Morphia's Special Touch
Nestled in a strip mall, this modest Drexel Hill salon is truly a hidden gem for Delco-ers and beyond: Think $10 for a cut, $5 extra for a shave — and $20 a month for a tanning membership, if you’re feeling extra-special. 2220 State Road, Drexel Hill, PA 19026, facebook.com/morphiasspecialtouch.
Patrick McNally Accounting
A few years ago, with a pile of W-2s and 1099s and LLC forms and other tax documents we still don’t understand, we wandered down to Packer Avenue, walked up to the second story of a strip mall, and met a man whose calm and generosity of spirit can only be described as saintly. Since then, we haven’t entrusted our taxes to anyone else. McNally also handles payroll and bookkeeping services for small businesses, and if his tax work is any indication, you’d be in good hands there, too. 1546 Packer Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145, mcnallyaccounting.com.
Scatton's Heating & Cooling
We recently needed a contractor for a big project, a basement-to-attic job: oil-tank and boiler- system removal, a switchover to natural gas, mini-duct split units for air-conditioning. (Like we said, it was a big job.) In addition to having the best price, the folks at Scatton’s were personable, did impeccable work, and did so with top-of-the-line products. And as the post-pandemic crush of home renovations continues, we’ll say one more thing — they actually responded to our calls, which can’t be said of everyone. 920 Allentown Road, Lansdale, PA 19446, scattonshc.com.
C.M. Neff: Cook Sup. Co.
Chef Cary Neff opened this impossibly small East Passyunk shop back in April, lining his shelves with both new and used tools, cookbooks, pots, pans and knives. While you’re looking around, Neff will bring your dull santoku back to razor-sharp life for just $9. The trick is to catch him — the hours, according to the front window, are “by chance.” 1940 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148, instagram.com/cmneffcooksupco.
Revival Letterpress
Matthew Hiller has been letterpress printing since 2011, and his equipment — antique Chandler & Price platen presses and a hand-cranked Challenge cylinder press — has been at work for more than a century longer. Inside his studio, Hiller designs everything from wedding invites and business cards to posters and custom packaging, then uses the finest paper and old-fashioned techniques to bring them to life. In a world where DM’d party invites and texted birthday GIFs have become the norm, these character-filled pieces convey the beauty of the human touch. 1901 South 9th Street, number 208, Philadelphia, PA 19148, revivalletterpress.com/project-gallery-page.
Vision Plus Fitness
You’ll find everything at Charles Knowles’s Conshy gym: a robust schedule of group cardio, circuit and resistance training; results-driven trainers who’ll kick your ass but leave you smiling; one-on-one coaching; an open gym for solo lifting or treadmill running; a new active-recovery space with hot yoga and mobility; and a community that’ll uplift you, whether it’s a 5 a.m. or post-work sweat sesh. 701 East Elm Street, Conshohocken, PA 19428, visionplusfitness.com.
Physique 57's Express Power Sculpt
This 45-minute glute-busting, ab-challenging, thigh-quaking combo of barre and free weights will help relieve the stress of chaotic mornings and spike endorphins, so you can push through groggy afternoon slumps. Cardio lovers, prepare to be humbled. 1625 Walnut Street, floor 2, Philadelphia, PA 19103, physique57.com/philadelphia.
Prepped by Carly
Registered dietitian Carly Foglia’s mission is to share the healing power of nutrient-dense, balanced food. Every Sunday, from her West Chester-based kitchen, she’ll deliver plate-clearing dishes — teriyaki shrimp, Snickers overnight oats, better-for-you crispy chicken snack wraps — made with whole, recognizable ingredients right to your door. Bonus: Bulk poultry, fish and veggies, protein balls, and Paleo desserts from the Northeast’s Ferry Good Treats are menu mainstays. carlyfoglianutrition.com.
Laura Jenkins
A visit to Jenkins’s Massage Studio of Philadelphia will immediately affirm her 14-year bodywork cred. In her Old City space, she’ll knead your muscles like a baker would dough, intuitively working out all your kinks (and then some) with deep-tissue, trigger-point and cupping therapies, for optimal mobility. Next appointment: booked on the spot. 219 Cuthbert Street, 4th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106, massagestudiophilly.com.
El Provocon
A family-owned Dominican restaurant with a couple of different locations — and very good arroz blanco with steak and sweet platano maduros. 2843 Tyson Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19149, el-provocon.business.site.
Lemonana at Bishos
A sip of Bishos’s lemonana is a shock to the system in the best possible way. At this Palestinian restaurant in Northeast Philly, the classic Middle Eastern beverage is mixed daily, tart from fresh lemon juice and packed with mint. It’s spun in a slushy machine and doled out like soft-serve ice cream in to-go cups that you’ll clutch and sip to the very last drop. 7950 Oxford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, mybishos.com.
El Chingon
Juan Carlos Aparicio spent nearly three decades honing his baking skills in professional kitchens, including creating the bread program at Parc. This will be no surprise when you taste his sourdough tortillas or homemade cemitas layered with adobo-marinated pork or herby mushrooms. Or, for dessert, get the soft concha rellena piped with fluffy Nutella-infused pastry cream and fresh strawberries — and, on special, churros that he proofs overnight to ensure the soft, sugary disks have just the right texture. 1524 South 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, elchingonphilly.com.
Abby Misbin
The humble cowboy hat has been reborn of late as the number one party-girl fashion staple. Fairmount-based Etsy seller Abby Misbin takes it to new heights with handmade designs, one of which has crowned the head of Beyoncé herself. Just two years after the Temple grad started her shop as a side hustle, she was personally contacted by one of Queen B’s stylists about using one of her disco-ball-inspired 10-gallons in Renaissance promotional material. Since then, Misbin has shot into local small-business stardom, and her hats are almost as hard to get as Bey’s concert tickets.
Vincent Basile
Vincent Basile, a member of the Cara Liom Wench Brigade — and, not incidentally, an Einstein emergency-room doc — was in his strutting garb at the Linc for the Eagles’ New Year’s Day game when he and another attendee, nurse Natalie Spencer, saw a crowd surrounding a man who’d fallen in the stands. They made their way to the guy, found no pulse, and delivered CPR till paramedics arrived. “The first thing I had to do was convince everyone I was a doctor,” Basile said of the emergency.
Boots Ennis
You’re forgiven if you haven’t heard of Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Boxing, even in a storied pugilist town like ours, isn’t the draw it once was. But Germantown’s Ennis, one of the sport’s brightest rising stars, is pressing the issue. The welterweight is 30-0 — including 27 knockouts — and eagerly awaiting his chance for the title, which will depend on the result of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.’s late-July fight. Now, whether the winner will agree to climb into the ring with Boots is another matter.