DNC CELEBS: MC Hammer in Chinatown, Bryan Cranston Lurks Quietly

City of Philadelphia social media guy Albert Lee and ’80s legend MC Hammer were all smiles on Wednesday night in Chinatown.

It has become apparent to us here at Philadelphia magazine that many of our DNC visitors have been getting some very bad advice or just being downright lazy when it comes to their dining options. But it’s no surprise to us that MC Hammer is on the right side of history.

The man who brought the world “U Can’t Touch This,” “2 Legit 2 Quit,” and those awesomely ridiculous pants brought his crew to favorite Chinatown haunt David’s Mai Lah Wah in the wee hours of Thursday morning, as dutifully documented by City of Philadelphia social media guy Albert Lee.

Lee bumped into Hammer — or do his friends call him MC? — around 2:50 a.m. and says that it was actually the ’80s hip-hop legend’s second visit to David’s this week.

https://twitter.com/MCHammer/status/758580625225965568

Although Hammer tweeted about the vegetable soup, we sure hope he ordered some of those killer dumplings with the addictive ginger-scallion sauce. (We’re getting conflicting reports on whether MC Hammer is vegan.)

While we’re certainly happy to see that the DNC is attracting such musical luminaries to our fair city, we have to admit that Hammer wasn’t the first person we’d expect to bump into — that is until it was pointed out to us that Hammer and the man who might become vice president of the United States are chummy:

https://twitter.com/MCHammer/status/756648774773071872

Was Questlove at ITV Philly?

Usually when someone tweets a photo from a restaurant, it means that they’ve eaten there. So when Questlove tweeted an endorsement of new Nick Elmi spot ITV Philly on Wednesday night, we figured he was chowing down.

Check out #TopChef @nicholaselmi’s @itvphilly this week if you are not able to swing a res at @laurelepx! #DNC pic.twitter.com/nD5eOumHMc

— Quest Loves Food (@questlovesfood) July 27, 2016

But the weird thing is that Elmi says he hasn’t seen the prodigious Roots drummer, and Philly Mag’s Art Etchells was actually at ITV Philly for a while around the time that Questlove’s tweet was sent out. We sent Questlove a message in hopes of sorting out this oh-so-important puzzle.

Leave Bryan Cranston Alone!

When Bill Murray comes to Philadelphia, he hangs with the people. But not Bryan Cranston.

No, from what we hear, the Breaking Bad star isn’t exactly pausing to take selfies with fans as he quietly lurks around town. Word on the street is that when Cranston reportedly attended the super-exclusive Janelle Monáe performance at the Barnes Museum earlier this week, workers were given strict instructions to stay away from him.

And we haven’t seen Cranston tweeting anything about his restaurant experiences in Philadelphia, but we do have it on good authority that the actor dined at Ocean Prime on Wednesday, hours after he scolded Bill O’Reilly on Twitter. Hopefully somebody bought him a drink for that one.

Where the Clintons Sleep

While the Rittenhouse Hotel has generally been the go-to over the years for visiting dignitaries and touring top-shelf rock bands, Hillary and Bill Clinton are said to be shacking up at the new Logan Hotel, where the rooftop bar prices are suited for the rich and famous.

Best Day Eva?

Photo courtesy Jordan Parenti

Some of us are feeling pretty damn jealous of Jordan Parenti right about now. The partnership coordinator for Visit Philly was strolling around Rittenhouse when he couldn’t help but notice a certain woman walking out of Serafina.

“To be honest, the second I saw her, it was her beauty that really caught my eye,” remembers Parenti. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a beautiful woman.’ And then I realized that it was Eva Longoria.”

So he requested a selfie, and she graciously granted his wish.

“She was on the corner across from the Dandelion and was like, ‘That’s such a cute building… I wanna SnapChat it.’”