Liz McMahon
If eating is leaving a bad feeling in your stomach, McMahon is the pro to see. Through virtual consultations and a food diary, she’ll work to identify whether you’re dealing with an allergy or something more serious. She also shares helpful, intestine-friendly diet tips on her Instagram, @theguthealthrd. lizmcmahonnutrition.com.
Moneyline Bar & Book
You can now legally bet on games at nine A.C. casinos, but the best is the Borgata’s new $12 million sports book, with its giant LED video wall, a 35-foot-long bar and a VIP lounge. Because if you’re going to put a grand on the Eagles to win it, you might as well be comfortable. 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, theborgata.com.
The Orange Loop
The locus of A.C.’s comeback can be found in the Orange Loop, a collection of restaurants and bars plus a music venue, a yoga studio, and a hip cafe along the beach blocks of Tennessee Avenue, St. James Place and New York Avenue (a.k.a. the orange properties in Monopoly). Many additional projects are in the works, including a shipping-container hotel! visitorangeloop.com.
Tattooed Momedy
Philly’s funniest love trying out new material at this monthly party at Tattooed Mom’s. With $1 food specials and $2.50 beers, it may be the finest frugal night out in the city. 530 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, tattooedmomphilly.com.
Franky Bradley’s
The unofficial HQ of Philly’s burlesque resurgence is this funky back-alley Gayborhood bar at which tassels and ostrich fans abound. 1320 Chancellor Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Frankybradleys.com.
Paper Moon
At this kooky little gift shop, you’ll find hilariously NSFW paper goods that will offend, delight, and hang on refrigerators long after the cheesy Hallmark cards have been tossed in the trash. 520 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, facebook.com/PaperMoonSouthST.
Wayward Collection
Haley Pelton’s airy, minimalist showroom is appointment-only, which is for the better, because you’ll want the racks of vintage YSL dresses, trench coats from France and kaleidoscopic silk blouses – and Pelton’s genius eye for styling – all to yourself. 2930 East Jasper Street, studio 312, Philadelphia, PA 19134, waywardcollection.com.
United By Blue
UBB’s woodsy new flagship is thrice as big as its former location, so you’ll want to devote serious time to shopping its coveted supply of urban-lumberjack goods, like durable bags, clothing, tents, paddles and enamelware. Fuel up mid-visit at the in-store coffee bar (which looks like a cabin), and pretend – if just for an afternoon – that you’re out in Mother Nature and not, you know, smack in the middle of Old City. 205 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, unitedbyblue.com.
3000BC
After a spin in 3000BC’s Visia Complexion Analysis booth to see all the sun damage, wrinkles and discoloration hiding beneath the surface of your skin, you’ll be good and ready for the spa’s laser treatments, chemical peels, hydrafacials and, really, whatever else they recommend. 834 Chestnut St #104, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 3000bcspa.com.
Baldwin’s Book Barn
This place has the location (an 1822 dairy barn built by a local Quaker family), volume (almost 300,000 books for sale), and quirky, creaky charm (it’s a Hobbit-like warren of rooms and corridors), but on top of that, it also has first editions from Hemingway and a $1,400 leather-bound set of Jane Austen tomes. 865 Lenape Road, West Chester , PA 19382, bookbarn.com.
Whole Foods
Sure, it’s not quite as luxurious a shopping experience when you’re tossing your BB cream into a cart alongside butter and bananas, but consider this: While the FDA has pretty strict standards for the food we eat, it’s way more lax about the stuff we put on our skin. (Go figure.) This means the beauty market is flooded with products containing phthalates and formaldehyde – both no-no’s for their potential links to cancer. Whole Foods, however, has banned more than 100 such ingredients from its shelves, and it prioritizes plant-based and naturally sourced ingredients, so its serums, masks, cleansers and cosmetics are practically pure enough to eat. So yeah, the brands WF carries may not be designer, but I’ll take a clean ingredient list – and, fine, the free food samples – over a luxe lipstick any day. – Caroline Cunningham wholefoodsmarket.com.
Vault + Vine
This shop has the four C’s: cacti, ceramics, coffee and croissants, the latter of which you can enjoy in the shop’s sun-soaked cafe. 3507 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129, vaultandvine.co.
State & Union
Come for gear from brands you already know: Pendleton beach towels, Red Wing shoes, Filson bags. Leave with goods from the brands you don’t: Charlotte’s Weld bottle openers made from repurposed horseshoes, J.R.Burd leather wallets and keychains, and lisa b. cashmere socks. 103 West State Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348, stateandunion.co.
Little Moon + Arrow
The problem with this dreamy bohemian shop is that no visit will ever be a quick one. On every shelf and table are the most adorable artist-crafted animal dolls, rainbow puzzles, dress-up masks, baby mocs and fuzzy blankets; you’ll have to inspect them all. (And we’ll admit: We buy gifts for grown-ups here, too.) 729 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, littlemoonandarrow.com.
2nd Swing
Those worn-down grips, that scuffed driver, the irons that need grinding down and cleaning up ... this new shop has experts on hand to give your clubs a tune-up (even while you wait), because they know that at all costs, you don’t want to toss a lucky set. 3626 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803, 2ndswing.com.