Longform
The Semi-Secret Dinner Parties Reimagining Philly’s Restaurant Scene
“I made you paella arancini,” Liz Grothe says to me with the matter-of-factness of a lunch lady divvying up peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. As if what she’s […]
Apartment Construction Is Booming. How Will That Change Philly?
The first week of November 2022 wasn’t all that different from most weeks on the construction front in Philadelphia lately. On Wednesday, November 2nd, developer […]
How Angela Val Plans to Bring Tourists Back to Philadelphia
Visit Philadelphia. These are two words that until recently made a lot of sense together — a sonorous duet, if you will. A simple truism. […]
The Joy of Burning It All Down: Alexandra Holt’s Insurgent Experiment in Fine Dining
Retirement Planning (2 days after dinner service) On the phone, chef Alexandra Holt and I are talking about the future. For the 24-seat BYO named […]
Philly’s Biotech Scene Needs More Local Money — Now
Around every corner, the gizmos sound like something cooked up by a mad scientist in the movies: a 24-way-robot-controlled bio-reactor, a “viral positive” room, a […]
The Year We Won It All: A Behind-the-Scenes Oral History of the 76ers’ Epic 1983 Championship
Philadelphia’s status as a tortured sports city isn’t a permanent designation. Zoom past the days of Connie Mack. Brake before the Philly Special. Turn off […]
The Amazing Story of How Philly Cheesesteaks Became Huge in Lahore, Pakistan
Sometime in the fall of 2021, a man from Philadelphia came to meet Mazhar Hussain, a chef based in Lahore, Pakistan. Hussain was shown a […]
Rob Thomson’s Wild Ride
The line for dinner service at the St. Francis Inn in Kensington started forming just before 5 p.m., with folks traveling from across the neighborhood […]
Other States Have Cool License Plates. Why Can’t Pennsylvania?
“Oooh, mom, look! Nevada!” I’m driving the family Honda, but traffic has slowed on 20th Street, so I flick my eyes to the right to […]
The Philly Suburbs Are Bigger Than Ever — Literally
To get from Philadelphia to Allentown, you have two highways to choose from: the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension or Route 309. Anne Mosher is familiar […]
Why Is Adulting So Freaking Hard These Days?
I subscribe to and read a lot of magazines. This is because I enjoy magazines — the paper versions — and want them to continue […]
Jeff Marrazzo’s Big, Bold Philly Gene Therapy Vision
The calls kept coming in, and she let them go straight to voicemail. Venture capital investors weren’t her cup of tea. She was a scientist. […]
A Night in the Life of the Night Mayor
It’s 12:30 a.m. on what’s just become a Friday in August, and I’m out and about with the Night Mayor. We’re on West Girard at […]
Secrets to the Perfect Hoagie Roll
As I’ve come to understand it, the English language has few redeemable qualities. It’s difficult to learn, and it’s full of stupid rules and punctuation […]
Life Unfiltered: Why I Opened Up About My Cancer Scare on Social Media
“I’m tired of hiding,” I say aloud to nobody. I’m alone on a travel assignment, scrolling Instagram in my room and thinking about how frustrating […]