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Jordan Wright
April 30, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
 David James plays Adam (the American), Matthew Randall plays Edward (the Irishman) and John Shackleford plays Michael (the Englishman) - photo credit to Mike deBlois There’s an inner peace that washes over your soul when you are immersed in a drama so powerful, so exquisitely acted and so heart wrenching, that you want to share the earthmoving experience with all your fellow theatre-goers. Luckily in this space I can. The only caveat is to make haste since Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me runs just one more weekend.
In a drama punctuated with moments of lighthearted gallows humor and male bonding, three men are imprisoned in a tiny cell in Beirut. The hostages, Edward, an Irish journalist; Adam, an American doctor; and Michael, an English teacher from Britain are shackled and chained to a communal wall for an indeterminate sentence.
Most of us remember this story from news reports filled with harrowing tales of torture and execution at the hand of self-described Islamic Jihadists. Playwright Frank McGuiness loosely bases his Drama Critics Circle award winning play on the real lives of Brian Keenan, John McCarthy and Terry Anderson during the time they were held hostage in Lebanon in 1985 and 1986. McGuiness extrapolated Keenan’s experiences from lengthy discussions about his time in captivity, and used them to form the backbone of the drama. In order to prepare the actors before rehearsal started, Director Rosemary Hartman gave each of them Keenan’s unflinchingly honest recounting, Evil Cradling, wherein Keenan poses the question, ”Just as I was chained in darkness for almost five years, my captors were chained to their guns in a profound darkness I could see into. Tell me now, who is the prisoner here?”
The piece opens with slo-mo news footage of the war in Lebanon during the decade between 1982 and 1992 when between 130,000-200,000 people were killed and more than 1 million were wounded. In stark contrast to the lulling strains of classical music the images are projected against the set’s prison walls. We don’t hear the bullets and bombs, but we bear witness to the brutal gunfights and the total destruction of cities. It was a horrendous period when random kidnappings were the order of the day and the ignominy of America and its allies was the incomprehensible goal. As the lights come up Ella Fitzgerald’s evocative rendition of Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me plays in the background and we’re greeted by a set design by Frank Pasqualino that is so end-of-the-world grim that one instantly senses the prisoners’ isolation.
 Someone who'll watch - Matthew Randall, John Shackleford - photo credit to Mike deBlois.  David James plays Adam (the American), Matthew Randall plays Edward (the Irishman) and John Shackleford plays Michael (the Englishman) - photo credit to Mike deBlois During their brutal confinement the hostages probe one another’s psyches and explore their innermost lives, trying to keep their spirits up until their hoped-for rescue. Their methods in the face of such adversity are both inspired and inspiring. One can’t help but wonder what diversions we would employ ourselves under the same dire circumstances.
The play’s moods swing back and forth like a pendulum with lightning quick transitions from misery to comedy as the men regale each other with humerous tales designed to relieve the tedium, promising each other not to let the guards hear them cry. Adam, played by David James, is afraid of going mad. Clutching a bible for support, he is haunted by memories of his life as an only son in a house full of foster children. “Will they kill me for oil?” he wonders of the guards. Matthew Randall plays Edward who claims “foreplay” was invented by the Irish. “We call it drink!” he jokes as he fake-bartends martinis. Together they reenact old films, perform childhood vignettes and fake-broadcast horse races to pass the time until one night Michael, played by John Shackelford, is delivered comatose into their shared cell and their awkward camaraderie is rearranged. Though initially regarded as an intruder, Michael, the stoic, becomes a stabilizing factor to the gradually declining spirits of the other two.
With this latest production Port City Playhouse continues to impress, especially when tackling bold dramatic themes. In Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me superlatives go to the entire ensemble whose outstanding performances are nothing short of brilliant. Special mention goes to Lighting Designer, Julie Anne Watko, who does a fine job creating and handling 100 lighting changes and video montages, as well as Accent Coach, Carol Strachan, who has set the authenticity bar higher than ever.
Poignant, riveting and perfectly cast. Highly recommended.
At Port City Playhouse. Final performances May 4th and 5th at 8pm with an additional May 5th matinee at 2pm at The Lab Studio Theatre at Convergence, 1819 North Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22302. For tickets and information visit www.portcityplayhouse.com.
Jordan Wright
April 23, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Michael (Andy Brownstein, far right) makes a stand as Alan (Paul Morella), Veronica (Naomi Jacobson) and Annette (Vanessa Lock) look on. "God of Carnage" plays at Virginia’s Signature Theatre through June 24, 2012. www.signature-theatre.org. In the 2009 Tony award-winning play God of Carnage, French playwright and social satirist Yasmina Reza introduces us to two upwardly mobile New York couples whose rowdy sons have gotten into a scrap in the neighborhood park. At a meeting in the bourgeois book-filled apartment of the victim’s parents to discuss the incident, the couples seem to present a united front while exchanging pleasantries over coffee and Veronica’s home made pear clafouti.
 Andy Brownstein (Michael Novak) and Naomi Jacobson (Veronica Novak) make a strong alliance.  Veronica Novak (Naomi Jacobson) laughs as she may have had one too many, as Alan Raleigh (Paul Morella) looks on. Initially the well-mannered grownups appear to take responsibility for their children’s actions resolving to discipline the boys and urge them to make up. Veronica, a writer on atrocities in African culture, has high-minded principles and futilely attempts to steer her husband Michael into laying the blame on Annette and Alan’s son. “It could have been the other way around,” admits Michael, “Our son is a savage,” he adds trumping Veronica’s well-orchestrated plans.
Annette on the other hand is a straight-laced suit working in wealth management and married to Alan an attorney/spinmeister who’s more wedded to his business than his wife. Between persistent cell phone calls he tries to keep pace with the mounting diatribes. “People struggle until they are dead,” Alan philosophizes.
Initially Annette tries to stay above the fray, pleading with her husband to back off, but as she sits on the sofa leafing through some well-placed coffee table books she picks up a book on existentialist painter Francis Bacon, “Cruelty, majesty, chaos and balance,” she offers and with that small remark the play’s tone is set.
Soon all decorum is tossed aside as the confab turns into a verbal slugfest with the couples pushing each other’s emotional buttons and the parents quickly devolving from respectable middle class professionals into screaming, name-calling kids on a playground. “You can’t control the things that control you,” Michael offers.
 Michael (Andy Brownstein, left) and Alan (Paul Morella) happily finding some common ground in "God of Carnage".  Vanessa Lock (left, as Annette) and Naomi Jacobson (as Veronica) share a laugh and a drink. After Michael confesses to tossing his daughter’s hamster out into the street, his credibility as the nice guy flies out the window and the women bond in their anger against him. Soothing his bruised ego he shares a bottle of his “well-aged Antiguan rum” and with that all the white gloves come off. Soon allegiances shift and the women gang up against their husbands as the men proudly profess to be Neanderthals. “Is alcohol bad for you?” Annette ponders.
Reza wields humor with a surgeon’s scalpel. Her observations of couples’ conflicts, and their ability to emotionally destroy each another, are just as incisive. And our laughter at their infantile antics is a universal response to the belief that we are all born into a culture of violence. “The God of Carnage has ruled since the beginning of time,” Alan reminds them.
 The Raleighs and the Novaks in a heated war of words in "God of Carnage". From left to right: Vanessa Lock, Paul Morella, Naomi Jacobson, Andy Brownstein. Award-winning director Joe Calarco does a yeoman’s job of molding actors Andy Brownstein (Michael), Naomi Jacobson (Veronica), Vanessa Lock (Annette) and Paul Morella (Alan) into a cohesive unit of controlled stage mayhem.
Through June 24th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.signature-theatre.org.
Jordan Wright
April 19, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Sam Sheinberg (Court Wader), Russell Silber (Leonard), Bruce Schmid (Barrister), Dan Beck (Clerk of the Court), Jeffrey Clarke (Justice Wainright), John Johnson (Barrister), and Mark Lee Adams (Sir Wilfred Robarts, QC) - photo credit to Doug Olmsted. In a whodunit filled with more red herrings than a kettle of fish, veteran Little Theatre director Eddie Page takes a cast of nineteen actors and packages them into a tidy piece of silken stagecraft. That the plot may be familiar to those who remember the 1957 Billy Wilder-directed film of the same name, and that starred Tyrone Power, Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich, should in no way deter an appreciation of this well-acted version. The play, unlike the film of the same name, adheres to the original as written by Agatha Christie in 1953.
The likeable but enigmatic Leonard Vole is accused of murdering of a wealthy older lady. Or to be politically correct, allow me to amend it to “ a well-to-do senior citizen”. Miss French’s senior status should be noted here since, when it is revealed that she is 56 years old, it makes for some snickering in the audience, sounding as it does by today’s standards a rather archaic notion. Leonard becomes the main suspect when it is revealed that he is the chief benefactor in the lady’s recently revised will.
 Robert Ford (Detective) and Russell Silber (Leonard) - photo credit to Doug Olmsted Miss French, who befriends the impoverished mechanic after he chivalrously rescues her from being run over on a London city street, is neither seen nor heard during the three acts which, being quite dead should be reason enough, but for we amateur sleuths there’s not much to chew on save a haze of supposition, conflicting testimony and inexplicable evidence leading helter-skelter down a blind alley.
Mark Lee Adams deftly plays Leonard’s counselor Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C. Robarts, who had up till then sworn off murder trials, agrees to take the case after becoming convinced of the poor man’s innocence.
As the case unfolds in the courtroom of the Old Bailey, we meet Miss French’s feisty yet devoted housekeeper, Janet McKenzie, played rivetingly by Cheryl Sinsabaugh whose spot-on Scottish brogue is as crusty as week-old haggis. Janet has reason to point the finger at the ambitious Leonard Vole. He’s usurped her territory and stolen her mistress’s affections. But we like the charismatic chap anyway.
 Robin Zerbe (Romaine) and James McDaniel (Mr. Meyers, QC) - photo credit to Doug Olmsted.  Robin Zerbe (Romaine) and Mark Lee Adams (Sir Wilfred Robarts, QC) - photo credit to Doug Olmsted. Russell Silber does a fine job of portraying the likeable Leonard in counterpoint to his wife Romaine, the Teutonic ice princess tautly acted by Robin Zerbe. Though Leonard marries her to facilitate her escape from wartime Germany, in an ironic twist Romaine becomes witness for the prosecution and against her adoring husband. “One can get tired of gratitude,” she stoically declares.
At times you may feel that you are in the middle of a game of Clue. There’s no rope here but a blood stained jacket, mountains of motives, a bludgeoned body and a large kitchen knife loom largely. Did I mention all the circumstantial evidence? Nothing appears to be indisputable, not least of all the exact time of the murder.
In Christie’s stage version the bewigged barristers address the audience as jury and you may feel quite invested in divining the outcome of this charming slice of skullduggery. Though your efforts may prove meaningless as the ending trumps the most invigorated mystery hounds among us. And isn’t that exactly what we adore about Agatha Christie?
Through May 12th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com
Jordan Wright
April 17, 2012
Special to www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com and www.broadwaystars.com
I’m often asked, “Where shall we go for brunch?” “It depends,” I evasively respond, clueless as to your expectations. Prefer outdoors, indoors or lavish buffet? Quick and cheap or farmer’s market sourced?
Do you languish over Bloody Marys or just need a quick morning fix? Would you like live entertainment with your eggs or just a place to kick back with the Sunday crosswords? Bringing friends and family or just for two? The following suggestions hope to inspire.
Brunch In
Ahhh, breakfast in bed – the ultimate luxury. Get a head start with perfect provisions from your local farmers market.
The Alexandria Farmers Market, one of the country’s oldest markets, delineates the perimeter of the fountains at City Hall on King Street. Buy sausage biscuits, VA country ham, fresh OJ, farm fresh eggs, herbs, and a bouquet of lilacs for the breakfast tray. Saturdays from 5:30am–10:30am.
 Herbs at the Alexandria Farmers Market - photo credit Jordan Wright The Bethesda Central Farm Market has recently moved its 30-plus vendors to the Bethesda Elementary School. Try the luscious cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, baked goods from the Farm Market Bakery, Susie Sunshine Sprouts, fresh fruits from Pong’s Orchard and Zeke’s Coffee. For a bit of Britain get the English bangers from MeatCrafters. Now at 7600 Arlington Blvd. at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road. Sundays from 9am-1pm.
 The Copper Pot preserves - photo credit Jordan Wright  Bunches of lilacs at the farmers market - photo credit Jordan Wright FreshFarm Market Dupont Circle, the granddaddy of urban markets, is in full swing with Dolcezza Gelato’s icy confections, Euro-style pastries and whole grain breads from the Bread Ovens at Quail Creek Farm, Bev Eggleston’s EcoFriendly Foods signature bacon, Blue Ridge Dairy Co.’s house made mozzarella and yogurt, and preserves from the Copper Pot. Enjoy their Peach and Prosecco “Bellini” jam and don’t forget to fill your basket with farm fresh fruits and veggies. At 20th Street between Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues. Sundays from 8:30am–1pm.
Downtowners can access the Penn Quarter FRESHFARM Market where neighborhood chefs pick up specialty items like breads, cheeses, artisanal meats and farm-grown produce. Grab crab cakes from Chris’ Marketplace, apples and gooseberries from Black Rock Orchard and honey from Sand Hill Farm. On 8thStreet between D and E Streets. Thursdays from 3-7pm.
 Penn Quarter Farmers Market - photo credit Jordan Wright Brunch Out
 Todd Gray's Muse Almond Torte brunch photo  Muse at the Corcoran Todd Gray’s latest adventure is Muse at the Corcoran Gallery of Art where he will prepare a vegan brunch twice a month. Carnivores are most welcome. Pastry Chef Doran Petersen of Cupcake Wars and Sticky Fingers’ Bakery adds to the yum factor with her specialty vegan sticky buns. Standouts include Bananas Foster vegan pancakes with caramelized baby bananas, Grilled Polenta with asparagus sauce, roasted mushroom and black walnut pate Macaroni Salad with green peas and ramps; and Plantain Fritters with black bean and red onion marmalade. The $35 adult price (+tax and gratuity) includes a complimentary starter cocktail. Children age 12 or younger dine for $12. Reservations are recommended for Sunday Brunch. From 11am-2pm. Vegan brunches are on the first and third Sunday of every month. 500 Seventeenth St., NW. Call 202 639-1786 or visit reservations@toddgraysmuse.com.
Metro area music lovers just got some divine intervention with the recent openings of The Howard Theatre, the Melody Tavern and The Hamilton.
 The Hamilton - Photo credit to Ron Blunt At The Hamilton you might find your own slice of heaven with the Howard Gospel Choir, the first college choir of its kind founded over four decades ago at Howard University. The all-you-can-eat down home soul food brunch features shrimp and grits, buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, fried chicken, gumbo, BBQ pork and sweet potato hash, along with waffles, eggs and pancakes. Each $25 ticket comes with a choice of Bloody Mary or Mimosa. From From 10-11:30am and 12:30–2pm. This is a ticketed brunch and reservations are a must. Call 202 787-1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com/live/event/1230pm-gospel-brunch-3.
 Top Chef Master Marcus Samuelsson Competition will be stiff with the all-you-can-eat gospel brunch at the newly renovated historic Howard Theatre featuring the hallelujah chorus of the Harlem Gospel Choir. The menu offers Southern-style dishes created by famed Top Chef Master Marcus Samuelsson and set against a Beaux Arts backdrop. The menu’s not out yet – the spot’s so new – but we’re counting on it to be fabulous to the max. Reservations strongly suggested. Tickets are $35 in advance, $45 the day of the show. From 12:30-2:30pm at 620 T Street, NW. Check the website’s calendar for artist’s performance schedule. www.thehowardtheatre.com/calendar.
 Jaared Arosemena - the "Sax Man" at Melody Tavern If you imagine your Sunday with a mellower vibe, check out the stylish new Melody Tavern in Crystal City for their Jazz Brunch. The well-priced á la carte menu takes you down home with country-style chicken and biscuits, shrimp and grits, steak and eggs and so much more. This month groove to the smooth sounds of “Sax Man” Jaared Arosemena. From 10am-2pm at 3650 South Glebe Road, Arlington, VA. Call 703 413-4141 for reservations. www.melodytavern.com.
 Rhubarb clafoutis at Sou'Wester at the Mandarin Oriental Digging deep into Southern foodways is Sou’Wester at the Mandarin Oriental. James Beard Award-winner of “Best Chefs In America” Eric Ziebold, formerly of Spago and French Laundry does not disappoint. An á la carte menu brings pan-seared Maryland soft shall crab with jambalaya, tasso ham and spicy shrimp emulsion and hush puppies served with honey butter. Or choose the North Carolina shrimp with Anson Mills grits, pickled okra and smoked shrimp sauce. Dessert captivates with fried apple pie or rhubarb clafoutis served with baked meringue, ginger streusel and rhubarb sorbet. From 11:45am-4pm 1330 Maryland Avenue, SW. For reservations call 202 787-6148 or visit www.mandarinoriental.com.
As a huge fan of seafood the brunch at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington DC in tony Georgetown is a religious experience of an entirely different stripe. Lavish displays of luscious pink shrimp, raw oysters, crab claws, Bloody Mary oyster shooters, Ahi tuna, seviches, crabcakes and seared scallops beckon. Even the omelette station has lump crabmeat. But there’s so much more to love.
Seven separate stations gleam with creatively conceived salads like curried cauliflower with chickpeas and golden raisins; the spinach salad packed with walnuts, goat cheese, strawberries and chrysanthemum (oh my!); and another made with sunflower sprouts, corn shoots, broccoli sprouts and lime.
Over on the meat side there’s beef tenderloin medallions with Bing cherry demi-glaze or pistachio crusted lamb loin with fig compote. How about a full-out charcuterie station? Or go old school with house made pork sausages nestled alongside of creamy scrambled eggs.
The elegant room, overlooking the canal, even has a pickle station with pickled pearl onions, fiddlehead ferns and Alba mushrooms. If Asian is your thing Moo Shoo pancakes are made with Peking duck.
Pastry Chef Jennifer Krause crafts heavenly baked breads and breakfast pastries to make you feel like a naughty child let loose in a French bakeshop. Go for it. Even cheeseheads are given the nod with Prima Donna, Murcia Al Vino, Gjetoast, Cahill’s Porter, Manchego and Griftin.
 Seafood delicacies at the Four Seasons Washington  A small selection of brunch sweets at the Four Seasons Washington Caveat for newbies. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Off to one side is the dessert room with splendors so tempting you’ll imagine you’ve just discovered the Holy Grail as you discover row upon row of petite sweets to corrupt the innocent. Dig in.
Executive Chef Doug Anderson who is proud of his partnerships with local farmers, is clearly showing off here and you’re the beneficiary. Brunch is served in the hotel’s Seasons Restaurant from 10:30am–2:30pm at $80.00 pp. 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. For reservations call 202 944-2000 or visit http://www.fourseasons.com/washington/.
Jordan Wright
Special to Indian Country Today Media Network
April 15, 2012
 A mess of ramps ready for the pan - photo credit Jordan Wright In Qualla Boundary, high up in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, springtime means foraging for emergent greens. The Eastern Band of Cherokee has always used the tender shoots, chockfull of minerals and Vitamins A and C, as both tonic and food source – an antidote for winter’s ailments as well as sustenance.
Some of the earliest wild edibles are sochan (a relative of the green-headed coneflower), watercress, branch lettuce, creasy greens and ramps – the most treasured of all. Big Cove tribal council member Bo Taylor gives the Cherokee word “anitse” for all spring greens and “wast” to refer to ramps.
A small adaptable plant that grows only at elevations of 3,000 feet or higher, the noble ramp (Allium Tricoccum – Liliacae) is venerated by the southeastern Cherokee who passed down its virtues to the early settlers. “According to our tradition we use ramps to cleanse the blood from toxins built up over the winter months,” Cherokee tribal elder Don Rose explained.
Throughout local communities there is a movement afoot to preserve, protect and propagate the plant that has a brief season in the deciduous woods before the tree canopy reappears. Horticulturalist and ethnobotanist Kevin Welch, who heads up the Center for Cherokee Plants, has created a project in Qualla called “The Backyard Ramp Patch”. “Each spring we distribute small bags of ramps filled with around 50 bulbs for home gardening.”
His wife and collaborator, Sarah McClellan, who is the Project Director and Educator at the Cherokee Reservation Cooperative Extension Center and coordinator of the Cherokee Native Plant Study Group is enthusiastic about the program. “We have distributed over 70,000 bulbs so far. It’s our ninth year and we are supplying to 150-200 families each year.” They are not taken from the forest. McClellan buys the ramp bulbs and seeds from Ramp Farm Specialties in Richwood, West Virginia.
 Harvesting Ramps - Photo credit Jordan Wright Welch talks about the proper way Indians harvest them in the wild. “The best method allows ramps to grow back from its roots. Rather than pull up the entire plant, they loosen the soil around it, then reach down into the soil with a knife and cut off a ¼ inch or so of the bulb just above the roots, leaving the roots in the soil to grow a new plant. Thus ramps continue to flourish. When pulled up by the roots, like onions from the garden, whole stands of ramps disappear,” he cautions.
Each year the community hosts “Rainbows and Ramps” in April. Janice Wildcatt, who runs the early spring event and acted as my guide during a recent trip to Cherokee, NC, explains, “The festival has been going on for 30 years. It’s a celebration for the tribal elders, who can no longer get into the woods to pick their ramps. Before the visitors arrive we give them a free meal of ramps and local trout and other traditional foods. It’s comfort food. Way back it was more like a simple pot luck, but it has grown in popularity and for the past two years we have served over 700 visitors a year.” Entertainment is part of the experience and this year’s festivities included the Head Start Traditional Dancers along with the Old Antioch Gospel Singers and the Mountain Traditional Cloggers.
 Blackberry dumplings - photo credit Jordan Wright During my stay I was invited by several tribal members to join them in a dinner showcasing traditional Cherokee foods. The women who are generous in the community with their time and culinary talents laid out a splendid buffet of their delicious dishes. Nikki Nations, a local landscape artist, cooked up fatback, blackberry dumplings, fried potatoes and lye dumplings; Alice Kekahbah, who lived and worked for the BIA for 30 years, prepared her fried sweet potatoes and sochan; Bessie Wallace, President of the North American Indian Women’s Association (NAIWA) Cherokee Chapter, brought sweet tea; Hattie Panther made bean dumplings; and my tourism guru, Janice Wildcatt, sautéed up a mess of ramps with scrambled eggs. It was a convivial evening among the ladies who caught up on local happenings. After supper we drove over to Big Cove where we spotted two of the recently reintroduced elk herd peacefully grazing alongside the road.
 Elk in Big Cove, Cherokee, NC - photo credit Jordan Wright Ramps are frequently described as having an acquired taste akin to onions mixed with garlic, and are often referred to as “wild leeks”. At some ramp fests they even hand out mouthwash, called the “Scope cure”, to counter what they say is the lingering odor.
Returning from Cherokee we spent a few days at our family homestead along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia. Beside a small spring I located a stand of ramps that had been planted over 30 years ago. Bearing in mind the Cherokee way of sustainability, I harvested a small bunch, carefully leaving the bulbs intact underground for next year’s crop. After rinsing the dirt off the leaves and drying them, a quick chop and sauté in butter revealed them to be even milder than scallions and with a delicate aroma of garlic. The only thing missing was the trout.
Jordan Wright
Special to Washingtonian Magazine – April issue
April 2012
If you think the Philly food scene is all cheesesteaks, snapper soup and Italian water ice – you’ve missed the gastronomic explosion in Love City, although if cheesesteak is your thing Barclay Prime will satisfy for $100 a pop under crystal chandeliers. (www.barclayprime.com) Here are some ways to celebrate the city’s gastronomic delights.
Where to stay
 Executive Chef Rafael Gonzalez at the Four Seasons Hotel rooftop garden - Photo credit Jordan Wright Check in at the Four Seasons Hotel, whose executive chef plucks herbs and veggies from their rooftop garden. (www.fourseasons.com/Philadelphia) The luxurious Old World style property is centrally located at Logan Square.
The Hotel Palomar near Rittenhouse Square is modernist chic. Leopard bathrobes and complimentary nightly wine receptions are replete with truffled popcorn. (www.hotelpalomar-philadelphia.com)
Dining and Drinks
The restaurant scene once dominated by Iron Chef Jose Garces known for Amado and Distrito, and the prodigious over-achiever Stephen Starr (of his 20 restos, five opened this year), has upstarts nipping at their heels.
Current scene-stealers are Fish, Fork, La Croix, Bibou, the revamped Oyster House, Meme, White Dog Café and Vetri, though George Perrier’s Le Bec Fin still reigns as the bastion of French haute cuisine.
 JG Domestic in the Cira Centre - Photo credit Jordan Wright Garces channels The French Laundry at JG Domestic in the Cira Centre for American farm-sourced dining. The menu changes seasonally, but look for Wagyu carpaccio and lobster cappuccino, the Griggstown Farms roast chicken is a standout, plus the yummy bourbon caramel beignets. (www.jgdomestic.com)
Zahav is a modern Israeli-inspired gem. Try the persimmon salad, oxtail soup with fenugreek, Brussel sprouts with whipped feta or a perfect lamb kebab dotted with pistachios. Save room for the hazelnut and date rugelach. (www.zahavrestaurant.com)
Chef, author and television personality, Walter Staib, whose three-time Emmy-winning PBS program “A Taste of History” has been nominated for a James Beard Award this year, is the owner of the elegant City Tavern. Opened in 1773, the original tavern was host to George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, but you can dine there on Staib’s 18th century style gourmet cuisine today. (www.citytavern.com)
On Washington Square the new Talula’s Garden is an enchantingly rustic spot known for their spectacular cheese menu. Try salmon with roasted sunchokes and pancetta or lobster pie with lobster anisette sauce. (www.talulasgarden.com)
In the heart of the theatre district the Walnut Street Supper Club appeals to the Mad Men crowd with a super-glam retro nightclub featuring live entertainment from “I-passed-the-audition!” singing servers. Dishes lean toward Italian specialties and steaks and goes from rack of lamb to lobster ravioli. (www.walnutstreetsupperclub.com)
Around the corner the hot bar scene is El Vez with its dazzling Vegas vibe bar mounted with an illuminated motorcycle. Slip into a plush banquette for a cold Pacifico or blood orange margarita. A ‘50’s draw-draped photo booth for guests documents the visit. (www.elvezrestaurant.com)
Across the street and named number one by National Geographic on their list of the “Top Ten Places in the World to Get Ice Cream”, is Capogiro Gelato Artisans. Try their Cioccolato Scuro, Bananas Foster or Philly Cheesecake flavors. (www.capogirogelato.com)
 The Mint Julep at Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company - Photo credit Jordan Wright Cocktails are the main attraction at Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co. a one-time Prohibition era speakeasy with upscale ingredients and herbal infusions. Indulge in a ‘Blonde Redhead’ or ‘Drums in the Deep’. (www.thefranklinbar.com)
For the best taps in town sample the suds at Hawthorne’s Beer Boutique or tour the tasting rooms at the Yards or the Philadelphia Brewing Company where the beers are crafted on site.
Farmers Markets
 Beck's Cajun Cafe in the Redding Terminal Market - Photo credit Jordan Wright Right in the heart of Philadelphia is the Redding Terminal Market the oldest farmers market in the US. Built in 1893 it’s a bustling bazaar chock-a-block with farm-sourced delicacies from Pennsylvania Dutch cakes and pies to pickles and spices. Chill out with a dozen briny bivalves at Pearl’s Oyster Bar or chow down on Cajun jambalaya, Southern BBQ, French crepes or Italian hoagies at over 15 dining counters.
 Greensgrow Farm - Photo Credit Jordan Wright While Headhouse Farmers’ Market and Greensgrow Farm grow and sell on site, The Food Trust, with its network of 35 farmers markets around the city, promotes local farmers and budding entrepreneurs.
Over on Baltimore Avenue in what’s know as the University District grab a coffee or Maplehofe Dairy hot chocolate and bagels at the Milk and Honey Market and hit the nearby Clark Park Farmers’ Market on Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings to satisfy your inner locavore. If the weather permits, you can picnic in the adjoining park.
Current Art Scene
Don’t miss the newly relocated The Barnes Foundation, scheduled to open on Logan Square May 19th. www.BarnesFoundation.org
Or tour the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Van Gogh Up Close” exhibit –an exclusive in the US that runs till May 6th. (www.philamuseum.org)
Food Truckers Heat Up the Night
 Night Market Philly - photo credit www.nightmarketphilly.org As the weather warms up Night Market Philly kicks off the season with monthly food truck parties. Twitter followers get regular updates. Standout food truckers are Garces’ Guapo’s Tacos, Pitruco for wood-fired pizzas, Mini Trini featuring Trinidadian flavors, Viva Las Vegans for custom veggie burgers, Tyson Bees for Asian fusion, and Bui’s for Vietnamese.
Dessert lovers like Little Baby’s Ice Cream flavors like Cardamom Caramel or Earl Grey’s Sriracha; Sugar Philly for Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cake; or go for French Macarons; and Nutella cupcakes from the Buttercream truck. Former Roots drummer and Philly native, QuestLove, is rumored to be launching a soul food truck featuring Origami Wrapped Buttermilk Fried Chicken.
Sunday Brunch and Italian Market
Linger for Sunday brunch at Daniel Stern’s R2L with sweeping bird’s eye views of the city from the 37th floor of Two Liberty Place on Rittenhouse Square. (www.R2Lrestaurant.com)
The Dandelion Pub is Stephen Starr’s ode to a traditional Irish pub. Sundays feature roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. www.thedandelionpub.com
On the way home stop at Philadelphia’s 100-year old Ninth Street Italian Market. Grab cheeses from Di Bruno’s and Claudios, hand rolled pasta and sauces from Talluto’s and sausages from Fiorella Bros., and specialty game meats and pates from D’Angelo Bros. Open from 8 till 2 on Sundays. (www.phillyitalianmarket.com)
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