Bob & Barbara’s Lounge
The longest-running drag show in Philly is still fresh (thanks to a rotating cast of Philly favorites and up-and-comers), still under the direction of show founder and iconic hostess Miss Lisa Lisa – and still the best $8 you can spend on a Thursday night. 1509 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146, bobandbarbaras.com.
Textile
The vintage goods in this Kennett Square shop form a well-curated collection — a Wynona Rider ’90s flowered dress, a Working Girl ’80s white blouse, a Michelle Pfeiffer puff-sleeve jumpsuit from the ’70s — that says, “I’m cultured and deep but never over-the-top.” 210 South Mill Road, suite 103, Kennett Square, PA 19348, shop-textile.com.
Taqueria Morales
Twenty thousand retweets. Sixty thousand likes. It was one simple, unassuming tweet from Daniela Morales about her family’s brand-new South Philly taqueria that started it all, but after that? It was all about the service, the welcoming vibe, the bright, comfortable dining room, and, of course, the food: hand-pressed tortillas, killer tacos al pastor, rolled tacos stuffed with potatoes, enchiladas Suizas that you’ll dream about long after they’re gone. True, the gods of social media are fickle and often bestow the boon of virality on the shallow and undeserving. But this time? This time, they got it absolutely right. 1429 Jackson Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145, taqueriamorales.com.
Di Bruno Bros. 9th Street Bottle Shop
When the PLCB temporarily closed all its stores, Philly wine shops stayed open and kept us drinking and drunk during the apocalypse. And they deserve all the attention in the world. 920 South 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, dibruno.com/9th-street-bottle-shop.
Chris Kearse’s Forsythia
Chris Kearse kicks a whole lot of ass for a whole lot of reasons, but one of the best things about him is the deep iconoclastic streak that made him close his dream restaurant — Will BYOB — and follow his muse, opening a perfectly realized modern French bistro at a time in Philly’s food history when fine dining, French influences and modernism were all on the wrong side of the curve. What’s more, he nailed it, serving things as simple as a perfect crab omelet, roasted duck with Bing cherries, and ham hock beignet with honey mustard — and making them all unforgettable showstoppers. Not every restaurant in Philly is going to survive 2020, but we’re lighting a candle for Forsythia. 233 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, forsythiaphilly.com.
The Sound Lab
Luna Maye’s web-based “Sound Lab” is a multi-sensory treat assembled by a killer array of Philly talent. Featuring harp accompaniment from local musician Elizabeth Steiner (and visually brought to life by photog Max Grudzinski and stylist Liz Barella), the sound meditation sessions range in mood from “Love + Longing” to “Focus + Motivation.” They’ll have you meditating yourself to a state of mind far away from your living room couch. lunamaye.com/the-sound-lab.
Main Line Health’s Women’s Specialty Center at King of Prussia
Philly’s female-health-focused wellness spaces are absolutely popping off. See the full write up at Womens' Wellness Spaces. 120 Valley Green Lane, King of Prussia, PA 19406, mainlinehealth.org/locations/main-line-health-king-of-prussia/womens-specialty-center.
The Serious Rap Sh*t Podcast
iHeartRadio picked up this weekly cast by Philadelphians John Morrison and Josh Leidy. In addition to talking newcomers, little-known artists and deep cuts in the rap and hip-hop worlds, Morrison and Leidy focus on topics such as misogyny and transphobia, partisan politics, gentrification and Black Lives Matter. seriousrapshit.com.
Randy Rucker
There’s an ease about Rucker’s cooking, and a generosity, as if there’s nobody else eating at River Twice except you. His commitment to locality, to foraging, to pickling and fermenting everything so as not to waste anything — it all adds up to a singular experience. Every element of every dish, down to the house-made coffee vinegar in the beef tartare or the à la minute ricotta on the toast, is deeply considered, smartly placed, and creatively conceived, but in a way that still feels like food, not art. 1601 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148, rivertwicerestaurant.com.
Al Schmidt
There are 43 different animals on the World Wildlife Fund’s endangered species list. Really, it should be 44, when you count Al Schmidt (Republicanus noncorruptis), who faced death threats as he oversaw the vote count and refused to go the way of his Republican election-board colleagues in other cities who cried fraud. Unfortunately, no conservation effort can stave off this extinction: Schmidt says he won’t run for reelection in 2023.
The Street Art Uprising Against Minor Figures Oat Milk
The latest installment in Philly’s ongoing fuck-around-and-find-out chronicles pitted London oat milk purveyor Minor Figures against the city’s legion of street-art lovers. When posters promoting the plant-based coffee lightener went up over existing works, the backlash — on social media and IRL — was swift. As the company clumsily backpedaled, Philly street-art legend Kid Hazo weighed in with posters of his own: “Major Failures Clown M*lk.”
Philly Fixers Guild
That boombox with the fuzzy left speaker. The vacuum cleaner that just doesn’t suck as much as it used to. Time was, you’d leave them on the curb and buy new ones. Philly Fixers Guild is trying to change that by using volunteer fixers to help Philadelphians “repair rather than replace.” The group holds fairs to which you can bring your janky items and walk away with them as good as new. Don’t toss that alarm clock just yet. phillyfixersguild.org.
Di Bruno Bros.
Sande Friedman has bought and sold a lot of wine as the Di Bruno Bros. wine buyer. Now, in collaboration with some of her favorite wineries, Friedman helped create two new bottles — a barbera-zinfandel blend from La Clarine in California, and Rosé of Carmine, with WayVine Winery & Vineyard in Chester County — with stellar results. 1730 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, dibruno.com/9th-street-bottle-shop.
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.
Sally
Best New Restaurant Sally. Photograph by Ted Nghiem Every so often, a restaurant summons all its confidence, swings open its doors, and absolutely nails every single thing it sets out to do. In Sally’s case, Anna D’Isidoro, D’Onna Stubblefield and Rob Marzinsky set out to do pizza, wine and small plates — which, well, feels so very … common these days. But the menu here is deceivingly special, a treasure trove of perfect, deeply considered vegetables (the charred cabbage drenched in a spicy, tangy “who knew?” sauce is so confoundingly good, you’ll be wondering about it for weeks), sourdough pizzas that range from margherita to clam and leek to South Philly-style pizzazz, and a thoughtfully curated wine list the whole staff seems excited to chat about. The servers are having fun, the music’s always bumping, and every time we go, we leave feeling happy, full, even a little bit resentful that there aren’t a hundred more restaurants in Philly like Sally, bringing that same kind of youthful, future-thinking vibrancy to our dining scene. 2229 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, sallyphl.com.