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ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: on Joey Vento, Rachael Ray, the Dude and the The Rent Is Too Damn High guy
On Tuesday night I was walking my greyhound past Geno's when news of Joe Vento's passing made the loud block louder still. You might not have agreed with Vento's sense of social conscience, an oddly brazen kinda-racist stance that made him an object of controversy on the left and the right. But he certainly worked hard and stood his ground, figuratively and literally as he made mornings at Geno's his daily pulpit. He'll be missed whether you like admitting it or not, especially by PECO for his addiction to light bulbs and to workers he employed to repaint everything bright orange.
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: on Joey Vento, Rachael Ray, the Dude and the The Rent Is Too Damn High guy
On Tuesday night I was walking my greyhound past Geno’s when news of Joe Vento’s passing made the loud block louder still. You might not have agreed with Vento’s sense of social conscience, an oddly brazen kinda-racist stance that made him an object of controversy on the left and the right. But he certainly worked hard and stood his ground, figuratively and literally as he made mornings at Geno’s his daily pulpit. He’ll be missed whether you like admitting it or not, especially by PECO for his addiction to light bulbs and to workers he employed to repaint everything bright orange.
Then there are the flowery murals lining the walls of the long-empty lot across the street from Pat’s. At first the neighbors heard it would be a pop-up florist stand which sounded quaint. Next thing we gathered is that the murals are for that Rachael Ray Great Philly Grill-Off event we wrote about in Ice and that the floral element of the gardens being planted will become a communal one and open to all who sign up, before the event and forevermore. Word has it the gardens will open to the public August 30. Ahhh, the life cycle right there on Ninth Street amidst the smell of grease and meat.
Got to admit, this sounds like fun — two one-time Philebrity worker-bees Kristian Almgren and Aaron Fisher-Cohen met up with ever-loving odd-ball candidate Jimmy McMillan of “The Rent Is Too Damn High” fame, filmed a documentary called Damn! and will host a screening at the Troc on Aug. 29 with McMilllan in the house.
The Twisted Tail in Head House Square officially popped its cork with a press event on Tuesday where house band Mikey Jr. & the Stone Cold Blues, a bourbon-heavy cocktail menu (have the mint julep), shuffleboard and chef Michael Stevenson’s fabulous Southern smoked meats took precedent. Funny that Twisted CEO George Reilly isn’t even from the South, not even south England. He’s a Northerner just hours form Hartleypoole, who’s lived in American for 12 years and loves his Juke Joint culture what from the two floors of the double-T. Yeehah.
Tandoor titan Munish Narula (Tiffin fame) is readying his new Tashan on 777 S. Broad St. is going through the procedures of health inspections this week. Soon, very soon.
I’m not gay but I certainly play as much on television. That said, I’ll be taking part in the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association Convention’s gossip panel this weekend, Aug. 26, at 4 p.m., with Village Voice-r Michael Musto and cats from Popeater in tow. Come heckle.
Sadness abounded when Mazag Café on the 10th Street of the Italian Market closed quietly and unceremoniously last week. No more Wednesdays with the Egyptian koshary street meal? Sob. That said, a groovy wifi friendly coffee klatch named Filter is on its way to an immediate opening date.
Then there’s the case of the Garces Trading Co. at 11th and Locust who scheduled a three-day closure at the end of their work day on Sunday. Don’t worry. It was just for renovations, a coffee and desert counter moved to where the charcuterie resides so to expand their cake and pie sales and offer more seating. By the time you read this the whole GTC should be up-and-running.
Friday the 26th will go down in infamy as the day Fletcher C. Johnson struts his solo stuff at Little Bar after breaking from King Tuff. DC’s Mittenfields and the Tweeds join in the fun.
Because we’re the friendly type, let’s welcome the new Office of Innovation and Technology and its new Chief Innovation Officer Adel Ebeid. He’s from New Jersey. Don’t hold that against him. Then we’ve got Jenny M. Robinson, who moved her PR gig from PennDot to the Philadelphia Public & Government Affairs’ AAA Mid-Atlantic public affairs office. Now that the dreaded Ackerman moment is over (kinda) it’s nice to see some solid sweet hirings.
The old gay Bump space on Locust Street at 13th is becoming a Fish, courtesy fish monger Mike Stollenwerk. We hear there’s a briny October opening in that Fish-y future. Glug.
After that Big Lebowski event in NYC that I hit last week, I’m proud to say that CP is a sponsor of the sixth annual The Dude Hates Cancer affair on Aug. 27 that’s raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The event is at North Bowl. Some 39 teams are bowling. There’s an after-party/benefit concert at Johnny Brenda’s, featuring Orbit to Leslie, Hezekiah Jones, Chris Kasper and The Doublewides. Jeff Bridges contributes autographed memorabilia. Duuuuuuuuude.
WHOWHATWHERE: We sent you guys ICECUBE photos of Will Smith from that Lady B party at The Dell the other day. But I dug up a few more — of Fresh Prince and Gold Club DJ Schoolly D, the latter who has been tailed by the G4 Network of late, even down to the 52nd and Parkside lounge where Jessie Weaver got his P.S.K. rap start. And we forgot that we nabbed a couple of shots of rapping MC Nutter on stage from that same event. Oy. Keeping on the gangsta tip, Jane Pauley was spied eating salmon and chicken at Rouge last week. Before Howard Eskin splits his daily WIP broadcasts and live remotes from the Borgata in September, he got a cake and some lady loving at the B-Bar from the Borgata’s Casino & Spa staff. We hear that when Ke$ha visited the Phillies last week she stopped in to one of the Inquirer’s boxes and wouldn’t allow photos to be taken. Still Leonard Barrack, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, got autographs for his grandchildren and threw out the first pitch for Jewish Heritage Night at Citizens Bank Park. Ke$ha’s opening act for her Festival Pier show, LMFAO, spent their time performing at Q102’s performance theater in Bala Cynwyd. And before she starts her Fox network gig on The X Factor, Nicole Scherzinger hung out at the Q102 End Of Summer Concert at Bamboo. Lastly, WMMR’s Jacky Bam Bam — outed as a J Geils fan last week — got a visit from The Babys’ John Waite and pal Tim Hogan at the studio just days after he hung out with the Alice Cooper band at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Oh, Bam.
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