Headed to the TLA or Dobbs or Lickety Split or any of the other South Street area music venues? There’s a world of great eating down that way. Here are a few of our faves. Thad Suzenski presents some of his faves in the area. Photos by Gabrielle Lavin.
For a late-night bite that is vegetarian friendly, it’s hard to beat Maoz for falafel, even if the place is part of a worldwide chain. The variety of ingredients available gratis at the salad bar is worth the trip alone. This place is perfect for when your show at the TLA lets out. It’s open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
248 South Street
(215) 625-3500
Wings, margaritas, Spanish fries and burgers fill out the menu at this popular dive bar/restaurant/date spot. It’s perfect for pregaming before seeing that metal/hip-hop/folk band your cousin knew from middle school playing at Lickety Split later. And the landmark blue building is right next to the TLA.
344 South Street
(215) 923-6180
One of the big names in the meat-on-a-roll scene in the city, they offer a finely-chopped steak that’s made right in front of you.
The shop is usually packed with clueless out-of-towners who don’t know what whiz is but it’s still worth a visit.
400 South Street
(215) 928-1911
Try the world famous chicken cheesesteak and wash it down with the infamous Gremlin, a grape juice mixed with lemonade concoction that blends sweet and tart.
Order at the window and people-watch as you devour this gut bomb. And look out for Questlove. He loves this place.
337 South Street
(215) 923-4337
Probably the best hot dog in the city on any given day. They may not be open at closing time but for building an encased-meat base for the night’s indulgences, you can’t go wrong. Owner Keith Garabedian holds a Ph.D. in musicology. Occasionally they have live music outside when the weather allows.
630 South Street
(267) 886-9253
Text by Thad Suzenski from PhillyPhoodie. Images by Gabrielle Lavin.
I am not a crêpe person. I have nothing against them, I just never developed a passion for thin pancakes with fillings folded inside. The allure was just not there. That said, I’m doing my best to keep an open mind and an empty stomach.
Beau Monde is an anchor on the corner of 6th and Bainbridge streets, one block south of South Street, that also houses the infamous club L’Etage (“the level above” en Francais).
The restaurant and venue are owned and operated by Francophiles Jim Caiola and David Salama. They made the jump from working in the arts to the restaurant world in 1998 when they opened their crêperie.
Shaking Through: Hop Along’s “Sister Cities.”
Frances Quinlan is a maniac. The front woman of Hop Along says her best songs are “about other people,” and that she lacks the heavy novels of experience that others might have, the bits and pieces and pages and chapters that make for strong storytelling.
But when you study her movements and anecdotes during this month’s Shaking Through session from Weathervane Music, you either don’t believe her or you dismiss that fact altogether. Raw passion takes over and makes up for whatever dramatic, monumental experiences she might not feel she can extract from her own memories. She bleeds intensity.
The video starts out with a burst of Quinlan’s grungy, kicked-out guitar, a pretty perfect call to the rest of the episode’s attitude.
“Did I lose it?” she asks, almost immediately after ending her hard-nosed strong solo.
And that right there serves as a perfect testament to the self-consciousness the creative brain. It’s that rip it up and start again mentality, the difficult task of thought-lassoing that plagues uber-talented artists like Quinlan and at the same to is so pivotal to the creative process.
Southwork And The Magic Bus (R.I.P.).
Text by Nikki Volpicelli. Images by Kate Harrold.
Buses don’t walk but this one of a kind of did — into the lives of seven South Philly guys who were sick of touring in a constricting van. If you ask Southwork bassist Nick Anastasi, he believes this to be quite literal.
“I saw this bus and all the sudden I was running through a field of flowers and the bus was walking towards me,” he says before correcting himself. “It was slowly rolling down a hill and I was running at it, in slow motion, and it was magical, and the music crescendoed.”
Dana Fiero: Gearing Up Against Substance Abuse.
Text and image by Urszula Pruchniewska.
Dana Fiero knows a thing or two about music. She has a bachelor’s degree in vocal music from Westminster Choir College and she teaches vocals, piano and oboe. She is an accomplished musician, playing folk rock with da(Y)ma and Dana and The Evergreens.
But when she’s not folk-rocking out, Fiero is a team leader at Gearing Up, a non-profit, urban cycling program for women in transition from substance abuse or incarceration.
“These women come from trying backgrounds,” says Fiero. “Fitness is important to anybody’s well-being. This gives them another tool for their recovery.”
Chaka Fattah: Making Music Makes You Think.
Congressman Chaka Fattah‘s mother was a PR person for music legends. G.W. Miller III discovers that the 10-term representative from the 2nd congressional district has pushed for music in education (including in his own household) because he knows that learning to play instruments is a key to developing critical thinking.
Your mom did PR for Sam Cooke?
Yes. Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
How did that come about?
She was a journalist in her first career, for about 20 years. That’s where she got her beginnings and she eventually went on to become the editor of the Philadelphia Tribune. She also did public relations for Otis Redding and Sam Cooke because she wrote about music and entertainment.
Text by Scott Signorino. Image by Kate Bodnar.
Nothing says summer’s here quite like a 93-degree Friday evening in Philadelphia, punctuated by the Colors, Cruiser and Belgrade show at Yards Brewing Company.
The sixth annual Roots Picnic was a sold out event, featuring Naughty By Nature and a huge lineup of talent across genres.
While the main events were on the stage, everywhere you looked was a show. A world of Philly musicians showed up to take in the day, from Cosmo Baker and Gogo Morrow to Jakk Frost, Freeway and more.
And many of those who came to watch the performances came dressed to the nines as well.
Our photographer Marie Alyse Rodriguez spent the day documenting the famous, the beautiful, the interesting and more. Here’s what she saw. Read more…
Macklemore @ The Roots Picnic at Festival Pier.
Text by Beth Ann Downey. Images by Marie Alyse Rodriguez.
Seattle-born rapper Macklemore had a lot to say to the Roots Picnic crowd as he cracked jokes, led strange call-and-response chants and provided social commentary during his set performed alongside producer Ryan Lewis.
But the biggest compliment he gave Philly was on their threads.
“One thing I love about Philadelphia, besides Jim’s Steaks, I love the fact that the people of Philadelphia have some of the best style in the country,” Macklemore said before playing his hit song “Thrift Shop” to an adoring crowd. “All you girls pretty much just wearing booty shorts and a tank top. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Text and images by Megan Matuzak.
It was a great fortune to not only see The Roots perform on Saturday at Festival Pier but also the Grammy-winning crew from Naughty By Nature. It’s hard to believe it even happened at all. Luckily it did.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 