food drink
Townsend EPX
Townsend EPX, Chef Townsend Wentz’s award-winning French restaurant and bar on East Passyunk Avenue, recently reopened after a two-year hiatus with a prix fixe tasting menu at $100 per person.
Guests can expect a six-course meal curated by Chef Wentz, including roasted venison loin, beef tenderloin tartare, seared scallops, ray, foie gras-stuffed pheasant and soufflé with Valrhona chocolate. In addition to superb fine French cuisine, drinkers can choose from an extensive list of wines and craft cocktails, crafted by Townsend EPX’s expert in-house mixologists. Reservations on Resy.
A mano
A Mano, Townsend Wentz Restaurant Group’s seasonal Italian BYOB, offers diners a chance to experience the essence of artisanal Italian cuisine, using fresh, locally grown ingredients with their everyone-pleasing Abbondanza menu.
With two options, a family-style four-course menu for $68 per person and a family-style three-course pasta menu for $48 per person, diners can enjoy Chef Townsend Wentz’s assortment of dishes such as Pork Belly Agrodolce, Burrata, Pumpkin Gnocchi with pancetta saba, Pasta Alla Chitarra with blistered cherry tomatoes, olives and anchovies, Grilled Branzino prepared with charred broccoli, oil-dried olives and salsa rosa, and for dessert, an lemon olive oil with fresh blueberries and buttermilk cream. Reservations on Resy.
Forsythia
Forsythia, chef Christopher Kearse’s contemporary bar and restaurant in the Old Town, has launched a fixed-price French experience on Sundays only from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. with an impressive line-up including andouille and garlic beignets with jam red peppers, soup of the day or snail, Mahi Mahi with white bean cassoulet, Jerusalem artichoke and lemon coriander nage, or Rohan duck made with puy lentils and foie gras emulsion, and for dessert, Caramel Pot de Crème – all for $55 per person.
Reservations on Resy.
river twice
East Passyunk Avenue’s acclaimed new American restaurant, River Twice, recently changed its structure to focus on a seven-course tasting menu, available Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for $95 per person.
Curated daily by the River Twice team, the ever-changing prix fixe menu currently features raw and cooked Puntarella, BigEye Tuna, Vineyard Bay Scallops, Carolina Gold Rice, Charcoal-Cooked Mackerel , Hudson Valley venison and Koginut squash. Optional additions include Sweet Amalia, Maine Uni and Kaluga Caviar oysters. Reservations at Rivertwicerestaurant.com.
Brunch
devil’s lair
Devil’s Den, Philadelphia’s craft beer bar, offers brunchers a slew of booze to sample over the weekend, including a delicious Beermosa ($7) made with Ommegang Witte and orange juice and the St. Germaine ($10) St. Germaine, Champagne, cranberry, and drizzled with sparkling water. Plus, every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., patrons can sip mimosas and Bloody Marys for just $5.
North 3rd
The North 3rd, Northern Liberties’ new American bar and grill, hosts a sought-after weekend brunch with a robust and ever-changing menu of breakfasts and lunches that pairs perfectly with signature house drinks. Customers looking for an alcoholic pick-me-up on Saturday and Sunday mornings can choose from favorites such as Monster Mary ($10) made with vodka and North 3rd’s famous Bloody Mary mix, or opt for Bloody Maria ($10) replacing vodka with tequila. As for mimosa lovers, for $9 drinkers can enjoy a mimosa prepared with prosecco and a choice of freshly squeezed orange juice, mango or peach nectar.
Stella of New Hope
Stella of New Hope, located in the heart of bustling Main Street overlooking the Delaware River, has a carefully curated cocktail menu for brunch lovers, with offerings including a seasonal mimosa riff in As It Should Be ($15) made with pomegranate, prosecco and rosemary, Not For The Faint Of Heart uplifting morning drink ($14) made with bourbon, hazelnut and cold brew, an effervescent elderflower pear ($14) blended with vodka, prickly pear, elderflower, and lemon, and The Morning After ($14) made with scotch, lemon, honey, and ginger.
urban farmer
Urban Farmer, the modern American steakhouse in Logan Square, is no stranger to offering locals and tourists alike a superb brunch and equally exquisite cocktails. The rotating menu of brunch drinks includes the classic Bellini ($13) made with peach puree, Cointreau and sparkling wine, a homemade Bloody Mary ($14), the Farmer #4 ($15) made with Stateside vodka, elderflower, lime and grapefruit. cube, and Peychaud’s, and Farmermosa ($14) consisting of Aperol, orange juice, Peychaud bitters, and sparkling wine.
Royal Butcher
Royal Boucherie, lively and bustling neighborhood restaurant and bar in the Old Town, recently relaunched brunch service, available every Sunday from 10am-3pm. Along with a deluxe menu of all-new French dishes courtesy of chef Matt Buehler, there’s a plethora of brunch drinks for drinkers, including the Royal Bloody Mary ($12) made with Boardroom Spirits vodka. and a mix of homemade Bloody Mary, with the optional addition of bacon for $2 or shrimp for $4, Provence Spritz ($16) consisting of Saint-Germain, lavender and sparkling white wine, Coffee and Tonic ($12 ) made with Don Q Spiced Rum, Demarara syrup, cold brew, tonic and Satine ($14) made with freshly squeezed orange juice, Pavan liqueur and sparkling white wine.
Art & Culture
MLK Jr. Weekend Celebration at the African American Museum in Philadelphia
The African American Museum of Philadelphia (AAMP) and the Citizens Charitable Foundation are teaming up to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend 2022. This year’s event will run from January 14-17 and will offer the public a combination of in-person, virtual and hybrid opportunities to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Under the theme “Base and Grand Strategies,” the collection of events will highlight the continuum of individual and collective efforts to promote equity, celebrate and facilitate generational advancement, and protect the mental and spiritual well-being of peoples. historically oppressed. The events, thanks to a $30,000 donation from citizens, will be free to the public on January 17 and $2 on January 15 and 16.
The 2022 MLK Weekend Celebration will include a special edition of the Disruption Spotlight and Open Mic quarterly event series; a screening of the film “A King in the Wilderness”; a virtual transcription marathon; a children’s book event; musical performances; and a keynote address by Dr. Kenneth Scott of Beech Companies. The weekend will conclude with an on-site voter registration drive that will serve as the MLK Day service project. More info on AAMPmuseum.org.
Tattooing: Identity Through Ink at the Swedish American Historical Museum
For more than 5,000 years, tattoos have helped document human history, one painful mark at a time. Tattooing: identity through ink (February 5 to May 1) tells the story of why people adorned their bodies with tattoos, from practices in Indigenous cultures to 19th century sailors to motorcycle gangs in the 1960s, athletes and celebrities today.
The exhibit showcases the past 150 years of tattooing in America, from early 20th century sideshows to modern celebrity tattoos.
A highlight of this exhibit is the story of influential tattoo artist Amund Dietzel, a Norwegian immigrant who became one of the most important tattoo artists of his time.
Dietzel, known as the “Master of Milwaukee”, rose to fame in American circuses and side shows and later opened a shop in Milwaukee. At 14, Dietzel got his first tattoo to commemorate his time at sea as a sailor – an anchor on his left hand between his thumb and forefinger. This later inspired his travels to North America, where he tattooed lumberjacks, sailors and merchant marines. More info on Americanswedish.org.
This bitter land to the InterAct theater company
InterAct Theater Company continues its 2021-2022 season with This bitter land, by Harrison David Rivers, a “compassionate and devastating” play “both burning and touching, heartbreaking and romantic”.
This bitter land follows Jesse and Neil, whose deep love is challenged by divisive political realities. Jesse, an introspective black playwright, has his choices questioned when his boyfriend, Neil, a white Black Lives Matter activist, calls out to him for his political apathy.
As passions and priorities collide, this couple is forced to consider issues of race, class, and the bravery it takes to love each other out loud. Ruthless, truthful and genuine, “Black gay love isn’t featured much on stage; interracial gay love is less so. But more than describing it, Rivers’ work analyzes it, with key details about meeting other people’s families and thoughtful considerations about why black men grow up so tough, “because maybe the sweetness gets you killed.” (Broadway world)
A final “Pay What You Can” dress rehearsal will take place on Thursday, January 27 at 7 p.m., with proceeds collected at the door to benefit the William Way LGBT Community Center. Performances are held at the Proscenium Theater at the Drake, located at 302 S Hicks St. (between 15-16 and Spruce & Pine, January 28-February 20. More information at Interacttheatre.org.
Perkins Center for the Arts
Photograph 41 “Looking up”
Juror Jim Graham chose approximately 40 works for the exhibition. One of them will be chosen by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to become part of its permanent collection. Until February 25. Prize giving on Saturday January 15 at 6:30 p.m. More info on Perkinsarts.org.
Personal exhibition of Tom Gaines
Contemporary American painter who works in oil and resides in Moorestown. Now until February 25. More info on Perkinsarts.org.
If you read this story and liked it, consider joining altPhilly, our membership program that offers exclusive content, instant editor access, and amazing benefits for like-minded Philadelphians. At PW, our coverage goes against the grain of mainstream local media.
