Work? No, today's gonna be a holiday

The inevitable, unforgiving rain of Philadelphia strikes again. But, Friday nights aren't forever and we shouldn't treat them as such. Monday and Tuesday, you really shone and we're all very proud of you. This Tuesday being my day off, I splurged in a most excellent bike ride - stopping here and there and remembering what Philly is all about. Taking a break to peruse some monthly reading matter, not to mention a refresher and a giggle on pop culture, I saw my favorite leading lady on the cover of Vanity Fair! Her Dolce Vita! The article contained candid photos of her trips to Rome of Audrey in all her simple-chic glory. Of course, I am no princess, but I couldn't help being engulfed in a similar feeling as her Roman Holiday. And, coincidentally enough, later that day I stopped by AIDS Thrift to find a VHS copy. 

The first thing she did with her newfound
freedom was to buy a pair of Roman sandals.
Then she went to the barber's for a pixie cut.
And then she bought herself a gelato.
Simple pleasures all, but as a princess
on the lam in 1953's Roman Holiday, an
unknown actress named Audrey Hepburn
made these pleasures indelible.

Gelato, too? I am so glad to hear you say it.

Rittenhouse Row Festival is not just about food...

Tomorrow is the annual Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival in Philadelphia. You know the drill; walk, walk, walk, eat, eat, eat, drink, drink, drink, maybe dance a little and try not to get annoyed with the crowds. We will be there, of course, selling our delicious gelato, including strawberry!!! Ahhhhh, festivals. So much fun, they are.

Anywho, there are certain things you hear daily in Philadelphia. Of course you hear Phillies, Eagles, Flyers....., but there are some names and places that are just part of our lexicon. We walk through Rittenhouse Square, run down Kelly Drive all the way to Manayunk and of course we have the Ben Franklin Parkway and Washington Square. A plethora of names that for most have no meaning. Philadelphia is so rich with personalities. Guggenheim, Cassatt, Chomsky, Furness, Kelly, Strawbridge, Roberts, Eakins, Wanamaker, Biddle and Kelly. All Philadelphians. Which brings me to my point - Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse Square, Rittenhouse Town, Rittenhouse Street....

Look what I found on the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online!

Rittenhouse family

David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) Source: Wikipedia Commons

Originating in the Lower Rhine, the Mennonite family name Rittenhouse (Rittinghuysen, Rittinghausen, Ruddinghuysen, Rittershausen) dates back at least to 1591. There is no trace of the Rittenhouse family among the European Mennonites after William Rittenhouse came to Pennsylvania in 1688. Willem (William) Rittinghausen (1644-1708) was born in the Rhineland near Mühlheim, Germany, and was living in Amsterdam before he immigrated to America in 1688. He became the first Mennonite minister in America and builder of the first paper mill at Philadelphia in 1690. It is believed that all American Mennonite Rittenhouses have descended from him.

Many American Mennonite Rittenhouses have remained in the place where their ancestors first settled (near Philadelphia in Montgomery, Bucks, and Berks counties), while some went to Canada with the Bucks County migration of 1799-1800. A few families moved to Wayne County, Ohio and a smaller number still, moved to Indiana, Michigan, and Alberta. Many descendents of the original family joined other faiths as well.

Some notable members of the family, besides the pioneer William Rittenhouse, have been Matthias Rittenhouse (1770-1832), a minister in the Skippack (Pennsylvania) Mennonite Church (MC) congregation of the Franconia Conference, and Nicholas (Claes) Rittenhouse (1666-1734), son of William, one of the subscribers to the Dordrecht Confession of Faith at the 1725 conference. The most famous person bearing the family name was David Rittenhouse (1732-96), thePhiladelphia astronomer and scientist and the first director of the United States mint, who was a son of Matthias of the third generation in America. He was not a member of the Mennonite Church.

As you wander through the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival, look around and notice the street names that seem to echo throughout the city. Go home and use the Google machine. History. I love Philadelphia's age. A few weeks ago I wandered through Elfreth's Alley with my in-laws. I forget how charming the city is at times. It is not just about pulled pork sandwiches and a Capogiro cart. Although, that ain't bad.

Happy Fourth, Philly

As far as 4th of July is concerned, Philadelphia's pretty much the only place to be. No one else can really compete with our history - we've got a lock on that, no problem (sorry, Nation). I've been running around to all the stores over the last few days and I can honestly say that it's been a while since I felt such a buzz on the streets. While I feel like most of the locals have bugged out, or battened down, everyone else has flocked to our fair city to celebrate their independence as only Philly can.
I'm sayin, fireworks, guys, definitely. If it were me, I'd head to the Camden Aquarium - they're hosting an after hours event where you can wander around the aquarium then hang out on the waterfront to watch the sparks fly at Penn's Landing - how awesome is that?! I'm such a sucker for aquariums, I can't lie. I make it a point that whenever I travel I hit up any and every one that I can find...
If you're in the mood for the historic, but still food oriented (and feeling a little brave), check out the City Tavern Restaurant in Olde City. I'm from Northern Delaware, but have spent all my years coming to Philadelphia - have walked by this place many a time, but have to admit that until now I had no concept how deep their history runs. As in, it was the site of the very first Independence Day celebration! As in, THE celebration! Crazy! (Ok, it's possible I'm more interested in the "Seafood Melange" and Chicken Pot Pie than anything else, but still, when in Rome, right?)
And most importantly, Capo's gotten into the spirit! 20th street has a few "Red, White & Blue" gelato cakes for the occasion - raspberry, Thai Coconut Milk & blueberry! I just watched someone rush out, armed with his cake and on the way to his barbecue. Jealooouus! AND they have Chocolate Peanut Butter today, what more can you want?
If you happened to come see us last night, you may have noticed that all of our stores are outfitted with City Bandz! Yes guys, we've jumped on the bandwagon. Why, you may ask? Because they're silly and quirky and awesome, and so are we! So why not. I have to admit, I was a little behind the times with these things, but as I watch people's reactions to them I just get more and more of a kick out of it. Apparently kids (we have a sign reading 'ages 3-30') have gone crazy for these things, much like Oilies and Pogs were for those of us who grew up in the 80s, or later, Beanie Babies!
Craziness. But a lof of fun. The ones we've got are Philly themed - the LOVE statue, Independence Hall, Ben's kite...though I hear the rarest, most desired of them all is the unicorn, which sadly, we don't have...

But I might trade you a gelato for one!

Hope to see you around this weekend guys, it's gonna be a great one.

Oh Booze, how we love you...

Let me count the ways...Grapefruit Campari, Whiskey Sour, Golden Margarita, Irish Coffee, Mexican Coffee, White Chocolate with Kahlua, Rum, Aloha Monkey, Cucumber with Grey Goose, Ramos Gin Fizz, Pear with Wild Turkey Bourbon...

Seriously I could probably go on for quite a while. We love booze almost as much as we love coffee. Ok maybe more than coffee. Wait, who wants to fight? Let's share the love for our favorite libations! People are constantly coming in here and browsing the flavors only to eventually say "man...sure is a lot of booze in this case!" Yeah we know. But really, it's for the flavor enhancing powers and downright refreshing qualities alcohols have that make them so much fun to work with.
No, you can't get drunk off of them...no not even if you eat the whole pan. Yes, pregnant ladies go for it! And babies! They're totally benign ways of enjoying your bar standbys...and if you want to enjoy the flavor AND get boozy, go see the kids at CapoPenn. One awesomely stocked bar, that. Chock full of goodies that cocktail nerds will go crazy for while supplying Everyman with their gin and tonics, or local brews.

Temps have hit 80, kids, it's gonna be a long summer. Come get your drink on with us and everyone will be walking a little happier.

Strawberry with Pernod (Strawberry with Tequila!), Melon with Absinthe, Bourbon Butterscotch, Watermelon with Grappa, Dark and Stormy, Espresso with Sambuca...

HOLI! HOLI! HOLI!

This past week was the Festival of Colors in India celebrating Spring. During the festival, people smear color, called gulal, on each other's face and splash colored water, called rang. They dance and sing in the streets and have parties. Young and old, together, seamlessly. It makes me happy.

I want Holi. Can you imagine how much fun that would be? After this horrid snow and chilling cold. Look at those colors? The vibrant happy, almost violently happy colors. It makes me happy.

I want to throw pink water filled balloons out my window and have the person I peg look up and smile. I think I will just have to settle for Tiffin. Honestly, it is not really settling. Tiffin is delicious and I could eat Saag Paneer every day. I love ordering home delivery. The cutest guys show up wearing ties and freshly combed hair. It makes me happy.

Do you think they'd mind if I hit them with a pink water filled balloon?

Why I Love Philly, Part 1

I have been asked by many for recommendations for places to eat when they travel. I keep a restaurant diary for every country and town we come across, no matter how small or large a place. We love to travel. It may seem like we NEED to get away. That is not the case, entirely. I love Philadelphia. I am not a native, but I have lived here long enough to consider myself "from Philadelphia". All three of my kids were born here.

I want to share the love. Today I am going to start sharing with you why I love Philly and why you should too! I won't just stick to food, but will touch on all ways to lovelovelove the City of Brotherly Love. BUT, I will start with Food!! Of course, I think that Capo has the quickest best lunch, but a girl can only have so many grilled mozzarella tomato pesto panini before she starts looking around! I will venture out the doors of Capo and introduce you to some other place in my hometown.


Lunch. Yes, lunch. I am stuck on lunch. Philadelphia is a place that has a huge selection of homegrown, delicious, inexpensive lunch options. Believe it or not, big chain fast food joints are not as easy to access and Philadelphians prefer other options. My kids have had fast food, oh..maybe three times. My son, Manny, was coming home from a soccer tournament in NYC with some of his teammates, when they stopped at McDonald's. Manny announced that he never had MickyD's and was...excited. The entire van, parents and all, turned with dropped jaws and collectively gasped. It is easy peasy to ignore fast food when you live in a city. No drive-thrus, no convenience, it is absolutely inconvenient. Yes, I have read all those "books". Honestly, I prefer freshly made, local places that contribute to the local fabric of our neighborhoods. Chains and fast food places constitute blight. On a lighter note, Manny announced that he did not like McDonald's, except for the fries. The burgers were dry and he preferred...

Good Dog. You have to give my 11 year old credit. He prefers a roquefort stuffed, carmelized onioned burger to fast food. He loves the sweet potato fries, which I hate! They are not bad fries, they are delicious. I just happened to think sweet potatoes are evil and do not want them corrupting my fries. Happily, the folks there understand my aversion and give me plain ole fries. The sweet potato fries are delicious if you like evil roots, and this burger is monumental with its brioche bun and core of molten roquefort. I have never had a poorly cooked burger there. A must.


Tampopo! Delicious AND healthy! Once again, a family favorite. Spicy Tofu Rice Bowl, Chicken Katsu, Veggie Soba Noodles, Bim Bim Bap and Spicy Chicken Breast Rice Bowl are my family's choice items. Tampopo is Korean Japanese fast food. Never heavy, always served hot and delicious and they play the greatest music.

Taco Riendo. This place is located in Northern Libeties, bordering Kensington. The peeps here are from Puebla. Philadelphia is also known as Puebladelphia. The food here is amazing. Fresh and delicious. John gets the fish tacos and I get the sopes. The kids love the burritos and the fresh juices in the summer are crisp. Pics courtesy of Foodaphilia.


Sansom Street Kabob House. This is my favorite place. I could eat here everyday (I have). The most lovely family owns this place. Their little girls will be there, doing homework, delivering hummus, and smiling with the most beautiful brown eyes. The husband and wife team cooks, serves and clears tables. I love watching the husband make the bread. It is light and airy and crispy and hot. Absolutely lovely. The chicken kabob flavored with turmeric over rice pilaf is delicious. Lentil soup, hummus and stewed eggplant are a must. I love this place!!

Tierra Colombiana. Columbian and Cuban dishes are both served and done equally well. You sit and they serve you this grilled buttery bread. So delicious. Papas rellanas, from the Cuban side - I could eat 500. Perfectly fried mashed potato spheres filled with spiced ground beef and peas. Served with a chunky sauce that I think is hotter than lava.John prefers the grilled salmon and the avocado citrus salad. I go for the Arroz con Pollo, Columbian style.

Lastly, Meme's fried chicken lunch. Only on Thursdays and not so fast. A leisurely Thursday lunch. Fried chicken, biscuit and a Miller High Life. I love to meet my friend Francine there. The chicken is hot, crisp and perfectly fried, the biscuit flaky and buttery, and the beer is uber cold, stored in a tin bucket stuffed with ice. Francine and I gossip and eat with our hands. What girls like to do.

Those are my quick, inexpensive eats, fast food eats. Please join me and ditch fast food. Damn, I said "delicious" way too much.