Newtown Athletic Club
A shiny new $8.5 million outdoor water park. A clubhouse bar and poolside service. Kids tae kwon do classes. Studios for yoga, Pilates and spinning. Really: Why would you ever leave? 120 Pheasant Run, Newtown, PA 18940, newtownathletic.com.
Hana and Posy
This teensy Old City shop has everything you'd want for a shower, birthday, holiday or thank-you, from organic onesies to locally farmed bouquets to all-natural candles to recycled notebooks (below). 35 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, hanaposy.com.
Austrian Village
With its wizened waitresses and circa-1955 decor and heaping helpings of satisfying and delicious schnitzel, spaetzle, knockwurst, and tangy, tart, famous potato salad, the only thing missing at this 37-year-old biergrten are the von Trapp kids singing as you eat. Though the AV does come alive with the sound of music: an oom-pah-pah band plays Saturdays, sending spry polka dancers revolving on the tiny dance floor like dolls on a music box. And the prices dinners around $12, draft beers for $2.50 will have you loath to say Auf wiedersehen. 321 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge, PA 19046, austrianvillage.com.
Barcade
How geeky is this nirvana of tap craft beers and 25-cents-a-round arcade games of Tetris and Tron? The $10 "lunch special"-any sandwich (try the grilled cheese), chips and beer-runs till 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. 1114 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, barcadephiladelphia.com.
Philadelphia Seed Exchange
I'll give you mine (extra marigold seeds, that is) if you give me yours (rare Italian tomato-plant seeds). So it goes at this budding exchange program, whose members meet at places like Essene or Weavers Way Co-op to swap surplus seeds, free of charge. 00000, phillyseedexchange.org.
Usona
For modern design the way God intended it (i.e., not space-agey, sterile or silly), head to Usona. 113 South 16th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, usonahome.com.
Speed Raceway
When was the last time you drove a go-kart? Strap into an environmentally friendly high-performance Italian kart and zip around the tight turns at these F1-style indoor tracks. You max out at 45 mph, which is faster than it sounds. A great rainy-day diversion. Call or see website for locations, 00000, speedraceway.com.
The Market at Comcast Center
So long, Liberty Place! Underneath the Comcast Center, the Suited masses can now craft lunches from the gourmet offerings at Di Bruno Bros., the homemade pastas at LaScala's, the hefty burritos at Mexican Post, the cheesesteaks at Frank's, and the udon soup and teriyaki at Tokyo Sushi. But this is so much more than your average food court. Dinner (and dessert!) are covered, too; pick up local fruit and veggies from Sook Hee's Market, the freshest halibut and lobster at Under the C fish market, and cannoli from Termini Bros. 1701 JFK Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19103, themarketandshopsatcomcastcenter.com/info/aboutshops.
Golden Nugget Antique Market
Get here early Sunday morning (6 a.m.), bring lots of cash (small bills are best for bargaining), wear old shoes (the open-air gravel lot is dusty), and, if you're smart, rent a U-Haul to lug home your treasures. 1850 River Road (Route 29), Lambertville, NJ 08530, gnflea.com.
Fountain
Impeccable food and service can make a Wednesday night seem like a special occasion. Its time for Philadelphians to get over Le Bec, already, and fall in love again with this uncompromising bastion of modern fine dining. 1 Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA 19103, fourseasons.com/philadelphia/dining.
International House
Philly may not have a repertory cinema, but the weekly screenings at this University City complex for students come pretty close. There are fun flicks, such as cheesy sci-fi tales (Star Trek III: The Wrath of Khan, 8/23) and bad 80s movies (The Legend of Billie Jean, 8/30), foreign classics (The Red Balloon, 8/10), and more serious and obscure diversions, like the upcoming Jacques Rivette (9/5-7) and Sergei Parajanov series (9/14-17). I-House, as it is known, is for the film fan who is just not satisfied by Netflix. 3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, ihousephilly.org.
The Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe
Our thriving arts scene wouldn't exist today if Fringe founder Nick Stuccio didn't have his light-bulb moment way back in 1997. The jam-packed 2011 fest kicks off on September 2nd. 00000, livearts-fringe.org.
Fishtown Shadfest
It turns out that shad used to be hugely important to the Delaware River economy, a fact our quirky friends in Fishtown (where else?) exploit with their annual Alosa sapidissima-feteing festival at Penn Treaty Park. It's true that Lambertville has been doing a shad festival for decades, but the city's is cooler: We've got shad la Johnny Brenda's and some of the best bands around, lots of local crafts (love the bottle-cap cuff links!) and craft beers, and perhaps our favorite part valet bike parking. Penn Treaty Park, Delaware Avenue and Columbia Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125, fishtownshadfest.net.
The Farm and Fisherman
Okay, we know the phrase farm-to-table has been boring you to death for five years now. But check out F&F, one of the restaurants that defined the style in Philly, and see how exciting Josh Lawlers tiny temple of head-to-tail, hedgerow-to-hedgerow, you-know-its-fresh-because-the-place-barely-has-a-refrigerator cuisine can be. Start with the bloody beet steak, but dont use that as an excuse to skip a grass-fed real one because when they have it, its the best in town. 1120 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, thefarmandfisherman.com.
Rescue Rittenhouse Spa
Sometime in my mid-20s, three faint but distinct lines decided to plant themselves on my brow, stretching from temple to temple across my forehead like a fence without posts. I sometimes stand under the harshest light in my bathroom, dapping on a variety of products to see if with the right combination they might plump back out, like little troughs just waiting to be filled. They never do. Well, they never did, I should say Five years ago, on the advice of a friend, I went to Rescue Rittenhouse Spa's Danuta Mieloch, a Polish-born aesthetician who worked in Paris and Manhattan before opening Rescue here nearly a decade ago. Her facials are the only thing that has ever made the lines fade to near-nothingness. I realize this sounds absurd, especially because we're not talking about injectables or lasers or anything you've seen on Real Housewives. The magic comes courtesy of a non-invasive, utterly relaxing 60 minutes filled with exfoliating, a little microdermabrasion, and lots of moisturizing. The result is Beyonce-level luminosity and smoothed-out skin. One glows no exaggeration for weeks. Chances are good that I'm not writing anything you haven't read about or experienced yourself: Danuta (or Dana, as she's known to clients) long ago became an instant Philly classic. Friends told friends, and suddenly you had to wait six months to get an appointment But Rescue the closest thing I've ever found to redemption for all those sunburns in my youth is always worth it. 225 South 17th Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, rescuerittenhousespa.com.