Results tagged “universitycitydistrict”

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Like the orchestra but hate the scene? Now you have no excuse not to get some culture. Saturday night the Philadelphia Orchestra is putting on a free neighborhood concert in Clark Park. All you have to do is bring a blanket, some friends, and a juice bottle filled with your favorite wine.

So your New Year's Resolution was to lose a little weight, work out more, maybe not eat out so much. That last needs to be put on hold for a week: University City District is offering up its fourth University City Dining Days, running from January 11th to the 18th. Twenty-one restaurants are offering up fixed three-course menus in three price ranges: $20, $25, and $30, with some places offering two-for-one dining. Phillyist does the lunch rounds in UCity, and has been to most of these places; while we love Fatou & Fama ($20) and Lemongrass ($25), wethinks perhaps such a nighttime occasion might call for a little White Dog splurge ($30). Maybe, if we're feeling saucy, some Penne ($30). The promotion has grown in popularity each time they've run it, so reservations (phoned in to the restaurant of your choice) are strongly recommended; there's even $7 parking at 38th and Walnut and 40th and Walnut from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. with restaurant validation. Alas, tax, tips, and drinks aren't included, but still and yet most of these places are a good deal. And if you hit Score at Strikes Bowling Lounge ($30 for two), you'll even be able to fit in some of that exercise you resolved to do.

It was just the other day that Phillyist mentioned how West Philly and University City were a haven for the adventurous gastronome. Apparently, someone at the University City District (warning: slow-loading Flash components) agrees, because they just released a University City Ethnic Dining Guide. You can either download the pamphlet and print it out, or you can find one of the twenty-thousand or so copies that the UCD folk plan to distribute around town (coming soon to a trash-choked gutter near you!). On first glance, the guide offers a pretty decent primer to some of the better-known ethnic dining places in the neighborhood. For some reason it skews heavily towards the African eateries in the area, listing three or four times as many of those as any other cuisine. Also, some of the classifications are a tad suspect: Cafe Paris isn't really French food so much as a regular neighborhood coffee shop with French pretensions, and Allegro Pizza is about as Italian as Taco Bell is authentically Mexican. Still, the little twelve-page booklet is attractive, and the map in the back is quite handy if you happen to be in the neighborhood and have a sudden craving for Pakistani food (or Greek, or Japanese, or what have you). It doesn't beat a knowledgeable local -- or Phillyist, natch -- but the University City Ethnic Dining Guide is definitely worth keeping around anyway.