In The News

Fette Sau's chef pens barbecue cookbook

The New York Times Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Joe Carroll, the man behind Fette Sau -- the one in Brooklyn and the one in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood -- has some tips on 'cue.

You just want to grill a better steak than the one you grilled last summer, or smoke a better brisket, or fire up a basket of vegetables that will leave your guests swooning. You don’t want to feel as if doing any of that is going to be a campaign. You’re not looking to go pro.

If so, Joe Carroll’s “Feeding the Fire” (Artisan, $29.95), written with Nick Fauchald, may be the most useful book of the current season. A collection of strategies and lessons as much as one of recipes and pronouncements, the book offers a helpful primer to those seeking guidance on an elementary question that bedevils many: how to use a grill or a smoker to their best effect under varying circumstances, all summer long.

Mr. Carroll is hardly barbecue royalty. He’s a home cook from New Jersey with no formal culinary training who runs a small kingdom of bars and restaurants in Brooklyn and Philadelphia devoted to the pleasures of live-fire cooking, most notably Fette Sau and St. Anselm. His kitchens celebrate no native barbecue tradition beyond Brooklyn’s own, which is to say: Mr. Carroll puts char on the food, and accompanies it with flavors that are of interest to his palate, wherever they come from.

Original source: The New York Times
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The Wells Fargo Center is no more (at least according to the Sixers)

The New York Times Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The bank declined to become partners with the franchise, so the Sixers are now referring to their home as simply "The Center."

The Philadelphia 76ers have 86ed the corporate name to their home arena.

The Sixers have decided to stop referring to the Wells Fargo Center by name in all news releases and on the team website because the financial institution chose not to become a business partner with the basketball franchise.

This season, the 76ers started referring to the 20,000-seat arena simply as The Center.

Some fans thought that was just a marketing idea to develop a catchy nickname for the arena instead of referring to the corporate title.

But the Sixers started sending press releases stating events would be held "at the Sixers' home arena."

A June 9 release touting auditions for a Sixers dance team gives the full address for the arena but omits the name.

Chris Heck, chief revenue officer of the 76ers, said the team values its partners and tries to maximize its relationships.

"We also continue to enjoy our relationship with Comcast Spectacor as tenants at a world-class arena, but that particular bank is currently not a sponsor of the Philadelphia 76ers," Heck said.

Wells Fargo, which has a naming rights deal on the arena through 2024, declined comment.

Original source: The New York Times
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Stereogum heaps praise on Philly's music scene

Stereogum Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The indie site took a broad look at the City of Brotherly Love's hot local scene.

Cayetana have agreed to spend the afternoon showing me around Philadelphia, a city that has quietly become the unexpected capital of American rock music. We’ve just exited Long In The Tooth, the band’s favorite record store. While the store’s clerk went on about some group who sounded like “a British Marked Men,” Cayetana’s singer and guitarist, Augusta Koch — her hair bluer than her jean jacket — eyed a vinyl copy of Bob Mould’s The District Line. She picked it up, and then decided she should probably not spend too much this week. Before we left, she grabbed a copy of the new Mountain Goats album, and drummer Kelly Olsen — wearing a vintage but, I’m told, not ironic New York Mets T-shirt — bought a copy of the Muffs’ Whoop Dee Do, even though she’s moving soon and it’s going to be just one more thing to pack...

“I can usually tell when something’s happening, more than not, by the increase of phone calls I get from A&R guys,” says Bruce Warren, assistant station manager for WXPN, Philadelphia’s listener-supported radio station. “Last year, every week I got a phone call from someone, indie and major, asking, ‘Who’s the band that I need to see?’ They’re smelling blood.”

One of the first things Warren impresses upon me is that the Philadelphia music scene has always been great, and he’s correct. This town has given the world the Roots, Jill Scott, Will Smith, Todd Rundgren, Diplo, Gamble & Huff, and the Philadelphia Sound; Warren even has nice things to say about the Hooters. But six years ago, Warren began to notice a proliferation of new bands, venues, and recording studios in his hometown. The rising buzz inspired him to help create the Key, a section of the WXPN website designed to highlight local talent. It launched in 2010, and nearly every significant band in Philadelphia was featured on the site — and there’s no small amount of significant bands in town these days.

Original source: Stereogum
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Philly Little Leaguers head south for a trip through history

The New York Times Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The New York Times' Frank Bruni writes about the confluence of baseball and black history through the lens of the Anderson Monarchs and their star Mo'ne Davis.

Last summer, a 13-year-old named Mo’ne Davis landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a national sensation after she pitched a shutout in the Little League World Series, where almost all of the other players are boys. She’s believed to be the only black girl ever to participate in the competition.

This summer, she plans to do something else surprising: Visit the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., where four black girls were killed in a 1963 bombing. Three of them were 14. Mo’ne will turn that age on the day she shows up at the landmark...

But over three weeks in late June and early July, she and 13 other kids on her team here — the rest of them boys, most of them black, all roughly her age — have a schedule of exhibition games across the country that mixes exhilarating notes with somber ones.

They’re not just hitting the road. They’re taking it south, into history: the church in Birmingham, the bridge in Selma. They’ll play ball, then visit Little Rock Central High School, a battleground in the fight to integrate schools. They’ll swing for the fences, then bow their heads at the house in Jackson, Miss., where Medgar Evers lived...

Throughout the year, the team has been meeting weekly to watch movies and discuss reading assignments about the African-American experience and civil rights. In advance of a summer tour in 2012 of cities and stadiums that were important in the Negro Leagues, Bandura required that they study up on the history of baseball and its integration.

Original source: The New York Times
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The New York Times' Travel section takes a ride on Indego

The New York Times Tuesday, June 16, 2015

After naming Philadelphia one of its 52 places to visit in 2015, the New York Times checks in on its latest tourism asset.

With the April launch of Indego, Philadelphia’s 24-hour bike share program, the city now has a network similar to New York’s Citi Bike; Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare; and bike programs in other cities. (Philadelphia is also on our list of 52 Places to Go for 2015.) A bike can be rented with a credit or debit card at any Indego docking station for $4 per half-hour, an ideal option for neighborhood trips. There is also an option to find open bikes at individual stations online.

Now, it’s time to explore the city.

Center City Philadelphia would be an excellent place to begin, given the density of docking stations in the neighborhood...

With Independence Day quickly approaching, it’s only natural that American history will play an oversized role in any summer trip to Philadelphia. Traveling east from City Hall, Old City has the Independence National Historic Park, which includes Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Benjamin Franklin Museum. Christ Church Burial Ground, the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence, is near the park.

Continue east and you’ll discover Elfreth’s Alley, a collection of 32 brick rowhouses on what is considered the oldest continuously occupied residential street in America.

Original source: The New York Times
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Legendary Philly-born photographer dies at 75

The New York Times Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Mary Ellen Mark, a Philadelphia native, became one of the most iconic photographers of her generation.

Mary Ellen Mark, whose unflinching yet compassionate depictions of prostitutes in Mumbai, homeless teenagers in Seattle and mental patients in a state institution in Oregon made her one of the premier documentary photographers of her generation, died on Monday in Manhattan. She was 75...

Mary Ellen Mark was born on March 20, 1940, in Philadelphia, and grew up nearby in Elkins Park. She had two main ambitions in high school, she told The New York Times Magazine in 1987: to become the head cheerleader and to be popular with boys. She succeeded at both.

She studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in painting and art history in 1962 and a master’s degree in photojournalism in 1964. She was particularly interested in the work of documentarians like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and Dorothea Lange.
Original source: The New York Times
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WIP compiles the dumbest comments in Philly sports history

WIP via CBS Tuesday, June 02, 2015

In honor of Ruben Amaro Jr.'s recent stumble, WIP compiled some of the city's biggest sports blunders. My personal favorite:

The Eagles tied the Bengals late in the 2008 season. Donovan McNabb had no idea an NFL game could end in a tie.

The quote: “I’ve never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book. It’s part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie.”

Original source: WIP via CBS
Read the complete list here.

Philadelphia International Airport eyes expansion

Associated Press Tuesday, June 02, 2015

The Philadelphia International Airport has its eyes on International Plaza, a 27-acre parcel.

Councilman Kenyatta Johnson introduced the legislation, calling for the city to buy the office buildings and the 27 acres and lease them to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development.

Officials said the buildings could be demolished to make room for some combination of new facilities for the airport and possibly for United Parcel Service.

"If you had asked me 20 years ago, does it make sense for the airport to acquire International Plaza, my answer would be the same as it is today: absolutely," said James Tyrrell, deputy Philadelphia aviation director of property and business development.

Original source: Associated Press via Lancaster Online
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Khyber Pass named one of the country's top bars

Esquire Tuesday, June 02, 2015

The Old City watering hole has earned a spot on Esquire's annual list of the country's best bars:

Back in the 1980s, the Khyber was where all the punk bands played. Nowadays the bands are gone and it's a lot cleaner. But there's still a great rock 'n' roll jukebox, decent New Orleans food (and cocktails), and a whole lot of craft beer on tap.

Original source: Esquire
Read the complete list here.

Amtrak crash raises huge questions about transportation and infrastructure spending

The New York Times Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The train disaster, which happened only a few miles from 30th Street Station, raises a lot of questions about the state of our country's infrastructure.

Investigators into the Amtrak crash in Philadelphia are focusing on excess speed, but there is a related issue: the overall condition of Amtrak and the nation’s infrastructure. One of the reasons that American trains should not travel 100 miles an hour in many places is that the state of our rail system — like the state of our bridges, highways and airports — is not good...

Much of the problem of crumbling infrastructure has existed for years. There is, however, a new development that has made things worse. The combined money that federal, state and local governments spend on construction has dropped significantly, relative to the size of the economy, in the last five years. And only part of the decline stems from the end of the stimulus program, which temporarily lifted infrastructure spending.

Such spending now represents about 1.5 percent of total economic activity, down from about 1.8 percent on average from 1993 through 2008. It’s at its lowest level in at least 22 years. (A hat-tip to Joe Weisenthal, of Business Insider, who calculated this statistic in 2013, after the collapse of a bridge near Seattle.)

Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary and Harvard president, sent an email to us today making an argument similar to Mr. Weisenthal’s: More infrastructure spending would both make accidents less likely and bring economic benefits.

Original source: The New York Times
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A 'Cambodia Town' in South Philly?

Philadelphia Inquirer Tuesday, May 19, 2015

An influx of Cambodian immigrants changes the face of South Philly -- should the designation become official?

On sunny weekend afternoons, in the shadow of an ornate, golden Buddhist temple, Mifflin Square in South Philadelphia is dotted with charcoal grills, chile-lacquered chicken wings, and thin-sliced fatty beef heavily seasoned with lemongrass sputtering over the coals. Women pound chilies, garlic, and dried shrimp to a paste to season the snappy unripe papaya for the lime-drenched salads they sell to passersby.

This is what some people call Cambodia Town, where these authentic street foods sell for $1, and where there's an effort afoot to make the title official. Though there are other places throughout the city that are rich in Cambodian culture - similar vendors sell snacks in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, and there's a new temple under construction in Southwest Philadelphia - the area around Mifflin Square is the heart of this community. Business owners, city officials, and Cambodian Americans think it's time to raise the profile of their culture - especially its bold, bright, and balanced cuisine.

Original source: Philadelphia Inquirer
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76ers rebrand, showcase Ben Franklin's dribbling skills

The Bleacher Report Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The 76ers have revealed an updated logo that draws on the team's old vintage look. Plus, a dribbling Ben Franklin.

Rebranding is a tricky and thankless undertaking for sports franchises.

If you do a good job, people on the Internet will complain and mock you. If you do a bad job, all of the people on the Internet will complain and mock you roundly.

So it comes as a bit of a relief for me to say that the Philadelphia 76ers have redesigned their logos, and there's really not much to complain about here.

The team tweeted out a slate of the new logo mockups. Admirably, they forwent musical festival neons and stuck to sprucing up the classic design already in place...

The franchise is also going through with the dribbling Ben Franklin secondary logo that first surfaced in 2014. It's a little goofy, but I commend Philadelphia for faithfully depicting Franklin's significant handles. Dude could cook.

Original source: The Bleacher Report
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Universities and drug companies partner to tackle big diseases

The New York Times Tuesday, May 12, 2015

New partnerships between universities and drug companies show promises for complex diseases.

British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is teaming up with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to start a research institute and a company aimed at curing H.I.V. infection and AIDS... The company and the university will each own half of the new company, Qura Therapeutics, which will have the rights to commercialize any discoveries...

The arrangement is part of a trend in which pharmaceutical companies are working directly with university researchers. Novartis and the University of Pennsylvania, for instance, are building a research center on the Philadelphia campus to work on ways to genetically alter a patient’s immune cells to battle cancer.

But while the University of Pennsylvania partnership is already producing striking remissions in some cancer patients, the attempt to cure H.I.V. is expected to take far longer and may fall short. The $20 million being contributed is a small sum for a company like Glaxo, which spent close to $5 billion on research and development last year.

Original source: The New York Times
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Burt Reynolds hits Philly Comic-Con

New York Daily News Tuesday, May 12, 2015

The big-screen legend made a splash in the City of Brotherly Love.

Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds showed he can still kick it into high gear as he stepped out for the Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia on Saturday.

"I always enjoy talking to fans and I'm usually very pleased with their curiosity about my career, what I'm doing, what I'm not doing, and why I'm not doing more,"the 79-year-old told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The “Smokey and the Bandit” star made his debut at a comic con, where attendees included cult favorites such as “Machete” star Danny Trejo and the original Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno.

Reynolds unveiled some details about his second memoir, “But Enough About Me,” which is still in the works. The actor will focus his latest memoir on all the people he worked with throughout his acting career.

Original source: New York Daily News
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Three local women get a deal in the 'Shark Tank'

The Heavy Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Zoom Interiors, a startup run by three Philly transplants, earned a deal on the ABC show that funds promising entrepreneurs. In the end, Barbara Corcoran offered $100,000 for 33 percent of the company.

Beatrice Fischel-Bock, Madeline Fraser and Elizabeth Grover all met as students during their first interior design course at George Washington University. “We became friends instantly and worked together for the next three years of design school learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Fischel-Bock said.

The company was born after friends started asking them to design their first apartments upon graduation. However, at the time they were all studying abroad, but quickly realized they were still able to assist their friends, who were all on budgets.
“It dawned on us that this is clearly an undeserved part of the market,” Fischel-Bock explained. “The design industry had just been shaken by the recession and people were very conscious about affordability. We decided to try our new formula with paying customers.”

...After starting their business in Washington DC, where they were in school, they moved to Philly after graduation. Fischel-Bock refers to the city as “the best kept secret on the East coast.” “It has the highest rate of millennials moving in to the city and just has such an authentic feel. The startup community is very close knit and supportive and continues to grow,” she said.

Original source: The Heavy
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