When television host Gordon Ramsay of “Kitchen Nightmares” focused his culinary microscope on a family-owned BYOB in Fishtown, his major changes were to the items on the menu.  He used the name of the restaurant, the Hot Potato Café,  to create new-spud-accommodating choices that just made sense.
In May, the restaurant, located on Girard Avenue, received a …

The forecast called for one very wet and mucky Saturday afternoon.

But after having already been postponed a week, Spiral Q Puppet Theater’s “10th Annual Peoplehood Parade and Pageant” in West Philadelphia went on as planned.

…

Swashbuckling hats, carnival masks and wizard hats pepper the ball room. On the dance floor skims the turquoise crinoline of Sarah Hale, who is being twirled around by Capt. Percival Drayton, dressed in his Civil War best. In the corner leaning against the grand pillars of the ballroom is a gravedigger’s shovel.

This unusual scene is no ordinary costume party. This is the Gravediggers’ Ball, a benefit held every October for Philly’s oldest and most unique …

Fishtown’s old souls brew Folgers and dip their sugary doughnuts in a coffee cup full of whole milk and granulated white sugar.

Other Fishtowners take a more dietary-conscious approach.  They see this morning ritual as a lifestyle choice and expect more from their daily wakeup routines.  Their doughnuts are made with flaxseed and soy rather than eggs and milk.

It is hard to keep every resident happy, especially as restaurants and cafes become more aware of special nutritional needs and lifestyle choices.  With an understanding for the demands of the market and the desire for coffee and food, Fishtown …

Free beer! That’s the promise at Bar-Now.com.

It is not your typical social networking site. Similar to the other sites, users sign up for free with a valid e-mail address and are then provided with their own profiles where they can add friends and leave comments. Despite those similarities, there is one key aspect that distinguishes Bar-Now from its competitors: the chance to win free beer at local bars and restaurants.

Andrew Molnar, 26, a Philadelphia native, who now resides in Glen Mills, …

Free events don’t get much better than the West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival. Now in its sixth year, the festival is a three-day jazz extravaganza produced by the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corp. (OARC) and presented by Brown’s Family ShopRite taking place on four stages along Ogontz Avenue.

Philadelphia has always been a city for jazz. Beginning in the 1930s with Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti through the 1940s with Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane and the 1970s jazz-soul-rock fusion of Grover Washington Jr., jazz has always had a …

Row homes line this North Philadelphia street–some of them abandoned and wet from the grip of constant rain. There is a single rumble of thunder. A low-lying fog covers the front of a three-story brick house on 1511 N. 33rd St. near Oxford in North Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion section. Plywood and planks help hold this home together. The crumbling window frames accent the collapsed ADT Security sign hanging in the central window. Abandoned …

The area around 15th Street at Ridge Avenue is practically vacant during the middle of the day. Aside from a few people who live in the area and walk the streets or those who own the few businesses at that end of Ridge, there usually isn’t much activity.

Now fast forward to the hours after the sun goes down and take another look at the location. Between some boarded-up, abandoned …

If your looking for fun and to learn a new skill, than The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts may be the place for you. But note, that while the high-flying tricks on the rope looks fun, it is also a lot of work. Jonathan Perry, one of the juggling instructors, says being able to pull the weight of your body takes more than just arms. Your core needs to be fit. There are no physical requirements to take one of the class and the instructors will work with you and at your pace …