POSTED: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 8:00 PM
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| photo by Scott Weiner |
| Miguel performing at Power 99 and Xfinity Performance Theater in Bala Cynwyd, |
Last time I spoke with
Stephen Starr we discussed his pairing with
Aimee Olexy (coming in April to his former Washington Square space). Then he mentioned a few other upcoming projects, too. Like the fabulous haute food court/catering op/mixed use facility that he was doing with developer
Eric Blumenfeld,
Marc Vetri, and
Joe Volpe at ye old
Wilkie car dealership on N. Broad. Starr mentioned something about "end of year 2011" and then we started talking about the bank holiday roast at
The Dandelion. Well, that end of year has become more like October as Blumenfeld held a news conference stating the food bar project at 600 N. Broad and its 100 apartments at 16th and Mount Vernon streets were forging ahead. That means Starr's New England-y seafood shack,
Route 6, and Vetri's beer-centric
Birerria 600 (along with a catering hall from Volpe the owner of No Libs'
Cescaphe) will be ready by Autumn. Talking about the Cescaphe, its next big event will be the fourth annual
John DeBella Golden Spoon Award where the mustachioed
WMGK-FM host will gather 12 comfort-food-centric Philly cookers and 400 of his friends to see who homiest chef is. So farm names such as
Nectar's
Patrick Feury and
Peter Woolsey from
Bistrot La Minette are in. More next Ice.
Can you teach old dogs new tricks? Ask
John Gilmour. The howler from the later great metal marauding
She-Males just formed a new band
Acidfinger. "No drummer, just a DJ so it's half-club, half-glam rock," notes Gilmour who goes on to say the song he sent me to hear "Doctor Octopus" is actually a She-Male cover. So the dogs and tricks question? "I might be too lazy to write new material."
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| photo by Scott Weiner |
| Joe Biden, obviously |
Newly solo publicist
Becca Lane (she just left
Sharla Feldscher) nab her first cool account (
Mad Dragon Records) and already she's got herself another gig: co-hosting the
Most Dangerous Open Mic in Philly with mega-voiced songwriting/singer
Hannah Zaic, starting on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14 at National Mechanics. To mark the occasion, not only will Zaic offer up a dinner date with Lane as part of the night's contest proceedings, Philly's most romantic new wave ensemble,
Carter Norman's
Kiss Kiss Kill will do its CD EP release. Not to be outdone, Kiss Kiss Kill's
Eric Chocolate will screen his new short film
Bed Bugs. "It has a Valentine's Day theme in that it's about a date gone awry."
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| Chef Marcey Blaine Turney |
OK, chocolate and love, yes, it's Valentine's. So let me count the ways that I dig
Marcie Turney. Sure the chef what owns all of 13th Street (
Barbuzzo,
Bindi,
Lolita) will have date-night dinners. But on Feb. 13, her
Verde gift shop hosts a give-away of a complimentary draught of
Yard's Love Stout for shoppers. And what you'll want to buy most of all is Turney's artisanal
Marcie Blaine Chocolates. I'm not usually the guy who goes for corny Philly themed food stuffs but the only thing better than staring at her
Robert Indiana-themed L
OVE choc is popping it in your mouth.
If you'd rather not concern yourself with l'amour, you can try your damn-dest to get laid at
Steven Ward's
BEN-FM's seventh annual
Mile of Meet (or Meat) on Feb. 11. The
VH-1 Tough Love host from Philly will line up one mile's worth of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in front of
Manayunk Brewery & Restaurant at 4120 Main St. Finally, a reason to go to Manayunk again — the possibility of getting laid.
WHOWHATWHERE: Emily Osment — the star of
Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 to say nothing of her dynamic range on the
Hannah Montana series — graced
The Whiting School with her presence. The school won a
Q102-FM contest with its prize a performance from Osment, so yay them. Hip-hop impresario
Russell Simmons — a man who will never find a hat that fits securely over his ears — hit
10 Arts over the weekend with a smoochy lady friend. Good on you, Russ. Two of the stars of
I Am Number Four —
Dianna Agron and
Alex Pettyfer — hit
Hot Topic in Paramus NJ the other day. This was crucial for two reasons. One, Agron is the best reason to watch
Glee and she and the whole cast will be at Philly's
Wells Fargo Center on sale for that Feb. 19 (comcasttix.com, 800-298-4200). Secondly, I needed new
True Religion jeans. My pair with holes got more holes. If you don't love
Enrique,
Ricky or
Marc A, you should've loved
Miguel. He was performing at
Power 99 and
Xfinity Performance Theater in Bala Cynwyd before his big
World Café Live gig that night. And Vice President
Joe Biden told on-lookers that $53 billion for high-speed rail was a good idea in a lousy economy while Transportation Secretary
Ray LaHood ducked — all during a visit to 30th Street Station
Ex-
LaColombe and
Garces Restaurant Group coffee consultant
Justin Manne just got a gig as the manager at 17 and Locust's
The Coffee Bar. Make mine black and send me a plate of truffle-buttered popcorn and fennel spiced almonds
Mathew Feldman's
Lucky Old Souls jazz jawn atop
Moonstone brings composer/pianist/organist
Lucas Brown (of
Bootsie Barnes' band) to the stage for his and his new quartet featuring trumpeter
John Swana (that'd be the
Lucas Brown Quartet) and saxophonist
Wade Dean's sextet starring bassist
Jason Fraticelli to the stage on S. 13th Street on Feb. 11.
Tell me this isn't true:
General Lafayette Inn, on Germantown Pike in Lafayette Hill — since 1732 yet — is on the market. We knew it closed but secretly we hoped it would re-open. It's going for under two million. A steal for its two acres — restaurant building, microbrewery, bed-and-breakfast, and all.
WKDU-FM Eavesdrop Radio hosts and owners of the
Record Breakin' label — Philly's own DJs
Junior and
lil' dave — celebrate five years of Breakin' Records — with a compilation to be found at recordbreakin.com. "The brightest highlight of the five years has been continuously being able to introduce amazing new artists to the world that push various musical boundaries while keeping a soulful foundation," says Junior. "I'm looking forward to many more years and truly appreciate all the continued support."
