normal conversation with your dining companion(s).

There was a crock for some nice dijon and a deeper one for cornichons which, though kind of silly to have to dig them out, was kind of fun. The bread is housemade. While it smells deliciously fresh and yeasty it was smallish and chewy. It was a bit hard to take apart. Slices of a bigger baguette would be easier but this was fun. It had a hard crust that I think may have been salted on the outside.

The pictures also depict her Lillet, which had too many icecubes but was nice to start, and my classic martini, which was perfect and served with a twist (Bluecoat). The butter was plain and not that mythical Pif butter (whose only difference was that it was served with the pink sea salt, by the way). We had arrived at 6:30, our optimal dining time unless you have the ability to dine at 8:00 or later.

The paté was wonderful. 2nd best I’ve ever had. It was moist and textured, mild and tangy from the pickle bits. Just about as good as it can get. Very obviously homemade and simply presented with the mustard and cornichons. The brioche was odd, to me, but also housemade, fresh and warm. The textures all went together very well and honestly if they’re going to continue to serve it with brioche I’ll be happy as a clam at high tide. Different to me but pleasingly so.

The tomato tart, much to my surprise (as a not-huge fan of tomatoes in certain forms) was the highlight of the evening. The crust was stunning. It had that perfect crust formulation where it goes from extremely crispy and flaky on the outside to sublimely lardy and moist below. Just above it was a layer of creme fraiche and on top of that were some skinned grape tomatoes. The tart went beyond my expectations by far and had a tangy and sweet and salty and buttery meld in every bite. Just as highly recommended as the paté but even more so. It was accompanied by a lightly-dressed green salad that was a perfect counterpoint both texturally and visually.

We took a look towards the open kitchen and noticed a beautiful array of (badly-photographed) copper pots. You could hear the cooks going back and forth from 12 feet away but it was more of a ballet than a caucophony; it blended in with the ambient music and the local conversation very nicely.

I have never had flammenkeuche (sp?) before so, being in the heady post-cocktail pre-prandial state of bliss that I was, I did not realize that it was a bit undercooked. It was a very thin pizza-style dough that was topped with boursin, caramelized onions and lardons. The lady was right in pointing out that the dough itself and the lardons were a bit undercooked but I didn’t notice myself. I thought it was sublime.

I should point out here that the bar was incompletely stocked. The restaurant decided to serve a white house bourdeaux and a red house bourdeaux free of charge. Both were fine table wines. The white was dry, tangy and crisp and the red was bold enough to stand up to the entrecoté and the rabbit without being too huge.

The rabbit was, for me, the least enjoyable. I found it a bit dry and the pasta too al dente for my tastes. It was to have been with a mustard sauce but I am a lover of the strongest of flavours and I thought there could have been much more mustarditude. She pointed out that perhaps some fresh tarragon could have helped it out of its mildness.

We asked for this MR but it came out R, which is acceptable in our book. Better R than M. But even though we know a ribeye tends to be fatty this seemed to me like it could have used some trimming. Honestly one of my favorites bistro dishes ever is a nice au poivre. If they could get a nice sear on a killer strip I’d be stopping in once a week. Still this was a really quality piece of meat and served with a good, though watery au gratin.

The clafouti should only be served to individuals, not couples. We had some Gran Marnier each and were fighting over it with our silly tiny spoons. They should serve this with swords so that the fighting can really get down to it or at least knife and fork. Caramel ice cream and plum clafouti on a homemade pastry? ReDunkULous.

Classy! Pernod bottles turned into soap dispensers in the bathroom?  I can dig it.  There is also a private dining room with a giant farm table that seats up to 24.

On a final note it should be pointed out that this place is on the high end of the price point when it comes to bistros.  You are definitely paying for the little red vests all of the staff wears, the fancy mirrors and the brass cookware that hangs as decoration.  Worth it, in my estimation, but not something I can do more than once every couple of months.

I have to say that, for its size, Philly has a varied and well-stocked set of sneaker stores. I’ve rounded up a selection of my favorites, along with a map and some commentary on each. Hit the link below for the goods.

[flickr matt.ohara 72157605452514947]

The first stop is South Street. There’s a lot of footwear goodness to be had here. There are two places that will airbrush Biggie or Bob Marley or Elmo onto your sneakers. There’s bunches of clothing stores that sell sneakers. And there are plenty of exclusive sneaker stores.

Between 5th and 6th you’ll find Samsun, Olympia, Afficial and The Adidas Store. Samsun is a nice shop and all about sneakers. You will find sneakers and only sneakers there. The help is not extremely helpful but the sneakers are displayed on the walls by brand and I’ve found Lavers here for 40$ so there are some good finds. Olympia is practically right next door and they’ve got some great deals too. There’s always some deal going on where you get two pairs for about 70 bucks, so look for the ones with the round stickers on them. They get a lot of the Adidas Originals a month after the official store has them and Olympia’s prices are always much better. They also have a nice selection of branded clothing. These are both serious shops where you can find some great deals.

Afficial is on 5th between South and Bainbridge. It’s a tiny little hole in the wall that stocks almost exclusively Nike and BAPE, so it’s not really my thing but I dig it nonetheless. You will get your Nike exclusive rocks off here and if you’re into patent leather then you’ll love the BAPEs (I only like patent leather when it’s on my Adidas). They also stock some laces and some clothing. So hip it’s almost a knee.
LINK to MySpace page (sorry, can’t find an official site) LINK to article

The official Adidas store on a weird little block right between Passyunk and 5th. Cool little building. Rather than going off on a long rant about how despite being an official store they never seem to have the exclusive stuff they say they’re supposed to (always the one pair I’m looking for that they never have) and how it’s lame that you’re not allowed to take photos in the store, I’ll just let the photos spell it out. It’s a fun store and the staff is very helpful. They once had to order a pair from the NYC store for me. DJs play on the weekends as well. I love seeing the exclusive and new goods and I’ve bought a lot there, but like I said most of the stuff can be found in Olympia a bit later.
LINK to crappy, slow-loading flash site

There are a couple of other shops in the area that have sneakers but I’m going to skip up to WTHN. This is really a shop that you would expect to find in NYC so it’s fresh to have it letting it all hang out in Philly. They have vinyl toys, books, clothing and sneaks. It’s street fashion with design sensibility and a playstation by the front window. I would hang out here if I lived up in Olde City. Owned and operated by a dude who used to work at UBIQ. I will try to get back in here for more pics.
LINK to official site LINK to article

Speaking of UBIQ, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. It’s in the ritzy shopping area that’s Walnut Street west of Broad. It’s another hip joint mostly filled with Nikes but has also a whole floor filled with Vans. Again not my thing but Respect Due. Just a couple of doors down from the Puma shop too (Adi Dassler’s brother’s brand). Check out the cool displays, the mini-sneakers and the giant pair of vans in the pictures above.

I’m sure there are a couple of hot spots that I missed so if anybody has any recommendations please leave them in the comments. Oh and there are two other Samsuns. One’s on 17th and Chestnut and one’s on 12 and Chestnut. 12th and Chestnut also has some sneaker-hunting. Check out the MAP!

Musical Goodness courtesy of MF Doom’s Special Herbs series. This one’s called Eucalyptus.

[flickr matt.ohara 72157602463285811]

The market is in the open air mall just north of Lombard on 2nd Street (go to the end of South Street and take a left) and only open Saturdays. They’ve extended their season until December 23rd, so you still have time to go pick up some of these wonderful finds.

First is Betty’s Tasty Buttons (official site). Fudge is very near and dear to my heart because my mother makes the very best peanut butter fudge on the planet, and most likely the universe. She doesn’t make lavender-honey flavor though, or any of the other little button-shaped bits of flavor that you can find at Betty’s Buttons. It’s a locally made product and deserves support for that alone; good thing it’s also delicious and in a cute little package. (Fudge sauces also available for Sunday Sundaes) ((Disclosure: my friend Angie works there))

Next up is S&C Pickles (AKA PhillyFresh Pickles) (official site). I love pickles as much as the next guy but damn, there’s something different about these jawhnz (yeah that’s right, I spell it with a Z, to keep it fresh). They have a spicy version that I’m afraid to try because of the warnings I’ve gotten from friends. Everybody that I turn on to these pickles is just blown away by whatever the super-secret secret is in this secret recipe. And you can also get them in Whole Foods so there’s no excuse not to try these bad mofos. I always have a jar in the house. (Picture to follow when I can find a jar that actually has some pickles left in it)

Los Taquitos de Puebla’s main place is on 9th Street just south of Washington. I found this site online. It’s all in Spanish. Phillyfoodguys.com has a review of some of the taquerias in South Philly. The have an outpost during the Italian Market Festival, where I first tasted their tacos al pastor, and they also have one open at Headhouse Square. I eat three a week. It’s pork roasting on an open spit below some fresh pineapple. The outside bits get nice and crisp while the inside pieces are moist and tender. There’s a lady making fresh tortillas to order (using hand tortilla-press no less) and calling out “tacos! quesedillas!” I order three to go, with both red and green salsas. Don’t forget to grab some Mexican coca-cola before you ring up!

Finally, my find of the year. It’s actually my buddy Scott’s. He told me it’s amazing stuff, and I trusted him. I’m so glad I did. Wanna know what it is? It’s Griggstown Quail Farm’s chicken pot pie. I want to always have one in my freezer. I want to share them with everybody. I want to know I can always get my hands on one. Good thing they’re right over the border in New Jersey. I’m so serious right now. In fact, I think I’m going to eat one tonight.

The first thing to know about Ants Pants is that it’s Australian. The name itself is an Aussie expression that is the equivalient of “The Bee’s Knees,” meaning of course that it’s very good. They have Aussie coffees and Vegemite (which I like very much but makes Karen gag) as well as a little candy bar called Violet Crumble.

All of that’s great. Try the vegemite if you’ve never had it. Have a nice breakfast sandwich or some of the coffee. But don’t sleep on the best thing on the menu, the Violet Crumble Milkshake!

Words cannot do it justice. It’s too small by far. I ordered two of them this morning. Get it with the whipped cream, it’s the real stuff. I could try for hours to describe it but I’m not going to because I’ll get hungry for it again. Go get one!

UPDATE: I hesitate to accuse anyone of anything, but I posted this on the 6th, Foobooz picked it up on the 9th and then Craig Laban posts his on the 12th.  Imitation being the most sincere form of flattery and all…

(These pictures will be added to as I take more and move pics over from different flickr sets, so check either my flickr page or back here to see a lot of other philly street art!)

[flickr matt.ohara 72157602211191670]

My friend David once told me an old neighborhood joke. It goes like this:
“Don’t stop to tie your shoe in Bella Vista.”
“Why?”
“You’ll have a mirror attached to your ass when you stand back up.”

For anybody that doesn’t know, Isaiah Zagar is a mosaic artist. If you’ve been to Philly before and visited South Street/Bella Vista you may have noticed that the neighborhood is sprinkled (some might say covered) with mosaic murals created out of ceramic, mirror, bottles, bicycle wheels and more. Take the time to explore the neighborhood and you’ll see doors, walls and whole buildings covered with mosaic tiles. I’ll add a whole bunch more photography of his work to the set above in the coming weeks.

Philly is also the home of a huge mural art program. Everywhere you go in the city you’re bound to run into some murals. Here’s a nice photoset on Time’s website.
Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell (Amazon)
They’re all different shapes and sizes and styles and subject and places. Many deal with famous locals. Many more are focused on positive messages for the community. They all provide a nice bit of visual stimulation when you round a new corner and find a piece that you haven’t seen before. There’s one artist I like particularly and that’s David Guinn. His 4 seasonal pieces are abstract and depict simple, colorful cityscapes in each of the four seasons. I’ve found three (all in the photo slideshow above), but I can’t find the fourth! If anybody can help me locate it please let me know in the comments. Update:Thanks Art from Foobooz for the spot, now I’ve just got to go get a pic of it!

My favorite artists in philly are a lot less well known than Zagar or Guinn. They’re El Toro and Bob Will Reign and they work with markers, stickers and paint. They work on train cars, signs, newspaper boxes, sneakers, vinyl records and well, anything you can put a mark on. They’re two of the first artists I found when I first moved to philly. They have more coverage than Zagar and Guinn put together but I’ve talked to a lot of people who have never seen any of their stuff!

El Toro on flickr

A Bob Will Reign slideshow on flickr

Toro has huge horns and giant toofs. Sometimes he’s wearing a gasmask. Bob Will Reign (AKA Bob) has a big head with eyes way out on the side and sometimes some arrows. Try walking around philly and looking for Toro and Bob pieces (they’re together a lot of the time). Soon you’ll be spotting them everywhere! Give yourself more points for non-obvious ones (like newspaper boxes and stop signs). Look in the photoset above for the painting of El Toro as Captain Ahab (it’s hanging in my house).

Philly has a ton of other street and sticker artists. It’s really fantastic that they keep their work in the city on signs and boxes and dumpsters, as opposed to marking up any of the old buildings we have around here. It’s illegal art for the most part but they have respect for the older art and architecture. And each other! Check out the box in the photoset above and notice how nobody has stickered over somebody else’s piece. If you have any other favorites that you’d like to share please let us know in the comments!

A Walk to Work in Philadelphia (Google Mapped)

Here’s a link to the slideshow on Flickr:

I liked his suggestion because it was one particular thing at a particular place that was apparently the pinnacle of “thingness” for that thing. That’s what this blog is all about! Thingness! Also it was a drink i’d never really dug before. It would be challenging to see if i could overcome that in the face of what was apparently the best Manhattan in town.

You know what? I’m not going to keep you in suspense. The drink is great. It’s really effing good and i didn’t even like Manhattans before this. I’ve had three now in the past month and been trying to figure out exactly why so i could write this post.

The key component, according to Jason, is the rye whiskey. Many bars and consumers go with any old whisky, but according to The International Bartender’s Association’s Official Cocktail List the recipe is:

MANHATTAN Pre dinner (martini or cocktail glass )
5.0 cl Rye or Canadian whiskey
2.0 cl Red Vermouth
1 Dash Angostura Bitter
Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain into chilled martini or cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

but the Wikipedia Entry also calls exclusively for rye. Looks like either/or is acceptable.

So it shouldn’t be all THAT strange for a place to use rye for their Manhattans right? But i consulted with some of my bartender friends (i have a lot of bartender friends) and they all concurred that Canadian whisky is generally substituted for rye. That could be a byproduct of PLCB (you’re lucky to find one rye in the state stores), or it could even be a local preference (though i don’t think there is a huge Canadian population in Philly). I’m curious to find out if such is the case in other areas of the country.

Then what IS a rye? The Wikipedia entry on rye whiskey says that it is made from a mash that contains at least 51% rye. The rest is usually made up of barley and corn. Seems simple right? Except the entry on Bourbon Whiskey says it is made from a mash that contains at least 51% corn. The rest is usually made up of barley and rye. And Canadian whiskey? Not regulated as far as the amount of rye. They’re all very similar, but different, if you know what i’m sayin. Here’s what Southwark’s collection looks like:

(Photo courtesy of George!)

<–New York Times Article on Rye and its renewed popularity–>

<–Philadelphia Weekly Article on Southwark–>

There’s another factor at work -literally- here. Kip and George, the bartenders. These guys are great. They work really well together and know their stuff. They have a great collection of rye whiskey (probably a dozen) and an even greater collection of friendly regulars. Every time i go in i see somebody i know, meet a friend of a friend or make a new one. Southwark is coincidentally the former name of the neighborhood south of center city. It’s comforting that a neighborhood bar with a neighborhood name has such a neighborhood feel. It’s a local watering hole with bartenders who care enough to do things right and have the cabinet, knowledge, skills and loyal customers to back it up. And it all comes together to make the best Manhattan in Philly.

What i found: Manhattans! The depth and breadth of rye whiskey! A great place to be a regular! (couldn’t find an official site)

Southwark
701 S 4th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 238-1888

Fat Jack’s (google local)

Fat Jack’s is great. It’s over on Sansom and 20th right across from the west-side Capogiro , around the corner from Tinto, right beside the Homebrew store and down the street from some cool BYOBs, a great movie theater, a sushi joint and a music store. Basically one of the coolest shopping blocks in the city! The shop is nicely laid out and has great product and a large back issue selection.

Atomic City Comic Books (AKA Showcase Comics) (google local) is right on the heart of South Street. Another great couple of blocks of shops and stores! I don’t have pics yet but will very soon (I wanted to get a new post up this week).
Update!

You’re waiting for the meat of the post right? You want to find out about the secret comics stash in Center City? Here it is:

Can you see the street signs? It’s at 12th and Market. Admittedly it doesn’t have a huge selection and it’s mostly the mainstream stuff, but here is a little newstand guy making it happen! Can you dig it!?

What I found:
A lone ranger on the comic book scene. A maverick newstand that sells comics in Center City. Support and Respect due!

More pics as I edit this post later in the week.