Reason #21 (Hidden Superheroes)

 I hope that every morning, the owner of this garage pulls her/his car out, takes a moment to watch Batman lower into place, and thinks, It's going to be a Super day.

Reason #20 (Potential)

Confession: This post is a stretch of the theme of this blog, but worthy, none the less.

One of the goals of this blog for me was to see the beauty and uniqueness of my adopted home.  It guides me to see through a positive lens and to hopefully encourage others to do the same.

A recurring thought, though, that I often have is about POTENTIAL.  Why is this space/lot/whatever this dirty?  Abandoned? Destroyed?  What could it be instead? A park? A row of shops? A school building? And most prominently in my head is Why isn't it any of those things? Who are the owners? Is it the city? Why aren't they making the best of this space?

Just behind CAPA, the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (Boyz II Men's alma mater) on a prominent intersection south of the main business district is this space. Broken asphalt. Weeds. Trash. Forgotten.

The truth is, I'm sure it's not forgotten.  There have been rumors.  The latest is that Wegmans would develop it, but those rumors are not grounded on anything, apparently.

What does the community need?

Whatever the plans are, someone make it beautiful! Useful!  Don't you see the potential?

Reason #19 (Neighborhood Quirks)

I'm thinking that if I just focus on capturing one or two single images that show the details of this city, and less on grandiose novel-sized posts, I'll be a more frequent blogger.  Let's see...

These images are from way back around Halloween but warrant their own moment in the spotlight.  This building usually showcases what seemed to be a permanent clock tower, but showed its true colors this fall as a spot for seasonal decor.

                                 It has since returned to its time-telling duties, but I wonder what next season will bring?

Reason #18 (Community learning)

I recently went to a workshop about small batch canning at our branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  Free workshops are great for two reasons: they're free and you learn something!

 Charles Santore Branch

Marisa, of Food in Jars, talked us through the basics of water bath canning in small spaces while she made and processed four jars of apricot preserves.  I'd never canned before (I was scared and intimidated and thought I needed a normal-sized kitchen), but loved the idea of preserving the farmer's markets best goods for dreary winter.

So, thanks to urban preserving enthusiasts like Marisa and the Free Library, I love Philadelphia because of my new hobby! (Check out my first batch below!)

   

Water bath using a silicon trivet instead of a canning rack & the rest of the tools 

Summer's favorite fruit

Too much space inside, I know.... I'm still learning

Reason #17 (Wipe your feet)

Pine and Spruce Streets weren't always paved, horses were the main form of transportation, not hatchbacks, and if you lived in Philadelphia in the olden (sp?) days, wiping your feet (or your boots, more commonly, I'm sure) was of utmost importance.  And why wouldn't you if you had a sweet boot scraper right outside your door?

Many of these muddy relics still stand strong on the streets of Philadelphia, serving no purpose except, well, to give us something to talk/blog/joke about.

So, I love Philadelphia thanks to relics of history for history's sake. Wipe your boots!

Reason #16 (Sometimes it's just all there)

Just take a moment to appreciate all that is going right in this photo.
                  Do you see the river?
                       The Walnut Street bridge?
                            The train passing beside the bike & pedestrian path?
                                 A freshly planted community garden?
                                     A brand new astro-turf dog run, complete with fire hydrants?

What you don't see is also perfect:  throngs of people smiling and laughing as their dogs bark and play, runners and bikers somehow co-existing on a narrow path, the gardeners planting next month's meal, and the crowds of walkers, bikers and runners who have stopped right next to me to take in and to photograph all that is right with Philadelphia today. And, it was 70 degrees.

So, I love Philadelphia, thanks to being in the right place at the right time.

Reason #15 (Community Gardens Part II)

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me

there lay an invincible summer."

~Albert Camus

This quote used to hang in my bathroom at my mom's house, hand-painted by me in bright colors on a dull sheet of craft paper.  It was a constant reminder as high school threw us curve balls,  that summer would come.  And along with it, summer camp. That's what this quote has always meant to me. 

But since then, millions of moments have brought this quote spilling into my head. Watching the community gardens die and rejuvenate as winter moves into spring are definitely some of those moments. 

Yes, I should have posted this a month ago when we were still in the throws of winter, but nevertheless, we are, as a city, bouncing back from winter into spring.






See those tulips?  The bush of kale? The new signs of a tended plot?

So, I love Philadelphia thanks again to the time and love and care of the gardeners of the community gardens.

 

Reason #14 (Friends in small restaurants)

In a city filled with historic charm (see post #13), local eateries also tend to be charming... and small. This will be my first post about a place I don't know very well, but Betty's Speakeasy in Graduate Hospital deserves my attention, and my patronage.


To celebrate Julie's birthday, our friend organized a special weekday dinner for eight of us at Betty's Speakeasy-- known best (well, not by me until recently) for breakfast and lunch and fudge, this tiny first floor restaurant/bakery also hosts small, private or semi-private price-fix dinners.

Best points of the dinner and then the photos can speak for themselves--

Theme menu & my sock monkey wine bottle cover

• dinner themes! Check out the menu that we shared, the Charles Dickens dinner
• narration of the history and any other story behind every course from your waiter, Dylan
• heavy support of local farmers (our goose only traveled from Delaware)
• and, of course, it's BYO PLUS drink pairings!

Dinner was delicious and we look forward to the next themed dinner, whatever it may be! (Creole?)

Breakfast/lunch menu

Check out the local Blue Coat Gin drink pairing next to the birthday girl

Another drink pairing- chocolate stout

So, I love Philadelphia thanks to small, creative, local restaurants that let me bring my own wine!

Reason #13 (Historic Charm) Part I

This is Quince St.

 

Right in the heart of Center City East stands this quaint brick-paved street.  No cars, no storefronts, but lots of charm.  And there are many more like it.

In the era of tear-down-the-old for bigger and better, Philadelphia kindly refuses.  Yes, modern brownstone condos are occasionally squeezed in the narrow city streets, but history wins the battle in Philly. 

Philadelphians pay a lot for this charm-- split box springs, tiny dollhouse-sized furniture, no sprawling private lawns with playsets, container gardens-- but the rewards are worth it.  Plus, you can always knock down walls in your brownstone to get a modern, open floor plan feel, and the city's children play at the pretty well-maintained public playgrounds and parks (more on that later).

I see a for sale sign.  Would anyone like to buy me a house?

So, I love Philadelphia thanks to old brick streets, narrow brownstones, and an undying respect for history and charm.

Reason #12 (Open Road)

Thank you, Philadelphia.  76 is always clogged with traffic, Kelly Drive's bike/pedestrian path is almost constantly too crowded to really ride with any speed or fitness benefits, but from noon to five on Saturdays and Sundays, West River Drive is a cyclist's dream come true.  No cars allowed.  Lots of lots of open road. Right along the river.



Serious cyclists in funky colored spandex mix with us, casual weekend riders, and sometimes, if you look closely, even miniature horses pulling carriages.



So, I love Philadelphia thanks to West River's no-car-weekend-hours!

 

Reason #11 (Food trucks)

 I didn't really believe that Philly had a food truck culture other than the generic, but delicious, halal trucks, cheese steak trucks, fruit salad trucks, etc., but I stand corrected.  No, they don't hang out in Center City where I would frequent them, but seem to focus on West Philly, and at special events.

Kung Fu Hoagie

Manayunk's 2012 StrEAT Food Festival this weekend, which kicked of Manayunk's Restaurant Week, brought in some of the best-- we saw Rival Bros. Coffee, Local 215, the Foo Truck, and Kung Fu Hoagie in just one block of Main Street.

The current food truck phenomenon has hit big cities all over the U.S. and reminds me so much of one of my favorite parts of traveling-- street food culture.  Now, if only they would bring it to Center City!

I love Philadelphia thanks to gourmet food trucks alive and well at street festivals and college campuses around the city!

BJH's Banh Mi from Kung Fu Hoagie

My Spicy Ramen Noodles with Lemongrass Tofu

Check 'em out!
http://manayunk.com/component/content/article/153
http://footruck.com/
http://www.facebook.com/kungfuhoagie
http://www.rivalbros.com/the-truck

Reason #10 (Local fair trade java)

The beans are roasted in coffee heartlands all over the world, workers, buyers, and consumers benefit from Fair Trade certified standards, and it's sold in my favorite farmer's market and a wonderful coffee shop near 12th Street Gym (and many other places, I'm sure!).  My favorite roast, Koseli, is chocolatey and delicious.

What more could a coffee lover ask for?



So, thanks to Philly Fair Trade Roasters for your rich, caffeinated yumminess whose business practices I applaud.  I love Philly because of you.

This photo courtesy of phillyfairtrade.com

Confession (Bad Blogger)

I'm a bad blogger.

It's not that I don't have ideas-- I even have a virtual sticky note on my computer of new reasons that I love Philly (Pizza! Coming soon...).

 It's not that I don't LOVE Philly-- I recently started traveling for work (planes, trains, automobiles) and riding the El home from Amtrak, or driving north towards the skyline from the airport after eating at chain restaurants and driving from A to B, reminds me of my pure love for this city.

It's not that I don't like to write to an audience-- I will wish upon myself to be born again as a food and travel writer who makes a lot of money... or Anthony Bourdain's sidekick.

It's that I haven't really understood this blog's purpose yet.  I love Philadelphia, I love food, I love urban gardening, I love BJH-- yes! But how does this transfer into the blog-o-sphere?  Julie of cantquitkidlit says I should blog about cooking and eating (because she knows me), but I'm no Julie Powell, or Julia Child for that matter.  But put that on my list as the next blog I attempt.  Do I review restaurants when Yelp does a great job already?  Do I write about my day-to-day life (feed cats, travel for work, present, come home, cook and enjoy time with BJH)? Nah.

But this post is about me getting re-inspired-- not being daunted by the fear of writing something interesting, but focusing more on taking photos that get me out in the city and appreciating it, and finding new ways to attract readers.  I've shied away from linking to Facebook, but am gaining courage!

 So here's to you, blog-o-sphere, for not letting me let this die!  I love Philadelphia because of you. 

Reason #9 [Street Humor]

Many side-street intersections in Center City never drain. Puddles aren't an effect of rain, but a constant pedestrian mini-obstacle. Someone recently, however, made it funny.


No Diving.

So, thanks again to a clever street artist who made a daily annoyance funny. I love Philly because of street graffiti humor.

Reason #8 (Unique & mysterious urban graffiti)

Most Philadelphia city dwellers, and even tourists who've explored around the Art Museum, will admit glancing down at the asphalt at a Center City intersection and noticing seemingly nonsense tiles and yellow or red robots.

I first noticed them on a trip to the Art Museum my first year in Philly and thought they must be markers for a walking trail, but later found out they were just "graffiti", made more permanent by the constant passing of cars pressing them farther into the street. (They're actually not permanent: see deterioration in photos below (and new paving, of course!)).




Upon further research (i.e. a Google search titled 'Philadelphia asphalt graffiti'), I read all about the mysterious Toynbee tiles found in many U.S. cities, even Buenos Aires, Rio, and Santiago de Chile! In Philly, at least, Toynbee robots are even more rampant than Toynbee tiles.

I took these photos of tiles around my neighborhood, but there are thousands in a Google image search. Most tiles are similar, with references to resurrection and Jupiter and lacking grammatical sense. What do you think? One person? A group of people? A bunch of copycats?

Check out some of the news articles and other info I've found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toynbee_tiles (if you don't like Wikipedia as a source, check out this post by Teach Paperless)

Woah! There's even a documentary!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6112129

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/02/toynbee-or-not-toynbee-tile-finders-try-to-answer-the-question/


So, thanks to you, Mr. Toynbee or Mr. Morasco, or whoever who are, I love Philly because of mysterious street robots!