Labor Day is nearly upon us. While we love the extra day off work, what we don't love is the fact that we'll soon be hurtling toward cold temperatures, icy streets, and a severe shortage of our favorite produce varieties. So for those of us who want to cling to summer as long as we possibly can, City Food Tours of Philadelphia will be offering a “So Long to Summer” Food Tour on Sunday. The......

Sometimes, our curiosity and attention span are at odds: we see something we want to find out more about, make a mental note of it... and quickly forget at the first glimpse of something shiny. We've been noticing an increasing number of black buckets filled with white, full-sized umbrellas at restaurants and bars around the city. We'd always wonder what they were, but by the time we got home, we'd forget to look them up.......

A few months ago, we asked readers to tell us where we can eat cheaply and quickly in Old City. We got some great feedback (this Phillyist eats at Gianfranco Pizza Rustica at least once a week, much to the chagrin of her personal trainer), and now we'd like to add another spot to the list: Independence Al Fresco, next to the Independence Visitor Center. Now, we're not endorsing the spot, mostly because we......

Weren't we just talking yesterday about our love for wine? Lucky us that Positano Coast is willing to indulge that love, along with our love of raw and only-barely-cooked fish, with tonight's Crudo Wine Dinner. Crudo, best described as Italian sashimi, is probably what Positano Coast is best known for, and the crudo there landed Chef Pippo Lamberti in Philadelphia Magazine's list of the "Next 8 Great Chefs" in the city in 2006, and......

As a native Texan, I just don't understand vegetarianism. I respect it, sure—but I don't know if I will ever understand how anyone can pass up tasty red meat dishes, especially with the newly-opened Chima Steakhouse giving Fogo de Chão a run for its money. I don't mind the competition, though: it just means more meat on a sword for me (although, to be fair, Chima adds two seafood offerings—salmon and swordfish—to its Rodizio......

If it's spicy, chances are I'll like it. Thai, Szechuan, Mexican, Japanese, or Indian: if it leaves my lips a little tingly and my sinuses a little clearer, it's generally okay by me, which is why I was excited to try out the newly-opened King of Tandoor in Logan Square. Now, I'm no expert in the field of Indian cooking, but I've eaten my share of good Indian food, and my share of bad......

*Why yes, it is Wednesday. Chef Joseph Poon is sixty, but you wouldn't know it when you meet him. It's only once you start doing the math while he's talking—it seems as if the Chef has had hundreds of restaurant jobs, on top of owning no fewer than than four establishments over the years—that you realize that he couldn't possibly be as young as you first thought. Nobody can blame you for your misconceptions, and......

It's about seventy billion degrees outside, but somehow, people are still eating outside at restaurants with sidewalk service. Not only eating outside, but waiting to eat outside. Ordinarily, we at Phillyist are the sit-indoors-in-the-air conditioning type, but we do love a good al fresco meal, so we can't help but feel jealous of all the people who seem completely unphased by the heat as they enjoy their lunches and dinners. We've yet to discover......

Philadelphia may not be perfect, but on the whole, we're a city full of big-hearted people willing to open their hearts—and, sometimes, their pocketbooks—to those in need. The latest group to benefit from this philanthropic city of ours is the family of the late Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, who, you might recall, was killed while on duty just a few weeks ago. And funds will be raised in Phillyist's favorite fashion: through our stomachs. Several......

There are few things we love more in the world than food. And when it's good food that comes cheap, we love it even more. That's why we're excited for 8 Days of Eats, the South Street Headhouse District's answer to the Center City District's Restaurant Week. There are fewer restaurants to choose from, sure, and most of those restaurants don't have menus posted on the event website, but 8 Days of Eats has a......

Starbucks may be closed for three hours this evening, but have no fear! Dunkin' Donuts to the rescue! About an hour ago, Dunkin' started serving up small lattes—of any variety—for 99¢. They'll keep slinging the discounted caffeine (or decaffeine) until 10PM or closing time – whatever comes first at each individual franchise. While you're down there, you may want to try out one of those new Flat Bread [sic] sandwiches they've started selling over......

There's a new restaurant reviewing website in town, and we think it's pretty neat. Urbanspoon works as a local restaurant review aggregator, finding reviews of eating establishments city-wide and combining them with user rankings to come up with an overall score, a la Rotten Tomatoes. Urbanspoon will also tell you its current top restaurants in the city, give you reviews by cuisine, neighborhood, or price, and even features a few "specialty" categories (vegan, gluten-free, delivery,......

With New Year's Eve less than two weeks away, dinner reservations at local restaurants are going fast. Many bars and restaurants across the city will be open for business during regular hours; others will keep their kitchens open late to accommodate the gastronomical needs of New Year's revelers. And then there are the select restaurants with special prix fixe menus for the holiday. Some sound far more delicious to us than others, but if we......

Houstonist reports on cross-dressing thieves and undressing educators this week. A Peeping Tom defends himself with a papaya and an outraged onlooker asks Ken Lay, "TATER TOTS OR FRIES?" Also, FEMA wants it's money back. LAist are a bug bunch of geeks. They're Star Trek geeks, David Duchovny geeks and Frank Gehry geeks. During their Cochella preview their readers reveal themselves to be Depeche Mode geeks. Seattlest saw their basketball team preparing to leave for......

This Thursday, restaurants all over the city will take part in Dining Out for Life, an annual fundraiser for local services for those living with HIV and AIDS. Participating restaurants will contribute 33% of their sales from the day. This is one of those occasions where you needn't feel guilty for ordering dessert; after all, you'd be indulging for charity. Dining Out For Life Thursday, April 27th Area Restaurants Image via Dining Out for Life......

After the progressive, sexy post that was last week's Monday Manners, I fear I'm going to have to go a little 1952 on your asses. This one's for the fellas. I'll keep this short and sweet: gentlemen, please pull your date's chairs out for them if you're dining out. Granted, sometimes the maitre'd will do it for you, but that's only if you're at a fancy-schmancy restaurant with white table cloths and crystal. This is......

Phillyist has already told you how we feel about using cell phones on public transit. But there are other times when cell phone usage is, if not completely inappropriate, utterly irritating. What follows here is a partial list of bad times and places to use your cell phones, as well as suggestions to how to handle calls if/when they’re made. It’s not a full list, by any means – but trying to do that, this......