Lema Studio
Located next to sister store Bulthaup studio, this new 5,000-square-foot closet, furniture and wardrobe showroom gives new meaning to try and buy: Spend the night in one of three immaculately furnished on-site lofts (book through Airbnb) before making a purchase. 140 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, lemamobili.com/en.
Gallery Carré d’Artistes Philadelphia
Where else can you flick through hundreds of original artworks like you’re pawing through record albums? 104 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, carredartistesphilly.com.
J & J Motors
It’s not unusual to see a Porsche or Ferrari or Maserati on the lift at this shop, where they specialize in European models—but customers nevertheless rave about the unpretentious down-home service, surprisingly reasonable prices and spot-on estimates. 1111 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, jandjmotors.com.
Dino’s Backstage & the Celebrity Room
Michael and Dino Kelly-Cataldi’s 1940s-style supper club is a throwback to a time when going out to eat meant going out to dine, with fat chops, strong cocktails, and a real-deal crooner to sing you through the night. 287 Keswick Avenue, Glenside, PA 19038, dinosbackstage.com.
The Clam Tavern
If you show up at 7 p.m. without reservations, you’re most likely SOL. (The crowds have been coming since the 1960s for the cheap cocktails, small-town service and baked clams.) But we’ve got a secret: The Broadway Bar & Grille, across the street, has the same owner and serves the full Clam Tavern menu. 339 East Broadway Avenue, Clifton Heights, PA 19018, clamtavern.net.
Vera Pasta
Joe D’Andrea makes extruded pastas the proper way—with bronze dies for texture and top-notch ingredients for maximum flavor. It’s why a bunch of our favorite restaurants and specialty shops (Di Bruno Bros., Green Aisle Grocery) serve and sell his goods. And now, with his new storefront, you can get those noodles faster and fresher. 319 Westtown Road, Suite K, West Chester, PA 19382, verapasta.com.
Duck hearts at Fond
Bar food is typically meant for mass appeal; it’s usually fried, it’s never too complicated, and ideally, it pairs well with most drinks. Duck hearts? They aren’t exactly for everyone. But when they’ve got deep grill marks, when they’re this tender, when the tahini yogurt and black sesame seeds make for an addicting, nutty sauce, you’ll get why everyone else at the bar is nibbling on them, too. 1537 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, fondphilly.com.
Townsend
Townsend is sophisticated and polished, but between the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., industry folk from all over Philly descend upon it for some post-service bonding time (a.k.a. partying). A fine-dining French restaurant with an unofficial nightly party? We’ll see you there. 1623 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148, townsendrestaurant.com.
The Training Station
Why? That’s the question that comes to mind when you learn former pro runner Phil Clark moved his gym_—and all its fancy equipment handpicked for serious athletes—from the Piazza’s shiny Rialto building to a dingy, unassuming strip mall on Spring Garden. But once you walk into the light-filled space—complete with a lengthy turf runway you’d think impossible for a city gym—it all makes sense. 533 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123, phillytrainingstation.com.
Lacquer Lounge
We’ve loved their nail services since they opened, we appreciated being able to add on a spray tan when they introduced those a few years after, but now—now that we can do nails, tanning, eyebrows, eyelashes, waxing, makeup and even microblading all under their chic roof? We’ll never stray. Multiple locations, lacquerlounge.com.
Fadó
There are two types of people in this city: those who love soccer, and those who couldn’t care less. The former jam themselves into this newly remodeled pub for burgers, brews, and whatever the big match means to you. English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, all the other Euro cups and competitions and U.S. Soccer, too. 1500 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, fadoirishpub.com/philadelphia.
The Ivy Inn
When the pretzel shop next door to Bill Kelly’s 64-year-old Ivy Inn went belly-up, the shuffleboard enthusiast decided to open a 1,000-square-foot annex devoted to the game, complete with three regulation-size tables. It makes for quite a scene, especially on weekends. 37 Brookline Boulevard, Havertown, PA 19083, ivyinn.org.
Ulises
The space is modest (a converted garage), the hours are odd (noon to 6 p.m. on weekends), and the selection is narrow (it’s all contemporary art books and indie ’zines). But this bookshop is a rising player in the local cultural scene, curating community reading lists, hosting exhibits and events, and generally acting as a gathering spot for the city’s most creative intellectuals. And those books? You’d be hard pressed to find them anywhere else. 31 East Columbia Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, ulises.us.
Ali’s Wagon
Fairmounters heaved a collective sigh of disappointment when home and gift shop (and 2017 BOP winner) Division IV shuttered earlier this year. But we needn’t have despaired: Owner Jessie Menken simply moved all of her gift-able goodies down the block to sister shop Ali’s Wagon, so we can still buy those terrifically thoughtful hostess gifts – candles, tote bags, tea towels, olive oils, salt scrubs, simple syrups, mugs – for anyone kind enough to invite us over for dinner. 2017 Fairmount Ave , Philadelphia , PA 19130, aliswagon.com.
Fishtown Flea
Leave it to Amy and Leo Voloshin (the impossibly hip duo behind Philly’s powerhouse print-design firm Printfresh) to pack 30 of the city’s best indie artisans – vintage vendors, jewelry designers, ceramists, stationers, artists and more – into rotating locations around Fishtown. In-the-know shoppers (3,000 of them came to the first one, but you can expect up to 5,000 at the next) can discover the coolest makers on the scene, then pretend they knew about them all along. Catch the next one on September 8th behind Suraya restaurant. Frankford Ave btwn Girard Ave and Oxford St., Philadelphia, PA 19125, fishtownflea.us.