Philadelphia Pet Hotel and Villas
You can rest easy leaving your precious Precious at this kennel/spa/playhouse when you're off to the Shore, but here's fair warning: She may never want to come back home. Do you throw her birthday parties? 7401 Holstein Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19153, phillypethotel.com.
Chickie’s & Pete’s
Bars with food trucks inside. Bars with strict dress codes. Bars with 18-ingredient cocktails that take 15 minutes to make. Blah, blah, blah. When it comes time to watch the big game–or any game, for that matter–the only place I want to be is at any of the dozen or so area locations of Chickie’s & Pete’s. You and your too-cool friends can roll your eyes at my vulgar plebeianism, but while you’re at your tin-ceilinged, Edison-bulbed speakeasy, I’ll be sitting happily amidst an ungodly number of huge TVs with sound, drinking cheap beers and scarfing down crack-like Crabfries. If you come to your senses and decide to meet me for the next game, don’t ask the waitress if she has that $14 single-cask goat-tears-infused craft beer, or you might get stomped. – Victor Fiorillo chickiesandpetes.com.
The Velvet Lily
If Condom Kingdom is Walmart, The Velvet Lily is Bergdorf's. (Note: All purchases come packaged in discreet black bags, so you can buy-for, you know, your "friend"-without letting your freak flag fly on the way home.) 1040 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123, thevelvetlily.com.
Porcos
When you’re in the middle of a deadly global pandemic, the ideal restaurant experience is one that involves the least amount of actual human contact. Which is why Porcos — a literal hole in a wall out of which come some of the city’s best porchetta sandwiches — is the perfect vision of our restaurant scene’s current moment. This takeaway window on Washington Avenue (which shares space and a menu with Small Oven Pastry Shop) was up and running before the virus hit, but present circumstances have made it invaluable. 2204 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146, smallovenpastryshop.com.
Triple Tree Flowers
The King family doesn't go in for fancy arrangements or bells and whistles. (No surprise there: They're Amish.) These growers, who come from Lancaster every Saturday to sell their flowers at the Rittenhouse and Clark Park farmers' markets, put together simple but stunning bouquets so vivid that the kiosk literally stops passersby in their tracks. And you can take one home for as little as $5. Rittenhouse and Clark Park farmers markets, .
Waterless Works
This Malvern-based start-up run by a trio of local college-kids-turned-entrepreneurs comes to your home or office to do the job, eschews soap and water for a plant-based cleaning solution, and donates money from each wash (they start at $40) to provide water for communities in need. Service areas include Philly and its 'burbs and select spots in Delaware and South Jersey. waterless-works.com.
Premier Art Installation
You're probably capable of hanging family photos on the wall, but when it comes to fine art, you should turn to a pro. Kevin Reissmann of Premier Art Installation is a professional installer for the Philadelphia Museum of Art who also hangs priceless pieces for collectors in the area and beyond. (Clients have included Coretta Scott King and Usher.) He'll even move your masterpieces, should you need to relocate your Renoir from the Devon estate to your home in Miami. premierartinstallation.com.
Ukee Washington
The Los Angeles Times story in January detailing the racist/sexist culture promoted by some New York-based CBS executives aired a lot of dirty laundry about Philly’s CBS affiliate, much of which involved those execs’ despicable opinions of lead evening news anchor Ukee Washington. That Washington rose above the fray, summoning the love and support of the region, comes as no surprise to those of us who’ve adored him all along.
Vernick Food and Drink
Greg Vernick has gathered ideas from places as far-flung as Qatar and Tokyo but the best thing about his restaurant is the way it makes you feel at home. While the Cherry Hill native comforts you with his stupendous toasts or lulls you into a daze with his grilled black sea bass his best pal, GM Ryan Mulholland, makes everyone who comes through the door feel not so much like an honored guest as a welcome friend. 2031 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, vernickphilly.com.
Maple Acres Farm
The first Saturday of each month during the spring, summer and early fall (and every weekend starting in late September and into November), this lovely farm in Plymouth Meeting offers a $2 hayride that doubles as a guided behind-the-scenes tour of a m-odern-day farm. After the 40-minute ride, be sure to buy some fresh produce, now that youve seen where it comes from. The pick-your-own flower fields are also a big hit. 2656 Narcissa Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462, mapleacresfarmmarket.com.
Musi
Musi’s menu ventures somewhere in between the familiar and the unknown, with dishes like kreplach stuffed with kale-purslane-cabbage kraut. The restaurant — which chef/owner Ari Miller calls “not totally Jewish, not quite Israeli” — is stretching the imagination of Philly’s fine-dining scene. Come here to be taken out of your culinary comfort zone or possibly just eat some pasta that the menu says has nothing to do with Italy. 100 Morris Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148, musiphilly.com.
Stargazy
London native Sam Jacobson has packed his tiny South Philly pie shop with nothing more than a sprinkling of tables, some mismatched spoons, free tea, and, oh yeah, two bakery cases brimming with flaky sausage rolls, an ever-changing roster of pastries and meat pies, and traditional beef pies with mash and parsley liquor, fresh from the bakers working in the back. It's the best thing to come from Britain since Kate Middleton's hair. 1838 East Passyunk Avenue, East Passyunk, Philadelphia, PA 19148, facebook.com/StargazyPhilly.
Pure Barre
There's a reason all your mommy friends are obsessed with Pure Barre: The workout, done on the ballet barre and mat, entails a series of tiny, almost imperceptible movements that pack a serious total-body-toning punch. Since the power and stability come from your core (it's why you're told to "tuck" here), the 55-minute classes are especially good for getting postpartum bodies back up and running in no time. Multiple locations | , purebarre.com.
SU20
Finding great sushi in a strip mall in Blue Bell is like finding a good plate of spaghetti and clams in Indianapolis — unlikely. But then there’s SU20, a sushi bar and Japanese bakery behind an acre of parking lots. It’s all smooth jazz on the radio and matcha mille crepe cakes until the fish starts coming to your table, and suddenly you’re kicked awake by some of the most stunning sashimi and hand rolls in the suburbs — or in the city, for that matter. 736 Dekalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, su20bluebell.com.
Carmen Miskel
Some of us spent the pandemic honing our talents; others spent it learning the best times to access the state liquor-store website to place booze orders. (Hey, it’s a skill, too!) Miskel falls into the former category. After the New York Times announced an art contest — theme: “Coming of Age in 2021” — the teen from Bryn Mawr submitted a striking cartoon panel about loneliness during COVID that was one of just 25 winners selected from more than 4,000 submissions.