Philadelphia, PA

Looking for something exciting and thrilling to do this Halloween? How about a Philadelphia Ghost Tour!
“Hear the chilling tales of America’s most historic…and most haunted city on this candlelight walking tour through Independence Park and Society Hill…”

Tour departs from Signers Garden, 5th & Chestnut Streets,
lasting approximately 90 minutes
October hours: 7:30 pm Daily, 9:30 pm Friday, Saturday, Halloween

LOCATION & TICKETS:
Call 215-413-1997 to reserve space on the tour.
Purchase tickets at:
Gift Shop next to Omni Hotel, 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia - until tour time or Independence Visitor Center, 6th & Market Streets, until 5:00 pm

Halloween is just around the corner, and just because you’re all grown up doesn’t mean you don’t still like to get dressed up! But perhaps you’re beyond the door-to-door Trick-or-Treat, so here are a few “big kid” Halloween activities for you to check out.

Saints & Sinners Ball
Where: VIP 40 S. 19th Street (Between Market & Chestnut Sts.)
When:Friday, October 26, 2007 9:00PM till 2:00AM
What: An Official Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and Top Shelf Two Hour Open Bar from 9:00PM till 11:00PM, And our Infamous Costume Contest with over $1000 in Cash & Prizes!!!! Dj Dozia will keep the party grooving all night!!! $20 Advance Tickets Reduced Admission For Philly2Night Guestlist

The Vampires + Vixens Ball
Where: Zee Bar 100 Spring Garden Street
When: Saturday, October 27, 2007 9pm - 3am.
What: Halloween Costume Party for the 25-30 crowd. $15 general admission presale online, $20 @ Door (if available). $30 VIP presale online, $40 @ Door.
# $3 Beer & Liquor Drink Specials
# DJ spinning hip hop and dance music all night long
# Dancers entertaining
# Costume Contests with Exciting Prizes
VIP-
# Open Bar from 9pm to 12am
# Exclusive VIP-Only access to 2 VIP rooms
# Local celebrities and athletes in attendance

Kildare’s Sexy Haunted Pub Party


Where: All Kildare’s Locations (West Chester, King of Prussia, Manayunk, Media, Philadelphia)
When: 8 pm-2 am, Oct 27
What: $3 Blue Moon, $2 Coors Light. Live Music or House DJ! $5 Cover but Ladies in Costume get in for free! Prizes for Sexiest Nurse, School Girl, Cop, Pirate Wench, Group and Super Hero

For more Halloween happenings, check out philly2night.com

halloween parties, philly halloween, VIP, zee Bar, Kildare’s

While I was at the Sudoku Competition on Saturday, I ate lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. I’ve mentioned the Market before back when there was the controversy over Rick’s Steaks(which is still there by the way!!!). I had a delicious falafel pita sandwich and fresh squeezed juice at Kamal’s.

Market History
Markets have been a part of Philadelphia’s history since the city’s development by William Penn in the late seventeenth century. When William Penn’s managers established the town of Philadelphia, one of their first actions was to herd the ragtag crowd of farmers, fisherman, and huntsman, who were hawking their goods all over the bustling settlement, into an open area at the foot of what was known as High Street, along the Delaware River. Soon the so-called ‘Jersey Market’ (because most of the hucksters were from the neighboring state) began to expand westward in the middle of the thoroughfare that had been appropriately renamed Market Street. With the growth of Philadelphia came the expansion of public markets. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the string of market sheds had become six blocks long, making the easternmost mile of the city’s main street a veritable babble of farmers and food purveyors on most days.
Today, Reading Terminal Market is once again the gastronomic bazaar that its original planners had envisioned. Many of the historic Market stands survived the reconstruction and are once again filled with local produce, fresh eggs, milk, meats, poultry, seafood, handmade crafts, jewelry, and clothing. The Market is home to more than 80 merchants, two of whom are descendants of the original standholders from a century before. Today, the Market is 100 percent leased. On any given day one can find an eclectic array of fresh baked Amish goods, produce direct from the field, unusual spices, free range meats and poultry, flowers, ethnic foods, and much more. One hundred thousand Philadelphians and tourists pass through the Reading Terminal Market every week enjoying its exceptional products, history, and people. (http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/about/history)

The Market is open Monday through Saturday 8:00 am–6:00 pm, and now Sundays 9:00 am–4:00 pm. For a list of Merchant’s in the Market, check out this nifty map on the RTM’s site.
The Market also offers Special Events. Oct. 23 at noon, there will be a Cooking Demonstration at Dominique’s Tropical Latitude’s with Dominique Macquet. The demonstration will cover a variety of “southern hemisphere” foods from countries as diverse as Vietnam, Trinidad and Argentina.
Other upcoming events:
* Oct 27, 2007 · Book Sigining Atlas of American Artisan Cheese
* Oct 28, 2007 · Watch the Eagles Game Score Some Dinner
* Nov 4, 2007 · Sunday Soundbites

Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia Markets

Saturday’s Sudoku competition had an amazing turn out with 857 puzzlers registered - 150 in the advanced category, 442 intermediate solvers, and 265 in the easier beginners’ category. There were contestants of all ages, the youngest being Teresa Martinez, age 6 and the oldest, Milton Schwartz, was 87.

In the end, the winner of the advanced devision was no surprise; it was Thomas Snyder, 27, from Palo Alto, Calif. who had also won the Sudoku world championship in Prague back in March. Snyder solved 19 of 20 puzzles, scoring 350 points and earning the title of the US Sudoku Champion.

Thomas Synder, Sudoku Champion

For more on the Competition, read the article in the Philadelphia Inquirer or visit Philly.com

Sudoku Championship, Philadelphia Inquirer, Thomas Synder

October 19th through 21st, the Philadelphia Inquirer is hosting the first U.S. Sudoku championship at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia. The championship will be hosted by world-renowned puzzle master Will Shortz and will be open to a national and international field of contestants. The Championship will have three levels of solvers – beginner, intermediate and advanced, and will include a weekend of fun for sudoku enthusiasts.

Event Schedule
Friday, October 19, 2007 • 7 p.m to 9 p.m.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Sudoku National Championship’s Welcome Reception will take place in one of Philadelphia’s newest landmark attractions, the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Come enjoy spectacular artwork and delicious food while mingling with Will Shortz and other Sudoku players from around the country.

Saturday, October 20, 2007 • 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
*9 a.m. Registration
*11 a.m. Rounds 1 and 2
*12:30 p.m. Break for Lunch
*1:30 p.m. Round 3
*2:30 p.m. Bonus Round
*3 p.m. Finals
*3:30 p.m. Awards Presentation

Saturday, October 20, 2007 • 4:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m.
Post Championship Meal. This informal meal will be a casual event that will give participants an opportunity to get to know one another and recap about the excitement of the Championship.

Prizes
Advanced Winner Prize: $10,000 plus a spot on the U.S. National Sudoku Team. Winner will compete in the 2008 World Sudoku Championship in India. Travel and accommodations to and from the World Sudoku Championship will also be paid for as part of the advanced level prize.
Intermediate Winner Prize: Winner will receive $5,000.
Beginner Winner Prize: Winner will receive $3,000.
Category Winners: Several awards will be presented to winners in a variety of categories. These winners will receive $100.

Sudoku Championships, Will Shortz

Start planing for the weekend with these upcoming events.

Thurs. 10/18

Meet Me in Manayunk! ..not me personally, its Manayunk’s newest promotion.”Every Thursday from 5pm until 12am various Manayunk hot spots will
be having fabulous food and drink specials including $3.50 Corona ’s
all day and all night. Participating bars and restaurants will also
have a variety of entertainment including local cover bands,
DJ’s and more.”

Kildare’s Octoberfest! At Manayunk and South Street locations from 9:00PM till 11:00PM and enjoy 7 different exotic beers plus an open bar. Some of these featured beers: Magic Hat Jinx, Victory Moonglow, Orlio Organic, Erdinger October Fest, Becks October Fest, Guinness, Stella Artois. $10.00 if on the P2N guestlist.

Fri 10/19

Making Time with EROL ALKAN AND NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB @ PURE!!! 9pm-3:30am. 9-11 OPEN BAR!!! $10.00
PURE 1221 St. James St. (between Walnut and Locust and 12th and 13th Sts.) Philadelphia, PA.

Sat. 10/20

McToberfest. Join McFadden’s on 3rd Street for their 5th Annual McToberfest on Saturday, October 20th! Doors Open at 12PM! Drink specials include $3 Coors Light and Coors Banquet as well as $5 Red Bull and Vodka.
Live Indoor/Outdoor Entertainment provided by Octane, Reaction, and MR. GREENGENES!!! $10 per ticket on philly2night guestlist/ $15 regular admission

Now Through Oct 21

Big Bang Film Festival. “…a celebration of some of the most exciting and inventive films in Action, Adventure, Suspense and Asian Action Cinema. BBFF will showcase amazing films, some classics, some classics in the making.” $8 per show. Student Discount 1.00 off Festival Pass $80.00
International House 3701 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA; Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19103; Roxy Theatre 2023 Sansom St Philadelphia, PA 19103

Terror Film Festival. “Terror Film Festival is a bad-azz six night, blood-chilling, alien-probing international independent film festival” $8, Any ONE film screening program, additional prices for passes available.
Ethical Society Building 1906 South Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia, PA

[tags] Octoberfest, philly events, Making Time, Big Bang Film Festival, Terror Film Festival [tags]

I’ve always been a fan of accents and regional colloquialisms. When ever I meet someone new, I try to determine where they’re from by the verbal clues they may not even realize they are giving. Here’s a short list of Philly colloquialisms, see how many you say/use!
* Youse (guys) You guys, you all. “Youse” is prounounced with “S” (youss)
ah, yes, i use this one sometimes

* Gravy Simple marinara sauce served with Italian food.

* Coffee Regular Coffee with cream and sugar.

* Jimmies Chocolate candy sprinkled onto desserts or ice cream.
yes! chocolate ones are jimmies, rainbow ones are sprinkles. thats just how it is.

* Dis, Dat, Dey, Dees, Doze, Dem, Dough This, That, They, These, Those, Them, Though
yo, i don’t know what youss talkin bout, i don’t do dis one

* Wooder, Warder Water

* Warsh To wash

* Whiz wit / witout When ordering a cheesesteak, a cheesesteak “wit” comes with onions, a cheesesteak “witout” does not. For choice of cheese, Whiz refers to Cheese Whiz. American and Provolone are also commonly available options.

* Jawn Thing.
hahaha, yep.

This past weekend, my friend Sally and I celebrated our 6 month friend-iversary. 6 months really isn’t all that long for BFFs but we also had a rough week. Really, we were trying to justify spending the money on a fancy dinner at Patou in Old City, on Market Street. Fabulously French, Patou, the second venture by acclaimed Chef/Owner Patrice Rames of Bistro St. Tropez, offers the bright flavors of the Cote d’ Azur. With rustic painted walls and rot-iron chairs, you’d think you were in France itself. The dining space is open and tables are spaced to leave plenty of room between parties. If you sit towards the kitchen in the back, you can actually watch them cook while you eat.

The menu is limited however it changes regularly. It’s separated into 3 courses; first (appetizer), second (main entree), third (dessert). The prices are what you’d expect for fine dining, but they even offer a 3 for $30 where you can have all three courses for $30, which can work out to be a good deal depending on what you order. Unfortunately, Sally and I were too full by the time we were done our entrées that we didn’t even make it to dessert.
For my first course i had the Fricassée, pan-roasted wild mushrooms in a creamy bordelaise sauce with a touch of truffle oil. I never used to be a big fan or mushrooms, but this dish was simply fantastic! I would have been satisfied with just that as a meal, which is probably why they offer a similar entrée version; the vegetarian entrée (unfortunately, the only vegetarian entrée) had the same roasted wild mushrooms with escarole, caramelized onions, orechiette pasta, shaved romano and truffle jus.
We passed on dessert, even though the Île Flottante (pillowy french meringue with crème anglaise) sounded quite tempting. I suppose we’ll have to make a trip back, only save some room.
Chef Rames Likes to offer a warm inviting atmosphere so when not cooking he roams the dinning room to mingle with his patrons. Be sure to say hello and give your compliments.

Patou, Old City Restaurants, Dining in Old City, French Restaurants in Philadelphia

After a short vacation I noticed that even on the other side of the country, you can get a “philly cheesesteak”. Now of course, I’ve already expressed that it’s just not the same anywhere else but Philly so it certainly is amusing to me that anywhere claims they have Philly Steaks. However, its also pretty cool that this style of Steak Sandwich has such precedence to be universally known as a Philly Steak Sandwich. It’s Philly’s claim to food fame! But now here’s the challenge…
Whether you be Philadelphian or not, you can still play this game. All you gotta do is take a picture of a sign that says “PHILLY STEAKS”. Include the location, and bonus points if you’ve eaten there. Tell me how it was? I’ll post the best pictures and stories at the month. Deadline is Oct 27th. At the moment I don’t have prizes, but I might be able to russel up some by then.

For now enjoy this picture of John Kerry eating a Philly Steak, courtesy of washingtonpost.com

Philly steaks, Photo Challenge

They made it this far but can they hold on? Where are the Phillies fans? Show your boys some support. Who can give me the best Baseball Cheer?

Say what you will about SEPTA, but now taking public transporation is even more environmentally friendly. Word on the street is SEPTA is upgrading to hybrid buses that will run on a mix of gas and electric.The new buses won’t look any different, and aparently, they already have a few out there. I’ll have to research more details but that is as much as I gathered from talk on the bus.

***update***
here’s the link for the article on SEPTA’s site
http://www.septa.org/news/press_releases/20070927a.html

SEPTA, Hybrid Bus

Finally, i’m connected again. A lot has happened since i last posted, i don’t know where to start. Well…moved into my apartment and it took a little while to set up an internet connection. It still won’t work on my computer yet so thank my roomie for letting me borrow his. Unpacking and getting settled has had me pretty busy. I also just got an 8 week old kitten thats a bit of hand full. (she’s currently behaving and sleeping on my lap…shhh)
IN philly news…
SEPTA fares went up, again. Maybe they have to make up for the money spent in the courts trying to get rid of transfers.

Phillies were doing good, then they started to suck, now they’re doing good again. I don’t really follow sports but hey, GO PHILLS!

There was a big debacle over duck liver.

and um…some other stuff.

sorry this is a terrible post. Life is just a little crazy and stressful at the moment. I’ll write more and better soon. thanks for hanging in there.