Biden Brunches at Parc, Lin-Manuel Miranda Gushes Over Fat Ham

United States President Joe Biden checking the sky for Chinese spy balloons after leaving brunch at Parc in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 1st. (Photo via Getty Images)

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Joe Biden Brunched at Parc on Saturday

What’s a United States president to do when he’s in Philly to see his granddaughter’s art show at Penn? Have brunch at Parc, of course.

Joe Biden, his wife Jill, and ten others snagged a twelve-top at Parc on Saturday afternoon. The group brunched on everything from pancakes to mussels to eggs Benedict to spaghetti Bolognese after attending Maisy Biden’s art show.

“Proud to host @potus at Parc for brunch today!” wrote Parc owner Stephen Starr in an Instagram post, where he also shared this candid photo of the Biden party:

No word on why Ashley Biden (Joe’s daughter, seated to his left) looks so frustrated. Maybe she got tired of asking dear old dad to pass the Best of Philly-winning bread basket.

As the Biden entourage departed brunch at Parc, other diners got a chance to snap some photos:

Joe Biden exiting brunch at Parc in Philadelphia (Getty Images)

Lin-Manuel Miranda Gushes Over Fat Ham

I have a feeling that South Philly playwright James Ijames is about to be the talk of the town. That town being New York City.

His Pulitzer-winning play Fat Ham is in previews on Broadway, set to officially open next week. And the show just got a major endorsement from none other than Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has won three Tony Awards, five Grammys, a Pulitzer of his own, a Kennedy Center Honor and, oh yes, that MacArthur “genius” award.

Miranda attended a Fat Ham preview the other day and had this to say on social media about the show, a loose, comedic adaptation of Shakespeare’s most tragic tragedy, Hamlet: “A 95 minute JOY BOMB. Bravo, @jwijames. Bravo to the INCREDIBLE company of @fathambway. Walking on air!”

After that, Fat Ham co-producer Colman Domingo, the Overbrook High School grad you’ve probably seen in Zola or Fear the Walking Dead threw Ijames and the rest of the Fat Ham team a huge party. Here, Domingo and Ijames pose for a photo:

To learn more about Ijames and Fat Ham, read my interview with him from the hot-off-the-presses April issue of Philly Mag here.

Political Movements

She received the endorsement of John Street. Then Michael Nutter. And now, Philadelphia mayoral candidate Rebecca Rhynhart is basking in the glow of an endorsement from the Inquirer.

According to the newspaper’s editorial board, Rhynhart has “the experience, independence, vision, and temperament needed to unite a diverse city and address the systemic problems of crime, schools, taxes, and poverty that have long plagued Philadelphia.” For more on Rhynhart and the other candidates, be sure to check out our Ultimate Voter’s Guide.

Mayoral candidate Derek Green gets personal in his first television ad of campaign season:

Turning to national politics, Jane Pauley caught up with John Fetterman on CBS Sunday Morning two days before the Pennsylvania senator left the hospital, where he was being treated for depression. (Coincidentally, the lead segment aired just after Rhynhart’s “two mayors” commercial.) You can watch the moving interview here.

By the Numbers

500 to 700: Dirt bikers and other people that surrounded a cop in his car outside Rivers Casino early Sunday morning, according to his call for help made over police radio.

5: Tornadoes that unusually ripped through the area on Saturday night.

17: Taxidermied peacocks in PAFA’s new show.

2nd: Questionable ranking of Philadelphia on a list of the most helpful and neighborly cities in the country.

81: Predicted high temperature for Thursday, April 6th, aka the date of the Phillies home opener.

90%: Chance of rain on the day of the Phillies home opener.

And from the Romance-Novel-Loving Sports Desk …

Here’s much, much more than you ever wanted to know about why Kate Scott calls him “Bang Bang Georges Niang.”

Sweet holy heavens, Jordan Mailata is singing again.

And Bryce Harper reads … romance novels? Oh man, this is only gonna make Philly love him more.

And just in case you were wondering what ballpark has the cheapest beer in the Major Leagues, it ain’t us.

How did the Sixers do this weekend, you ask? Well, for Friday night’s bout with the Raptors, Embiid and Harden were both in, but Tobias Harris was out with a non-COVID illness. Guess who hit back-to-back threes in the first few minutes? P.J. Tucker. It was a fast start for the Sixers, but they cooled off quickly and let Toronto sneak into the lead before retaking it. End of first quarter: 31-30.

The Sixers were up by 13 halfway through the second with a Danuel House three. Everybody was scoring! House then made a layup and a foul shot: Up 14! And up 20 at the half, 77-57.

Alas, in the third, the Raptors cut it to seven before Maxey hit two straight, including this lovely three under pressure.

Maxeymum points on this play. pic.twitter.com/t5QZWpTMsy

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 1, 2023

Also? Kate said, “Nick Nurse is hot,” but I don’t think that was what she meant. End of the third: 99-86. But that big lead got squashed down in the fourth to as little as two halfway through as Sixer shooting went cold. I shouldn’t have laughed at what Kate said. Luckily, it was the Raptors’ turn to go cold, and the final was 117-110. Good win.

On Sunday night in Milwaukee, the Bucks jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter and didn’t seem in any hurry to relinquish it; they were hitting every shot they tried. It was 41-26 at the close of the quarter, and it was only that close because Maxey hit a three at the buzzer. Oy, Sixers. Bucks were up by 20 with five minutes left in the second quarter. There was some ugly defense being played, or not played.

Halftime:#FearTheDeer 69#BrotherlyLove 53 pic.twitter.com/vdKQwC5co0

— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) April 3, 2023

In the third, the Sixers cut the lead to 10 early on, and Maxey sank two foul shots to make it eight. Then he hit his fifth three of the night: five points down! Giannis racked up his fourth foul six minutes into the third. Four points! And then it was back up to 14 by the end of the quarter. Sigh. The Bucks pushed it back up to 21, and that was that. Final: 117-104.

How ’bout those Phillies, you say? In the Saturday-night game, our boys fell behind early, 4-0, closed it to 4-3 in the fifth—and then it all went to hell and we were down 13-3 to the Rangers. The Rangers loaded the bases in the eighth, but — a tornado warning interrupted the telecast! By the time we got back to the game, we were down 14-3. Do you think pitching could be a problem this season? Make that 15-3, with the bases still loaded. Ahem: 16-3. Still loaded. Make it stop, please! Final:16-3. The Rangers scored 27 runs in their first two games of the season—both against the Phillies.

In Sunday night’s game, the Rangers scored first, but the Phils tied up at 1-1 in the fourth. In the fifth, with Trea Turner on, Schwarber almost hit a homer to center but was robbed by Adolis Garcia’s leaping catch against the wall. The Texans scored one in their half of the fifth; in the top of the sixth, Josh Harrison and Bryson Stott both singled, but there were two outs, and after a pitching change, new guy Cristian Pache popped out. Starter Bailey Falter was still pitching in the sixth when Turner and Harrison crossed signals and let a soft pop fly fall in between them to put the runner on. A great play by Stott saved what would have been a single, and Andrew Bellatti replaced Falter and got the last two outs.

In the seventh, Schwarber singled with one out, provoking a Rangers pitching change, and J.T. Realmuto promptly hit into a double play. In the bottom of the inning, Connor Brodgon came in for Bellatti and put the side down after relinquishing a double to Robbie Grossman. In the top of the eighth, the Phils went down one-two-three. Gregory Soto replaced Brogdon and mowed three batters down. But the offense couldn’t get the job done. It wasn’t another blowout, but it was another loss, 2-1.

A kid born the day the Phillies last beat the Rangers is in 3rd grade now going onto 4th grade https://t.co/pdvhEaTcjd

— Derrico Henrio (@derrico_henrio) April 3, 2023

It was the Union vs. Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night in Chester, and the game got off to a late start because of tornado warnings, rain, hail, lightning — all the wrath of the heavens. The 7:30 start was eventually an 8:40 start. And in the end? An interminable game, marked by lots of fouls, that ended in a 0-0 draw. BORING!

The Flyers also played.

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.