Fudena
Fudena’s Ruth Nakaar. Photograph by Colin Lenton Ruth Nakaar grew up eating the food her Ghanaian-born parents made but couldn’t easily find it without sitting down to elaborate restaurant meals. So she scratched her own itch and launched Fudena, a fast-casual West African pop-up-turned-brick-and-mortar. And jollof rice, curried goat, and pan-seared tilapia make for an undeniably more mouth-watering dinner than another $9 kale salad. eatfudena.com.
El Techo
Philly doesn’t do rooftop bars well. We have so few of them, and many are owned by the hotels, so they’re kinda lame. El Techo? With its perfect pitchers of margaritas? And its retractable roof? And its squid and long hot pepper tacos? Not lame. Not lame at all. 1826 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, instagram.com/eltechophilly.
Cloud 9 Clay
Peyton Flynn is something of a ceramics legend in Philly, making vibrant home and kitchen wares for brands like Madewell. Add her extra-shiny vases with squiggly handles to your collection to give your house an instant mood boost. cloud9clay.com.
Terrill Haigler, a.k.a. Ya Fav Trashman
Of all the pandemic’s heroes, none is more uniquely Philly than Haigler, who rose to Instagram prominence during last summer’s trash slowdown by delivering trash tips and updates and has since parlayed that fame into his own block-by-block, neighborhood-by-neighborhood city-cleanup operation. instagram.com/_yafavtrashman.
Maleek Jackson Fitness Boxing Gym
Boxing trainer Maleek Jackson. Photograph by Colin Lenton Looking for a healthy way for your kid to release some of the past year’s stress? At 4 p.m. every weekday, this NoLibs fitness space gets youth ages seven to 17 practicing gloved punches. Jackson’s upcoming after-school program will serve those needing mentorship and positive community ties. 926 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123, maleekjacksonfitness.com.
D'Iyanu
D’Iyanu. Photograph by Colin Lenton Life’s too short for boring clothes, and Philly’s own D’Iyanu is here to help you live it up again. African-inspired prints of all kinds complement crop tops and high-waisted shorts, with ruffles and puff sleeves galore. diyanu.com.
The Dogfish Head Experience in Lewes
Lewes, Delaware — a.k.a. “that town on the other end of the Cape May ferry” — is actually a charming beach resort that boasts the beer-centric Dogfish Inn. From there, you can pedal (on free Dogfish Head loaner bikes) to the Dogfish Head Brewery, where you’ll try exclusive Dogfish Head beers, and to Dogfish Head’s nearby restaurant, Chesapeake & Maine. Be sure to head home with Dogfish Head’s Compelling Gin, which has become an essential bottle in our bar. 105 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958, dogfish.com/inn.
Perla Lara, Editor-in-Chief of <em>Impacto</em>
Perla Lara, editor in chief of Impacto. Photograph by Colin Lenton Lara is producing the best community journalism around right now, with a keen eye into the Latinx community. While we’ve come to expect diverse media from the likes of WURD, the Tribune and Al Día, this media leader offers a timely and promising alternative. Notably, she’s working with staff from the Caribbean, South America, and the Greater Philadelphia area to cover Latinx issues more holistically. impactomedia.com.
Ready-to-Drink Cocktails
ALCO canned cocktails. Photograph courtesy New Liberty Distillery Lansdale’s Boardroom Spirits founder Marat Mamedov says he noticed the rise of malt-based seltzers, knew canned cocktails would be the next big trend, and started canning a Moscow Mule. Made with the distillery’s Brazilian-ginger-root-infused vodka, the effervescent drink is not too sweet and totally refreshing — a tough balance to strike in a can.
“When you have a clean canvas to work with, which the vodka offers, you can let the other flavors shine through in a bigger manner without off-putting notes,” says Mamedov.
ALCO, one arm of Kensington-based New Liberty Distillery, canned classics like vodka soda and gin and tonic with the brand’s own spirits plus fresh ingredients — tonic from century-old soft-drink company Natrona Bottling Company and real lemon and lime juices.
Others in Philly didn’t go so far as to can their concoctions, but they found creative ways to get them into eager drinkers’ hands this past year (well, while to-go cocktails were still legal), including Paul MacDonald at Friday Saturday Sunday and Eddie Adams, head bartender at Bar Hygge. Drawing on the ingenuity that makes them stand-out drink-makers even when we’re not in the midst of a global pandemic, both bartenders figured out how to keep the cocktails coming.
Adams made a steady stream of seasonal punch, which he offered in single-serving pouches or large-format glass bottles. Those came with a bottle of club soda plus a special mix of raw sugar, salt, lavender and coriander so you could rim your glass at home — a fancy touch in not-so-fancy times.
At FSS, MacDonald didn’t limit himself to any specific cocktail but instead bottled (or poured into a single-serving plastic cup) pretty much everything on the menu, except, he says, for the swizzles, which rely on packed-down pellet ice, and the egg-white drinks, which depend on that freshly shaken texture. “Fulfilling off-menu or bartender’s-pick requests has always been a big part of our cocktail program, so I did my best to keep that up when possible,” MacDonald says.
A grateful, slightly tipsy city salutes these libation innovations (and hopes the politicians in Harrisburg get their heads out of the cooler long enough to sign a permanent to-go-cocktail bill).
La Canasta
La Canasta opened deep in the heart of South Philly’s Whitman neighborhood doing a classic taqueria menu with a rotating list of specials (mango-glazed chicken sandwiches! Short-rib burgers!). But the thing to order here is the namesake tacos de canasta — tortillas stuffed with pork or beans and steamed in hot chili oil and onions, only available on the weekends. 2341 South 4th Street , Philadelphia, PA 19148, philadelphiamexicanfood.com.
Cam Anthony
Jubilation over the Philly phenom winning season 20 of The Voice was tempered by the show’s confounding inability to convert winners into stars. But Anthony — a 19-year-old with the smooth tenor of someone decades older, the boyish good looks of the Jackson 5, and the style of vintage Al Green — had even jaded Voice coach Blake Shelton predicting he’ll reverse that trend.
Artistic Pools
Has your backyard turned into a weedy dumping ground for bikes and unfinished home-improvement projects? Try something new. Illustration by Liam Eisenberg It’s hard to spend a few minutes on the Artistic Pools website and not walk away thinking, “Why don’t I have a pool?” If you’re trying to scratch that itch, look no further. Designs here stretch from tiny 14-footers all the way to 45 feet. 2312 Wallace Boulevard, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077, artisticpoolscorp.com.
Donald "Guy" Generals
In the year of the Great Pandemic, a dozen area heads of school decided to decamp, retire, or become the ambassador to Germany. (Higher ed is complicated!) Yet Generals, president of the Community College of Philadelphia since 2014, shone for his public service and community engagement, including CCP’s “Enough Is Enough” initiative to help students work through the trauma sparked by George Floyd’s murder. “I don’t think you should be a one-beat drummer if you’re a college president,” the jazz drummer and education-access activist says.
Expect Lace
Shaw Lewis launched Expect Lace to provide an inclusive, safe space in which to shop for intimates. The store carries sizes from 30A to 42J, whether they’re fancy underthings or workhorse basics. Also on offer: sequined one-piece swimsuits and travel-size vibrators. 4403 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127, expectlace.com.
Ray's Reusables
From East Falls to Clark Park, across the bridge to Wenonah and down I-95 to Wilmington, Ray Daly brings her van stocked with soaps, shampoos and other cleaning goods anywhere the people are; the people can then bring their reusable jars and fill ’em up, again and again and again. raysreusables.com.