Sabbatical Beauty
It’s not just that founder Adeline Koh crafts some of the most luxurious skin-care products on the market — from the Vacuum Cleaner cleansing oil to the Dorian Gray anti-aging serum — out of her Bok studio. It’s also that she donated masks and created hand sanitizers, all while using her playful yet powerful TikToks to put racists in their place. 1901 South 9th Street #308, Philadelphia, PA 19148, sabbaticalbeauty.com.
Trace Shop
Come for the cool wares — like cement-and-geode planters or Lord Jones CBD — but stay for the pillar of Marny Baxt’s business: the art. The former talent management exec dreamed up Trace after the passing of both of her parents, when she was faced with sorting through their personal art collection. Baxt wants to connect the community with creatives and make it easy to obtain and custom-frame one-of-a-kind works. 80 Rittenhouse Place, Ardmore, PA 19003, thetraceshop.com.
SNL Vault
In April, Comcast did a limited launch of its first-time streaming service, and Peacock became available nationwide in July. Like most streaming services, it has its pros and cons, but one clear winner is the “channel” SNL Vault, which features the best clips from Saturday Night Live’s heyday. Other things we like about Peacock: all 21 seasons of Law and Order SVU, an unusually high number of classic (as in black-and-white) movies, including some Hitchcock, and … 21 Jump Street! peacocktv.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.
Aleksandra Ambrozy
Philly brides have long known about this Polish-born talent—heck, Taylor Swift bestie Britany Maack employed her for her Reading wedding. But you don’t actually have to be walking down the aisle to get Ambrozy’s help. Pop into her airy studio before a big night out, have her come to your place for special-occasion prep, or sign up for one of her product-and-technique-instructive makeup classes to learn her tricks yourself. 1118 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, aleksandraambrozy.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.
UBIQ Lab
At UBIQ’s appointment-only “lab,” which opened this past winter, serious sneakerheads can design a pair of kicks in a completely custom color palette. (Deposits start at $500.) Need some inspiration? Consider taking those holy-grail Air Jordan 1’s and refinishing them in exotic crocodile or python. (Yup, they do that.) 1509 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, ubiqlife.com.
Han Dynasty
Yes, you read that right. Han Dynasty has some of the best cocktails in Philly right now thanks to Lê of Hop Sing Laundromat, who swooped in and upgraded the bar menu with a handful of new, truly inventive elixirs. You’ll have almost as much fun sipping on the green matcha and vanilla Phat Phuc as you will ordering it. 123 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, handynasty.net.
Vanilya
It’s true: The best bagels in the city don’t come from a bagel shop. Baker Bonnie Sarana Noll makes a limited batch fresh each morning at her cozy dessert cafe, and they’ve got those New York qualities (chewy on the inside, crisp and bubbly on the outside) that we could never quite replicate in Philly – until now. 1611 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148, vanilyabakery.com.
Phila Massages
There’s a reason Philly’s top fitness instructors flood these studios. Well, two reasons: First, the staffers know athletes’ bodies better than anyone else in town, which means they can loosen muscles and target trigger points with alarming precision. And second, the $250 annual membership – which can score you up to 50 percent off services – makes it much easier on the wallet to keep coming back. 4368 Cresson Street, b, Philadelphia, PA 19127, philamassages.com.
Jennifer Zavala Catering
Top Chef alum Jennifer Zavala will come to your house and cook a delicious medical-grade-marijuana-infused meal for you and your friends, something she does regularly for those who are sick. The food is delicious, and Zavala – of illegal South Philly tamale-truck fame (Google it) – is as entertaining as the drugs themselves. Email for more info.
Pad Porter
File this one under Services You Never Knew You Desperately Needed. Via start-up Pad Porter, Wharton grad Nonya Collier and her crew handle pretty much every moving task you could ever hope to outsource: booking the movers; packing and unpacking; stocking your new fridge; cleaning the old place; even waiting for the Comcast guy. Services are arranged �_ la carte, with prices starting at a (totally worth it) $25 an hour. padporter.co.
Philadelphia Vintage and Consignment Shoppe
It's got limited hours, many garments are encased in plastic, and there isn't much priced under $100. Which makes finding treasures from some of the most iconic names in fashion (Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Dior), plucked from the closets of the most famous people in the world (Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston), all the more special. 111 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, facebook.com/philadelphiavintage.
Bundy
As an authorized Apple dealer, Bundy -- in business for nearly a century -- does vigorous in-house testing on the rehabbed iPads it gets from a reliable source, and each purchase comes with a free 90-day warranty. But the "open box" items, which have only been used for demo or floor-model purposes, are the real steal: On a recent trip, we spotted a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2014 priced $400 below nearly identical newer models. 1809 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, bundycomputer.com.
The United States Mint
The fascinating (and totally free!) self-guided tour gives you a bird's-eye view of the actual, live coin-making process from 40 feet above the factory floor where some 715 million quarters were produced last year. It's the perfect Independence Mall destination for those of us who aren't tourists. 151 North Independence Mall East, Philadelphia, PA 19106, usmint.gov/mint_tours/?action=philadelphia.