POSTED: Friday, December 10, 2010, 6:00 PM
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One for the good: Jazzy chanteuse
Mary Ellen Desmond hosts her seventh annual
Comfort & Joy holiday concert on Sun., Dec. 12, at 4 p.m., with her pals
Tom Lawton, Larry Mckenna, Lee Smith and Dan Monaghan at the
Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany on South 13th. The $20 benefit and light reception supports those affected by HIV/AIDS. And what a show Desmond sweetly puts on.
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One for the bad: I knew no good was afoot when I spied
Adsum co-owner
A. Kar Vivekananthan's Tweets about buying up the last of the caffeinated malt-booze punch Four Loko. But I figure, I remember when Quaaludes became rare. I still have Lemons stockpiled. Anyway, he got the lock-stock-and-barrel of
F-Loko for his pal/chef/partner
Matt Levin's Dec. 13 Four Loko Dinner at Adsum, with everything inspired on the taurine and guarana tip. Two seatings. Stay for both. Ask Kar if he stashed any for the future
⤠What kind of name for a British-y gastropub is
The Dandelion anyway? Apparently a veddy, veddy good one — it's what
Stephen Starr is naming his due-by-Christmas resto at 18
th and Sansom.
⤠Is
Jamie Lokoff's two-floor
MilkBoy coffeehouse/bar/live music venue on the southwest corner of 11th and Chestnut looking at sooner in 2011 than later? Much sooner. Is it possible that outside bookers are looking in and booking? Stay tuned.
⤠Icepacked tipped it to you first: that once
Heshey Schlachterman shed his dress-wearing partner for their long-in-the-oven
Dobbs (Third and South) live rawk bar renewal venture and brought in the supposed NYC investors, their liquor license would be a piece of Four Loko-filled cake. Well, the license is in. And
"The Legendary Dobbs" should be open, rocking and selling booze Dec. 18.
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George Manney filmed
this a while ago to remind the kids about a time when getting L&I licenses on the block wasn't a prob.
⤠Speaking of movies,
Andrew Jeffery Wright of
Space 1026 fame made
this mini-horror film — that also manages to double as a commercial for a T-shirt — just in time for the
Space 1026 auction at 7 p.m., tonight (Dec. 10).
⤠Atsa some spicy meataball: The long-awaited
Marabella Meatball Co. on 12th and Walnut should be open by the time you read this.
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| Photo | Scott Weiner
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WHOWHATWHERE: To celebrate
Nicole Cashman's PR company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary (to say nothing of her new hire, Premiere-ex
Michael Steinberg), AND the fact that her client realtor/
DJ Nigel Richards (pictured left with Cashman and me) is debuting his 611lifestyle.com with a pop-up shop on 18th and Walnut Street this weekend (
see ICEPACK in print for details), I have a shot of those two in less happy times: hanging with me at the
Greater Philly Film Office's 25
th anniversary. ⤠Since I was the first journo to drop the date and the location, allow me to be the first to wish Philly bon vivant
Harry Jay Katz and his new bride
Debra Renee Cruz the best after they got hitched this weekend by the
Hon. James DeLeon at the Katz/Cruz estate. ⤠Porn babe
Gina Lynn was a celebrity bartender at
South Philly Bar & Grill where she and her gal-pals did double duty repping her clothing line,
Skin. ⤠We spied spiky-haired Fox 29 morning host
Mike Jerrick at last weekend's Dukes of September WMGK holiday show (Scaggs/Fagen/McDonald) chatting with an attractive young African-American woman. If she wasn't his date â vavavava voom â she should be somebody's. ⤠Phillies pitching legend
Steve Carlton had dinner at
Davio's on 17th. I hear he likes meat and greens, filet mignon and asparagus. ⤠Not only did we check out comic/actor
Dennis Leary signing his new book
Suck on This Year at our fave NJ book shop,
Bookends in Ridgewood. He and we got a visit from actor
Vincent Curatola ("Johnny Sack" from
The Sopranos). Ba-da-bing.
⤠Tawwwking ba-da-bing, while
Jersey Shore star
Vinny Guadagnino did it up at a
Q102 party at the
Roxxy over the weekend, ex-
Jersey Shore babe
Angelina Pivarnick got tagged with a simple assault complaint in Atlantic City when a young woman was allegedly attacked trying to photograph Pivarnick at the
Casbah at Trump Taj Mahal Casino. This was before the
Damon Feldman celebrity boxing match between her and VH1's
Kerry Schwartz. "I just want you to know the truth," says Feldman, co-owner of
Big Bang Celebrity Wrestling Federation. "Angelina was not allowed back in the arena because she started a brawl before her match as she was evicted out of the casino. We lost a lot of money and we are in a terrible situation right now because of her un-professionalism. She showed up at the arena 30 minutes before her wrestling match, she was involved with an altercation with a woman outside of the club and security evicted her out of casino. We are very upset with her behavior as she said that our business is for C-listers, and she is an A-lister. She said she would not go into the event if she could not get her friends who where underage to watch her do the match. So there you have it, we are pursuing legal action against Angelina as I will leave it at that."
⤠The godhead of local space music,
Chuck Van Zyl, will appear at
Germ on Dec 10. And the skies parted...
⤠Everybody yelped when they saw design marvel
Jonathan Adler in town in September and now we know why: he's opening his new boutique in Old City at the ex-location of
Foster's Homeware at 33 N. Third St., Dec 15. Adler will be there and maybe he'll bring his long-time partner
Simon Doonan, creative director at
Barney's.
⤠All Garces, all the time: after having beaten
Mike Lata of FIG during Dec. 5's
Food Network's Iron Chef America challenge (the "Battle Sparkling Wine" meal that you can now get at
JG Domestic at the Cira Center) and bringing his executive chefs to the
James Beard House in New York City on Dec. 6 (where he gave his crew all the credit for the meal, painting himself as the brains behind the stove),
Jose Garces is at it again. RIGHT NOW, he is with the crew of the Food Network's Meat & Potatoes at Village Whiskey making hamburgers after hitting up
Garces Trading Company this morning where his experts ground up the meat.
⤠A small slew — a smew — of Philadelphia artists just got named
USA Knight Fellows and will receive an unrestricted $50,000 grant from United States Artists (USA), part of a $1 million grant from the
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to USA, a national grant-making and advocacy organization. Hey,
Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel, Dan Rothenberg and Dito van Reigersberg of
Pig Iron Theatre Co., and furniture designer
Matthias Pliessnig: The Piggies can help me re-do my deck and Matthias can help me do it up with tony deck chairs. Ta veddy moooooch.
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| Photo | Scott Weiner
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| Vincent Curatola & Denis Leary |
BOOKS + ZINES > "Keeping it green" just outside Philly, Ivy Lane Designs is all about the quirky upcycle. Her Vintage Recycled Notebooks use old-school record covers (of the kid-friendly variety like Sesame Street and Pinocchio, but also including real-life, grown-up musical heroes from Kenny G to Placido Domingo, plus Broadway hits like A Chorus Line for the Glee nerd on your list) to bind looseleaf-paper-size books, and extra-large spirals accommodate "oodles of your photos and/or scrapbook goodies." Bert & Ernie: Side by Side is an original, so there's only one available, but the shop has, as its owner would put it, oodles of choices. $20, Ivy Lane Designs.
FOOD + DRINK > No gift guide would be complete without the inclusion of Philly Etsy queen Girls Can Tell, who goes by Sara Selepouchin when she's not busy selling the most charming tea towels, coasters and prints known to DIY man. Focusing on original illustrations and diagrams of home and hobby, the GCT product line is ever expanding, but our hands-down favorite new item is the bright yellow Beer Is Delicious Bottle Opener Keychain. Featuring a glassware diagram, the opener is a seriously great stocking stuffer. And, as Selepouchin points out, "This bottle opener is quite honestly just the most awesome." Agreed! $6, Girls Can Tell.
HOME + GARDEN > "Refined aesthetics and modern design" is how Kaye Rachelle describes its M.O., and it's absolutely so. There's something so clean and sweet about the design duo's collection of pillows, placemats, totes and tea towels, but also curious: They're all hand-screen-printed with unusual images that range from nautical knots and silverware to the NYC Highline and oyster flowers. Most delightful and surprising is the company's Radiator Pillow. According to its description, the image was inspired by "years of living in Old City apartments with lovely radiators full of character." The pillow's available in a variety of colors to match your living room decor. $34, Kaye Rachelle.
KIDS + PETS > And here you thought the cupcake fad had finally hit critical mass, but you must've forgotten that puppies need snacks, too! These Mini Pupcakes are made from Jackie Starker's pet-friendly biscuit recipe, which she taste-tests with her adorably named pooch, Amelie. "If my picky little shih-poo eats up these treats, I'm sure they will get your dog's tail wagging as well!" (Can we just linger on how cute the idea of a shih-poo is for a sec?) The Pupcakes Bits & Pieces brand also includes doggy stocking-stuffers, peanut butter treats and tooth-shaped frosted Breath Busters that're all so pretty you'll want to eat them yourself. But 'tis the season for giving, 'member? $4 (for four-pack of mini cakes), Pupcakes.
MIND + BODY > A medical anthropologist by trade, Sarah Powell somehow makes time in her busy schedule (she works full-time in public health at Temple) to create "concoctions, herbal blends and infusions" for her line of spirit-cleansing body products. (She also sells teas, perfumes and herbs.) Lilith's Apothecary specializes in aromatherapy, and the Herbal Home Spa Facial Kit is a great representation of everything the brand stands for. Included in the gift basket: toner, facial steam pack, facial mask and a patterned bowl for mixing — so your over-stressed mom can pretend she's in her very own apothecary. $38, Lilith's Apothecary.
