Tourism : In The News

The local chicken-and-donuts chain continues its quest for world domination, announcing plans for locations in Miami and Nashville. 

It's all happening. The best fried chicken and doughnuts in the country are no longer confined to Philadelphia. Congratulations, America, you're getting more Federal Donuts.

Philadelphia's beloved fried-chicken-and-doughnuts-and-coffee chainlet was founded in 2011 by acclaimed chef and 2014 Eater Chef of the Year Michael Solomonov with his Zahav restaurant partner Steve Cook, local coffee shop owners Tom Henneman and Bobby Logue, and Philly food maven Felicia D'Ambrosio. The brand (often referred to as to FedNuts) opened to epic lines and now boasts five locations in Philadelphia. Fried chicken and doughnuts were a rare combination in the first years of this decade, but diners can now find similar chicken and doughnut shops across the country.

Federal Donuts' owners have been teasing more locations for years. Back in 2014, Cook told Philadelphia Business Journal that he was looking at "cities that are drivable [to] Philadelphia" for potential new locations. So it was truly surprising when Eater learned earlier this week that the first two locations outside Philadelphia would be opening in the far-flung cities of Nashvilleand Miami. The FedNuts crew has opened the floodgates and is in full expansion mode.

Original source: Eater
Read the complete story here. 

The Gray Lady's iconic recurring travel feature visits Philadelphia in advance of the DNC. Check out their itinerary here. 

With the Democratic National Convention to be held here in July, and its expected influx of 50,000 people, Philadelphia is more than ready to show itself off to the world. Thanks to a compact city center and plenty of bike lanes — plus a popular bike-share program — Philadelphia rewards exploration on two feet or two wheels. A college town, the city has a young vibe and a profusion of happy hours, as well as one of the most dynamic culinary landscapes in the country. The restaurant scene is expanding rapidly, from Frankford Avenue in the north to Passyunk Avenue in the south, discarding traditional “red sauce” Italian restaurants and working-class bars in favor of indie B.Y.O.B.s and elegant cafes. With an ever-increasing number of stellar museums, the transformation of industrial spaces into artist studios and a newly invigorated clutch of outdoorsy offerings, the city has never been more inviting — and not just to the Democrats.

Original source: The New York Times
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The Philadelphia developer is bullish on Atlantic City, and he's starting with the Showboat. 

Real estate developer Bart Blatstein said on Friday he will reopen the Showboat, one of Atlantic City's four shuttered casino hotels, in July, but without the gambling.

Blatstein, chief executive of Philadelphia-based Tower Investments, said in a statement that 852 hotel rooms will open in two towers at the Showboat, making it the largest non-casino hotel in New Jersey...

The Showboat carries a deed restriction that currently prevents it from reopening the casino. Former Showboat owner Caesars Entertainment Corp closed it in 2014 even though it had been marginally profitable.

Asked whether he would ever seek to reopen the casino at Showboat, Blatstein said in a phone interview that "all options are open ... It's a remarkable property. I'm very bullish on Atlantic City."

He aims to open the hotel by July 4, though it could take an additional week.

"To open up that many rooms in a month's time, it's a lot of sheets and pillowcases. It's a lot of work," he said.

Blatstein has other developments in the seaside resort town, including the boardwalk entertainment and retail complex The Playground at Caesars casino hotel.

Original source: Reuters (via The New York Times)
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The giant urban waterslide event is once again skipping its Philadelphia stop. Turns out the City wasn't too stoked about the organization.

Following last week’s announcement that Slide the City would come to Philadelphia this summer after missing a scheduled 2015 date, the event has again been canceled.Slide the City was scheduled to bring its 1,000-foot slip-and-slide to Sedgley Drive in Fairmount Park by the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday, Aug. 6. However, as Lauren Hitt, spokeswoman for Mayor Kenney’s administration, tells us, a permit for Slide the City will not be issued.

"We just felt like they weren't great partners," she said in an interview today.

She also said five other parties had already reserved the picnic and pavilion areas at Lemon Hill where the slide was hoping to set up Aug. 6.

Slide the City last year canceled its Philadelphia stop at the last minute after months of promotion. In an email following last year’s cancelation, Slide the City said simply that "our season is coming to an end" and that "we’re sad we can’t come to Philadelphia this year."

Philly Voice has more on the conflict.

Original source: Philly.com
Check out the complete story here. 

A new Google Street View initiative -- launched in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Fairmount Park Conservancy -- will make it possible to visualize 200 miles of trails and visit various sites within the country's largest urban park system.

Launched in in 2007, the Street View feature of Google Maps has done wonders for misty-eyed nostalgia and real estate voyeurism. That is, the technology has made it dually possible to remotely revisit your childhood cul-de-sac and place yourself squarely in front of that fixer-upper of a dream home across town that might, fingers crossed, come on the market sooner than later.

More recently, Google Street View has embraced armchair adventure tourism and gone off-road, so to speak, with the addition of dozens of far-flung — and a few not all that far-flung — destinations ranging from the Galapagos Islands to Grand Canyon and the Pyramids of Giza. Does the fact that you may never have the chance to visit the Citadel of Qaitbay, the Wieliczka Salt Mine or Finland’s one-and-only Santa Claus Village in your lifetime keep you up at night? Now, you can visit all three in a single evening through the magic of 360-degree panoramic imagery...Philadelphia, home to Fairmount Park, will be the first city to digitally document its entire park system on Google Street View as part of the tech giant’s Google Trekker program...

Equipped with a 15-lens camera apparatus that snaps panoramic images every three seconds, the 50-pound Google Trekker backpack is on loan — so Philadelphia better work fast to capture every nook and cranny of its park system within the allotted six-month time frame. From the sound of it, the city hired the right gents to perform the task. Both experienced hikers, Conor Michaud is a gym instructor and Gint Stirbys is a professional mover. On their feet from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m., the roving documentarians will alternate duties — one will don the super-hefty camera-backpack while the other will walk ahead to clear the parks’ trails by removing any obstacles or litter.

Original source: Mother Nature Network
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We can even forgive the lazy cheesesteak reference -- and the odd Passyunk fountain mention -- in this great rundown of Philly's vibrant vegan dining landscape.

What do you call a Philly cheese steak with no cheese and no steak?

It sounds like the setup to a punch line. But there’s nothing to laugh at when it comes to eating vegan in Philadelphia, which, in the last few years, has blossomed into a dynamic universe of vegan food, from old-school doughnuts to adventuresome tacos. Veganism is so hot that the city declared last Nov. 1 Philly Vegan Day.

“There’s a new energy here,” said Mike Barone, the owner of Grindcore House, a vegan coffee spot in South Philadelphia, famously an Italian neighborhood that’s undergone a restaurant renaissance near the grand Passyunk fountain. “You can go out to more places that are vegan. A lot of other places are accommodating, and that’s snowballing.”

Philadelphia’s vegan cheerleaders say what’s happening comes from living in a food-curious city where it’s cheap to explore new ground.

Much credit for the city’s vegan boom goes to Richard Landau and Kate Jacoby, a husband and wife team whose “vegetable restaurant” Vedge opened in 2011 in a townhouse near the trendy 13th Street neighborhood. (Horizons, their previous restaurant, helped endear the city to vegan eating.) The menu emphasizes seasonal vegetables and hearty, savory proteins like tofu and seitan (wheat gluten).

“We are cooking good food,” Mr. Landau said. “I don’t think most of our clientele care that it’s vegan.” Last year Philadelphia magazine named Vedge and V Street among the best 50 restaurants in town, calling Vedge “our favorite place to send anyone looking for a true taste of Philly talent.”

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

The AP lists off "New Ways to See Philly From Up High and Down Low," in advance of the Democratic National Convention in July.

With classic rowhouse architecture, brick sidewalks and narrow streets, some charming neighborhoods in Philadelphia can almost make you forget about cheesesteaks, Rocky and that whole American Revolution thing.
Almost.

It will be hard to escape the Cradle of Liberty references this summer as the city hosts the Democratic National Convention. But Philly has plenty to offer even the most non-political visitor.

Things have been really hoppy, er hoppin', during the warm months thanks to an influx of beer gardens and revamped civic spaces where you can socialize, people-watch and Instagram your heart out.

New vantage points from up high and at the water's edge will give you a whole new way to look at The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.

Original source: Associated Press via The New York Times
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All 10,000 bulbs are being replaced for the first time since the site went LED in 2005.

"We have every intention to get it done before the Democratic National Convention," Barry Bessler, chief of staff of the parks and facilities division of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, told the Philadelphia Business Journal.

"That's a tremendous Philadelphia icon, and we want it to look its best with all these people coming to town," Bessler said.
The Fairmount Park Conservancy is supplying the money for the endeavor. Bessler said "it's going to be a significant investment," but he could not confirm the total financial cost. Reliable sources, however, place it at an estimated $500,000...

The intensity of the LED lights will be significantly brighter than it is now, Bessler said, without using more wattage.

"That's a nice feature of the upgrade in technology," he said. "We will get a much brighter appearance without any more electricity."

Original source: Philadelphia Business Journal
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The British publication sent their travel editor to Philadelphia -- he came back with "eight essential experiences."

If you’ve only got 48 hours in the city with famous links to Monopoly, the first thing you should do is go directly to jail.

Philadelphia was where legend says businessman Charles Darrow dreamed up the iconic board game in 1933 (he didn’t, he patented it – it was invented in 1903 by Elizabeth Magie of Washington DC, but that’s another story).

However, on a short visit to the splendid City of Brotherly Love, I cannot recommend highly enough a trip to the Eastern State Penitentiary. Here are eight unmissable things to see and do on a short break to Philly – much of which is walkable.

Original source: Mirror
Read the complete list here. 

To get the city into the Democratic (Party) spirit, fiberglass donkeys will be placed around the city in advance of the Democratic National Convention.

Fifty-seven fiberglass donkeys will be displayed at various sites and attractions starting July 1. The symbol of the Democratic Party will represent each U.S. state, each territory, Washington, D.C., and Democrats abroad.

The donkeys will be painted with iconic images from each location, chosen by each state's delegates. The ideas were given to Philadelphia artists to create.

"Donkeys Around Town" is an effort to get residents in the convention spirit and encourage delegates and other visitors to explore the city. It's the brainchild of former Gov. Ed Rendell, who's the host committee chairman.

Rendell said he was inspired by a similar program in Erie a few years back that seemed to get tourists and locals excited to explore the city and the artworks.

"I think it's going to be great for the delegates and great for the residents," Rendell said.

Original source: Associated Press
Read the complete story here. 

The historic site is now engaging with the present via a new exhibit, "Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration."

Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary opened in 1829 with the belief that criminals could redeem themselves, and it was cruel to crowd or mistreat them. The only light came from the skylight in the vaulted ceiling, sending the message that only the light of God and hard work could lead to reform.

By the 1930s, space meant to house 300 inmates instead held 2,000. By 1970, the year Eastern State closed, punishment was its primary mission.

Now, in a transformation that began modestly a few years ago, the penitentiary that housed such notorious criminals as gangster Al Capone and bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton is completing a retooling of its programming to place a major focus on growing questions about the effectiveness of America's prison system.

"Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration," an exhibit opening next month in workshops alongside one of the cellblocks, lets visitors know that the U.S. has the world's highest known percentage of incarcerated citizens. It also highlights large racial disparities in prison populations and the toll mass incarceration has taken on minority communities.

"Five years ago, I would have told you visitors didn't want to hear about this, that it would make them uncomfortable. They'd take this as being political, they'd be offended or they'd think we were trying to drive a political agenda," said Sean Kelley, exhibit curator for the nonprofit that has run the museum since 2001. "At every turn, we've been proven wrong."

Original source: Associated Press
Read the complete story here. 

Starr Restaurants has hired a new head honcho with a New York pedigree.

When Alex Lee resigned his pressure-cooker position as executive chef atDaniel in 2003 to become the executive chef at Glen Oaks country club in Old Westbury, N.Y., he may as well have gone to Mars. A high-profile star seemed to have left the picture.

Now he is back in the restaurant world as the culinary director of Starr Restaurants, Stephen Starr’s fast-growing group of 34 restaurants, most in Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Lee, who started last week, will oversee all of them and the other corporate chefs in the organization. Mr. Starr said he expected Mr. Lee to concentrate on the company’s new restaurants...

Hiring Mr. Lee is yet another example of Mr. Starr’s ability to attract marquee chefs. His roster already includes Masaharu Morimoto, Douglas Rodriguez, Justin Smillie, Jason Atherton from London and Daniel Rose from Paris.

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

The Philadelphia Zoo is now home to four new residents -- but we have to wait a little longer for their public debut.

They're not quite ready for their public close-up, but four black-and-white ruffed lemur babies are off to a good start at the Philadelphia Zoo.

They were born last month to 9-year-old Kiaka and 10-year-old Huey, weighing in at a combined one-third of a pound.

Kiaka is proving to be a good first-time mom. She carries the fluffy siblings in her mouth from one nest box to another, since they cannot move around on their own for a few months.

Original source: Associated Press
Read the complete story here. 

Looking for Colonial history? You can't do better than Philadelphia, where a new museum and a treasure trove of sites beckon.

When walking the streets of the Old City area in Philadelphia, it’s easy to imagine being back in the late 18th century. A small 8-by-10-block section was where so many of the famous names of the period — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Betsy Ross, John and Samuel Adams, Dolley and James Madison and, nearly everywhere, it seems, Ben Franklin — lived and socialized.

Many buildings they passed by remain, the city having long ago taken to preservation. Philadelphia is a place where ideas, agreements, arguments, animosities and friendships were clearly part of the fabric.

“Philadelphia owns this story,” said Michael C. Quinn, president and chief executive of the Museum of the American Revolution, a $119 million edifice scheduled to open in April 2017, two short blocks east of Independence Hall. “It is an incredibly compelling story, and it created some of the most inspiring and lofty ideals the world has known. We have to keep telling it in as many ways as possible...”

“This is not Disneyland, but a real place,” said Meryl Levitz, president and chief executive of Visit Philadelphia, the city’s main nonprofit tourism promotion agency. “This is where America began. I don’t think you can have too much of that. The population keeps expanding, so there are always more people to attract, and from what we know, those people want more, better and newer.”

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

The New York Times continues its love affair with Steel City, this time highlighting the symbiosis between the Pittsburgh food scene and its growing population of young people.

Everybody seems so young. And everybody’s talking about restaurants. If there are scholars who hope to study how a vibrant food culture can help radically transform an American city, the time to do that is right now, in real time, in the place that gave us Heinz ketchup.

In December, Zagat named Pittsburgh the No. 1 food city in America. Vogue just went live with a piece that proclaimed, “Pittsburgh is not just a happening place to visit — increasingly, people, especially New Yorkers, are toying with the idea of moving here.”

For decades, Pittsburgh was hardly seen as a beacon of innovative cuisine or a magnet for the young. It was the once-glorious metropolis that young people fled from after the shuttering of the steel mills in the early 1980s led to a mass exodus and a stark decline.

“We had to reinvent ourselves,” said Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh’s mayor.

And they have. Over the last decade or so, the city has been the beneficiary of several overlapping booms. Cheap rent and a voracious appetite for culture have attracted artists. Cheap rent and Carnegie Mellon University have attracted companies like Google, Facebook and Uber, seeking to tap local tech talent. And cheap rent alone has inspired chefs to pursue deeply personal projects that might have a hard time surviving in the Darwinian real estate microclimates of New York and San Francisco.

No one can pinpoint whether it was the artists or techies or chefs who got the revitalization rolling. But there’s no denying that restaurants play a starring role in the story Pittsburgh now tells about itself. The allure of inhabiting a Hot New Food Town — be it Nashville or Richmond, Va., or Portland (Oregon or Maine) — helps persuade young people to visit, to move in and to stay.

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