In The News

Jose Garces' Distrito named one of the best Mexican spots in U.S.

Travel & Leisure Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Travel & Leisure names Jose Garces' Distrito, the West Philly taco-and-margarita mecca, one of the best Mexican restaurants in the country.

Television celebrity chefs and quality Mexican food aren’t necessarily a match made en el cielo, but in the case of Food Network’s Chicago-born Ecuadorian Iron Chef Jose Garces’ Distrito, the connection pays off. The somewhat gaudy, pink, loud, huge restaurant is dedicated to the cuisine of Mexico City and serves nachos, ceviches,huaraches, tamales, enchiladas, and moles that Philadelphians recognize as not necessarily authentic, but some of the most satisfying versions on the East Coast regardless.

Original source: Travel & Leisure
Read the complete list here.

Eater's Top 25 Burgers list features Philly favorites

Eater Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The national food blog Eater -- which also has a local chapter, Eater Philly -- recently released a list of the "25 Hottest Burgers in America Right Now." Hickory Lane and Spot Gourmet (a food truck!) made the cut. This description of Hickory Lane's entry has us drooling.

Former Rouge chef Matt Zagorski is cooking really nice food at this Fairmount Avenue restaurant. But the burger, as critic Craig Laban will tell you, is the way to go: "10 ounces of custom-ground brisket, filet, and deckle, seared to a cast-iron crisp and then snugged in the embrace of a brioche bun between delicate folds of bibb lettuce and a molten lid of tangy Cabot cheddar. It’s hard to imagine a burger this tasty as a burden. Then again, it’s so good that it’s also become clear: No change of scenery or molecular tricks will ever let Zagorski truly escape. The power of his patty is simply the best reason to visit Hickory Lane."

Original source: Eater
Read the full list here.

Local researchers examine impact of fracking on health

The New York Times Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The University of Pennsylvania's Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology is leading the effort to assess the health risks of natural gas extraction. They are heading up a national coalition of institutions set to analyze and map the risks of fracking.

The aim is to bring academic discipline to the unresolved national debate, which pits an industry that denies any link between fracking and environmental contamination against those who assert that fracking poisons air and water with natural and man-made chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and other illnesses.

“There is an enormous amount of rhetoric on both sides,” said Trevor M. Penning, head of the Penn toxicology center and the driving force behind the Environmental Health Sciences Core Center Hydrofracking Working Group. “We felt that because we are situated in Pennsylvania, we had a duty to get on top of what was known and what was not known.”

Original source: The New York Times
Read the complete story here.

CHOP's innovative treatment for Leukemia shows tremendous promise

The New York Times Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) used a disabled form the AIDS virus to treat a young girl's leukemia. The results have been remarkable for 7-year-old Emma Whitehead and her family, and constitute a major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. Doctors hope the new treatment, developed at the University of Pennsylvania, will eventually replace bone-marrow transplantation.

The treatment very nearly killed her. But she emerged from it cancer-free, and about seven months later is still in complete remission. She is the first child and one of the first humans ever in whom new techniques have achieved a long-sought goal — giving a patient’s own immune system the lasting ability to fight cancer.

Original Source: The New York Times
Read the full story here.

Wharton study: Entrepreneurship yields happiness, even sans success

The Street Monday, October 01, 2012

A study by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School indicates entrepreneurship and happiness go together like peanut butter and jelly, even if one's startup isn't crushing it, reports The Street.

In general, the study contradicted the old saying that money cannot buy happiness; the more money someone earned, the happier they tended to be. The older respondents also tended to be happier than the younger ones.

Original source: The Street

Read the full story here.

Second annual Vendy Awards honor best Philly food trucks on Saturday

Zagat Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Zagat checks in on the Philly food truck scene, including Saturday's second annual Philadelphia Vendy Awards.

After sifting through nominations, organizers have determined the 12 contenders for best food truck in Philly, judged by both a panel of food industry pro and festival attendees. The savory options at The Lot in West Philly on that late July Saturday will come from Delicias, The Foo Truck, King of Falafel, Lil Dan’s Gourmet, The Smoke Truck, Tacos Don Memo, Vernalicious and Yumtown. On the sweet side, enjoy desserts from Lil’ Pop Shop, Little Baby’s Ice Cream, Sugar Philly and Sweet Box. To eat your fill of all that goodness and make your food truck vote count, snag a ticket for $55 to the 3-7 PM event here (bonus: the price of admission does include beer).

Original source: Zagat

Read the full story here.

Women draft their way to the front of craft brewing

Washington Post Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Washington Post profiles prominent ladies of the craft brew scene, including Rosemarie Certo of Dock Street Brewing Co. iN West Philadelphia.

Certo’s interest in beer started when she began making beer at home because she wasn’t happy with what was available domestically at the time. She started Dock Street in 1985 and remembers in the early days going to make a sales pitch to a distributor and being the only woman in a room of more than 50. “I remember not being bothered by it,” she recalls.

Original source: Washington Post

Read the full story here.

Tweet to win two tickets to Phorum 2012, a $600 value

Phorum 2012 Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Phorum 2012, the inaugural technology conference for business and IT executives that will explore cloud computing, is giving away a pair of tickets for its March 28 event at World Cafe Live.

To win, all you have to do is tell us – in 140 characters – what possibilities you see for cloud computing in your business. Just write to us on Twitter @PhorumPhilly. Our panel of industry leading judges will choose the 2 they find most creative and compelling.

You can submit entries from March 12th at 12 noon to March 19th at 12 noon. We’ll only accept one entry per Twitter handle, and the ticket is nontransferable. It has no cash value and you’re on your own for transportation.

Original source: Phorum 2012
Read the full story here.

The buck strolls on Baltimore Ave. in University City

MonkeyDish Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Baltimore Ave.'s Dollar Stroll in University City makes MonkeyDish's list of 50 great ideas among national restaurant innovations.

Each Stroll has attracted over a thousand patrons who don’t mind waiting in line to sample the familiar at shops such as Milk & Honey Market, which specializes in local cheese, produce and their own urban honey, and far-away cuisines at Desi Chaat House and Vientiane Cafe.

Original source: MonkeyDish
Read the full story here.

Cement job: Drexel materials scientists aim to reduce carbon under foot

Daily Climate Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Drexel University materials scientists Alexander Moseson and Michel Barsoum have created a low-tech, low-energy cement they hope will reduce carbon output as developing countries build more sidewalks, roads and housing.

Potential demand for lower-carbon building materials has sparked a race to replace Portland cement featuring a handful of manufacturers and scientists. Some claim to sequester carbon within the cement itself. Others use alternative fuels. Still others tap unconventional feedstocks, such as magnesium silicate, that require lower kiln temperatures.

Moseson and Barsoum are trying the latter, mixing recycled iron slag or fly ash with readily available limestone. "We literally used a bag of garden lime from Home Depot," Moseson said. Instead of a coal-fired kiln, they use a bucket with a spoon at room temperature.

Original source: Daily Climate
Read the full story here.

National expansion coming soon for Storably's peer-to-peer parking and storage marketplace

Young Upstarts Monday, December 12, 2011

Young Upstarts takes a peek at Philadelphia's Storably, launched in September by Wharton graduates and on the verge of bringing its platform -- likened to Airbnb for storage -- to other markets.

The founders started working in a basement from May this year, putting together mockups and building the site with an off-shore development team. However, the quality wasn’t quite what they expected. Kowitt and Gupta then hired a full-time VP of Engineering, Nick Shiftan, who rebuilt the site from scratch. They later brought on Brendan Lowry as a community manager. The site was formally launched in Philadelphia on September 21, and the startup intends to expand nationally soon.

Original source: Young Upstarts
Read the full story here.

USciences students take aim on rifle teams

Wall Street Journal Monday, December 12, 2011

The Wall Street Journal spotlights the rifle teams at USciences, a college known more for its pharmacy program than marksmanship training.

For the past 35 years, the USciences shooting program was led by coach Paul Klimitas, who is widely credited with spurring the team, known as the Devils, on to numerous victories. It ended last season ranked 15th out of the 38 NCAA teams in the country -- tied with one of the top military academies, Virginia Military Institute.

"They're competing against people who are training to be soldiers and spending hours every day doing military exercises," says Marling "Newt" Engle, a member of the NCAA Rifle Committee, of the UCSciences team.

Original source: Wall Street Journal
Read the full story here.

Entrepreneur, Philly native has plan for more STEM opportunities in city schools

Technically Philly Monday, December 12, 2011

Technically Philly sits down with Dr. Chad Womack, a nanobiomolecular entrepreneur who is trying to increase opportunities in science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM) for city children.

Womack’s America21 Project is focused on empowering urban centers and communities through STEM education and workforce development, high-growth entrepreneurship and access to capital. With his new venture, he’s still actively engaging the District around STEM priorities.

Original source: Technically Philly
Read the full story here.

Drexel Nanotech leader calls for standardized energy storage metrics

Nanowerk Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Drexel University researcher Dr. Yury Gogotsi believes figuring out why cell phone and laptop batteries die prematurely will help create a sustainable energy grid, reports Nanowerk.

"A dramatic expansion of research in the area of electrochemical energy storage has occurred over the past due to an ever increasing variety of handheld electronic devices that we all use," Gogotsi said. "This has expanded use of electrical energy in transportation, and the need to store renewable energy efficiently at the grid level. This process has been accompanied by the chase for glory with the arrival of new materials and technologies that leads to unrealistic expectations for batteries and supercapacitors and may hurt the entire energy storage field."

The main type of energy storage device addressed in the article is the supercapacitor. Supercapacators, which are built from relatively inexpensive natural materials such as carbon, aluminum and polymers, are found in devices, ranging from mobile phones and laptop batteries to trams, buses and solar cells.

Original source: Nanowerk
Read the full story here.

Vacant lots study: Philly green spaces reduce crime rates, stress and cholesterol

The Atlantic Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine study found that converting vacant lots into small parks or community green spaces can reduce crime in distressed neighborhoods, reports The Atlantic.

Vacant lot greening was associated with significant reductions in gun assaults across all four sections of Philadelphia in the study and with significant reductions in vandalism in one section. Greening was also associated with the reporting of significantly less stress in one of the sections of the city and with more exercise in another. Cholesterol numbers were lower to a statistically significant degree for the greened areas across all four city sections.

Original source: The Atlantic
Read the full story here.

West Philadelphia : In The News