Chinatown

I’m Seeing Other Blogs #4: My Lunch date with Midtown Lunch

Jamie and her lunch!

The lunch date should not be easily dismissed. And no one in Philly knows that better than Jamie, who runs the Philly arm of the blog Midtown Lunch, a review-based site focused specifically on, you guessed it—lunch!  First started in New York, the site but has now expanded to the lucky cities of Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Jamie was tapped to run the Philly site, which she now does in addition to the small job of being in law school. Petite and pretty, and wearing some of the coolest pink plastic-frame glasses I’d ever seen, Jamie does not look like a woman who can or does put away a lot of food. But don’t be fooled. On our date, Jamie ate everything with gusto, as well as with a large store of experience and knowledge to size things up against. It is obvious she loves her job and being a…

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THANK GOODNESS ITS FIRST FRIDAY!

THANK GOODNESS ITS FIRST FRIDAY!

On the first Friday of every month, Philadelphia’s art galleries stay open late and welcome everyone — from casual passerby to serious collectors — to come in and peruse their current curations.  The aptly dubbed “First Friday” has been happening, rain or shine, since 1991, and has become one of the city’s most visible and popular events.  Although historically focused on the 40+ galleries between Front and Vine and Market and 3rd streets in Old City, First Friday open houses are now hosted by galleries all over the city, from Space 1026 in Chinatown to the Projects Gallery in Northern Liberties to Highwire in Fishtown.  The best thing about this expansion is that, even though every First Friday shares the same core elements, depending on who’s showing what where, you can have a radically different experience every single time. How cheap we talkin’: FREE! Why this will impress your date: Because you can show you…

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Monday Movie Night at the Troc

The Trocadero Theatre

The Trocadero Theatre, located at 1003 Arch street in Chinatown, is probably best known as a live concert venue, but on Monday nights, the balcony plays host to a lively movie night featuring classic B movies or popular flicks such as Zombieland, Purple Rain, Goonies, and – the film we saw – Black Dynamite, a Blaxploitation spoof released in 2008.  Without the usual distraction of a band, erratic stage lighting, and a packed house, I was able to appreciate what a beautiful theatre the Troc really is.  The ornate gold proscenium arch framing the screen made it almost ironic that we were there to see such a low-brow film.  But in a good way. How cheap we talkin’: $3 admission comes with a coupon for $3 toward a drink.  And if you arrive before 7pm (the show generally starts arounds 8pm), you also get a FREE beer and a bag of popcorn.  And a raffle…

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