Cactus Cart
Cactus Cart. Photograph by Jeff Fusco There’s nothing more Philly than a couple of punk kids rolling around town with a cart full of cacti, just like rag-and-bone men of yore. The Cactus Cart pops up on weekends at varying corners of South Philly, and the offerings are just what you need to spruce up your space: vibrant, spiky succulents planted in retro sugar cannisters and old beer cans. Plus, the cacti come in all shapes and sizes to fit on any windowsill or bookshelf. instagram.com/cactuscart2020.
Dispatches from Elsewhere
Jason Segel’s Dispatches From Elsewhere started streaming in March. Photograph by Jessica Kourkounis/AMC Look, we love Rocky, but there comes a time in every city’s life when it needs to diversify its film reel. Jason Segel’s Dispatches From Elsewhere, with its sultry montages from Rittenhouse and Fishtown and South Philly, helped us do just that, at a time when we couldn’t actually experience our city because of lockdown. Segel may have chosen Philly over other cities in part because of tax incentives, but we’re tickled by the results, regardless. amc.com/shows/dispatches-from-elsewhere.
Cultured Couture’s Honesty Collection
Erik Honesty of Cultured Couture. Photograph by Ken McFarlane If you only know Erik Honesty because of the choice vintage finds (hi, 1980s Gucci loafers) at his Cultured Couture shop in Brewerytown, you’re missing half the story. His true talent lies in his creative vision, which includes a line of museum-worthy whimsical-but-throwback capes and coats, all of which are hand-sewn from historic fabrics (some a century old) and feature cornucopias of color. Find the full collection online. 2639 Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131, culturedcouturegallery.com/.
Private School by Bela Shehu
You could find rainbow art installations, bleacher seating, DJs, chef tastings, and dozens of local vendors selling everything from jewelry (Forge + Finish) to clothing (the founder’s own NINOBrand) to design-forward furniture (Minima) at this tastemaker’s ticketed month-long pop-up last spring. Missed it? Don’t fret: More, at different locations, are coming soon.
U Bar
There isn't a dance floor in the whole place, and drag-queen sightings are rare. But that's exactly what's so great about the bar formerly known as Uncles. (Well, that and the studly bartenders.) U Bar stands apart from other Gayborhood watering holes as a no-fuss, no-'tude, unpretentious spot to grab a strong drink or two and gab with friends. 1220 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, ubarphilly.com/.
Nurture Spa
Remember natural light, city dwellers? Trade the concrete jungle for New Hope’s recently renovated Nurture Spa. The freshly brightened space is an escape unto itself – think floor-to-ceiling windows and an upper deck where you can surround yourself with nature – but the customized massages are where the stress relief really begins. After, be sure to budget time for a sit in the detoxifying Himalayan salt room. 31 West Ferry Street, New Hope, PA 18938, nurturespa.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/.
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/.
Brewerytown Beats
Vinyl heads come here to flip through the 50,000-strong record collection (all genres, though the specialty is funk, soul and hip-hop), to listen to live midday performances, and to talk music with owner Max Ochester, who has sold LPs to everyone from Questlove to Q-Tip. Check out the shop’s Instagram feed for a first look at the latest rare finds. 2710 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130, brewerytownbeats.com/.
Assassin’s Handbook at Friday Saturday Sunday
These days, even your corner shot-and-a-beer bar can mix up a technically perfect manhattan. (In other words, we wonder if Philly has reached maximum craft-cocktail capacity.) And then along comes barman Paul MacDonald with his zinger of a list. The star: the Assassin’s Handbook, a mixture of Jamaican rum, cognac, averna, amaro and mulled wine, with a spark of habanero at the finish. Wow. 261 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, fridaysaturdaysunday.com.
Enliven Planters
If your neighbors' verdant window boxes make you and your scattering of marigolds feel inadequate, consider a subscription from Bucks County-based Enliven Planters. Their garden designers — the same brains behind the beautiful boxes at Vedge and Russet — will come at the start of every season to create a customized box or planter that can hold its own against any of the other stunners in your neighborhood. enlivenplanters.com.
HopHands
Despite all the excellent beers the mad geniuses of Ardmore-based Tired Hands Brewing Company come up with, we always find ourselves returning to this one. It's a crisp, refreshing American pale that drinks like a perfect sweet summer beer, without any unnecessary complication to the flavor save a mild undertone of pine needles. tiredhands.com.
JG Domestic
There are bad locations, and then theres JG Domestics location on the first floor of the Cira Centre, directly across the street from the train station cab stand. The place has virtually no visibility from more than 10 feet away. Its hard to find, and difficult to get to. And yet, the facts that 1) people who know good food still go there, and 2) some of us go out of our way to go there a lot, really speak to the amazing things the kitchen at JG Domestic is capable of. 2929 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, jgdomestic.com.
Townsends Inlet, Sea Isle
Some of the Shore's best surf-fishing is at Townsends Inlet on the southern tip of Sea Isle, where you'll find plenty of good-sized stripers and flounder. Because this is saltwater fishing, you don't need a license and you can actually eat what you catch, though you'll have to draw straws to see who gets to do the cleaning. See website for tackle shops, 00000, hookandbullet.com/fishing-townsends-inlet-avalon-nj/.
The Dandelion
We're not sure if it's the relative bargain of the $56 beef roast for two, the succulent meat and accompanying Yorkshire pudding, or the homeyness of Stephen Starr's ode to British pubbery that makes this the ideal way to wrap up a weekend. But we can tell you that any more than three of the English cask ales might make that Monday-morning schlep a bit schleppier. 124 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, thedandelionpub.com.