Life in West Philly may soon become a little sweeter. A popular Philadelphia ice cream and frozen dessert shop, Little Baby’s Ice Cream,  has revealed plans to expand into West Philly and already has chosen a Cedar Park location. The property where the new Little Baby’s Ice Cream parlor is proposed is at 4903 Catharine Street, which is the old Fourth River Signworks property.

This Thursday, Feb. 21, the Cedar Park Neighbors Zoning Committee and the owners of Little Baby’s Ice Cream will review the proposed plans to convert 4903 Catharine Street into a takeout ice cream parlor/restaurant on the first floor of the property at a zoning meeting, which will begin at 7:15 p.m. at Calvary Center (48th & Baltimore). Vacant spaces are proposed on the second and third floor of the property. Residents are invited to the meeting to provide their feedback on this issue before a hearing at the Zoning Board of Adjustment scheduled on March 13 at 5:00 pm at 1515 Arch St.

If the proposal is approved by the ZBA and if everything else goes according to the plans, the new shop, titled “Little Baby’s Ice Cream Cedar Park Embassy,” will open in the early spring 2013.

Little Baby’s Ice Cream specializes in handmade, small-batch Philadelphia style ice cream and non-dairy and vegan frozen desserts, as well as handmade cookies and milkshakes.

Mariposa‘s Food Justice and Anti-Racism Working Group (FJAR) is building a library and seeking donations of books, zines and articles relating to food justice, organizing, pedagogy, gentrification, racism, and anti-oppression. Donations of cookbooks and primers about the food system and nutrition for both youth and adults are also welcome.

If you have books you’d like to donate, please drop them off in the store (4824 Baltimore Ave) or contact Mariposa for a pick-up by emailing: mariposa.fjar.library@gmail.com.

The library is expected to open this spring and materials will be available (during designated times) for borrowing by both staff and members.

Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut opened their first coffee shop in January 2003. (Photo courtesy Green Line Cafe).

The popular business The Green Line Cafe is celebrating its 10th year of “coffee, culture, and conversation from West Philly.” Congratulations to the owners, Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut, staff and all the fans and lovers of Green Line’s brewed products and friendly atmosphere.

To mark the anniversary The Green Line is inviting neighbors and friends to a party this Friday, Feb. 15 from 4-8 p.m. at its flagship location at the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue. There will be free coffee and birthday cake (while supplies last), door prizes, and a slide show of the history of the The Green Line. You can also help decorate a giant birthday card. For more information about this event, please contact Douglas Witmer: greenline@greenlinecafe.com

Throughout 2013, The Green Line is inviting their patrons to add photos and memories and interact with the web-based anniversary projects on Instagram and www.greenlinecafe.com.

The Green Line Cafe was established in 2003 when brothers-in-law Witmer and Thut opened their first shop at the corner of 43rd and Baltimore on a cold January morning. Since then the cafe has added a few other locations in the area and expanded to Center City last year.

Currently, the Green Line is “growing inward” – the guys are renovating their original basement to include a walk-in refrigerator so that they can supply the city with more of its famous cold-brewed iced coffee this summer.

Chili Szechuan, newly resident in the former Green Garden space at 4626 Baltimore, neatly fills the gap between the takeout-only, bulletproof Lucky’s (4710 Baltimore Ave) and the popular, pricier Han Dynasty (3711 Market St). With its varied menu, fresh-tasting ingredients, reasonable prices, and central location, Chili Szechuan will soon be doing brisk business.

I went for eat-in dinner with the family one night, then ordered delivery with co-workers for lunch the next day. The “Chef’s Special” menu offers Szechuan favorites like Dan Dan Noodles ($5.95), spicy/crisp Szechuan Style Cucumber ($5.95), and Mapo Tofu ($9.95), each of which rivals the Han Dynasty versions. Cumin Lamb ($14.95) is just lots of thinly sliced, tender, spice-crusted meat with onion slivers, and the Dry Pot Flavor Jumbo Shrimp ($14.95) packs enough heat to cause temporary but not unpleasant paralysis of the tongue. You can also get the Dry Pot treatment for Fish, Rabbit, Lamb, Frog, Beef, or Chicken, or choose from other Szechuan styles like Pickled Chili Flavor, Salt Backed Flavor, and Tofu Pudding flavor.

If you don’t like flaming spice, there’s the “Americanized” menu. The Sesame Chicken ($11.95) is sweet and gloopy, and the Chicken Lo Mein noodles ($7.25) are dark and tasty. Of the appetizers not marked with hot peppers, the kids liked the flavorful, crispy House Special Chicken ($6.95) and the good quality Boneless Spare Ribs ($5.95), with dipping sauce on the side. The chefs do not skimp on the proteins – there are no extraneous filler vegetables taking up space on your plate. So you’ll want to order a vegetable dish (each $8.95). My co-workers and I tried Eggplant with Garlic Sauce: plump, purple, creamy, perfectly cooked. For lunch, order from the regular menu or get one of the “Combo” specials ($7.25): smaller portions of “Americanized” dishes with a choice of three soups and white, brown, or fried rice. There’s also an eggroll option. My co-workers tried Szechuan Chicken and Cashew Chicken lunch specials – each delicious and a terrific deal.

As with all new ventures, there are some logistical kinks. At the online order portal (www.chiliszechuan.com) I couldn’t input all the variables of the Lunch Special Combos, so I gave up and called it in. My advice for now is to phone or fax. Also you might want to specify that you want rice – we had to ask for it after our eat-in food was served, and it was left out of the lunch order altogether, so we called back and the delivery guy made a second trip.

As for the ambiance of the dining room, I think it’s perfect. Nothing fancy: just clean, warm and pleasant. New, white Ikea dishes. Nice waiter. No music, but I like hearing the drama and clatter beyond the kitchen door. People are coming and going, getting their take out, so wear a sweater for the drafts. Unlike Lucky’s it’s only open ‘til 10:30, and unlike Han Dynasty, there’s no bar, but you can BYO. Be sure to BYO corkscrew or bottle opener, and don’t be surprised to find yourself drinking wine out of ceramic cups. All of these things are good things, in my opinion: at Chili Szechuan, you are paying for the food, and it’s totally worth it.

– Jen

So in case you hadn’t noticed there is a food truck – sorry, “mobile food” – revolution happening around the country. Mobile food has become serious business. If you ever thought about starting a mobile food business you need to get to a free day-long workshop at Penn Law School in a couple of weeks.

The Mobile Entrepreneur Workshop will feature guidance on financing a business, copyright and trademarks, regulation and licensing and managing risk and growth. Penn Law’s Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic and the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association are sponsoring the workshop, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 16. Even lunch is free. But there is limited space and an RSVP is required.

For more information and the full schedule, visit the workshop’s Facebook page here or call 215-898-8044.

Great news for café lovers. The space on the 4300 block of Locust Street that used to house Café Clave will soon be reborn. Its new name, fittingly, is Café Renata (“reborn” in Latin).

The café will begin a soft opening next week and have an opening celebration on Friday (more on that next week). Co-owners Kate Steenstra and Yasser Aiq, both West Philly residents, will run the show. Café Renata will serve a wide selection of coffee along with a wide selection of food, including Mediterranean, South American and American fare with “a little more emphasis on breakfast,” said Aiq. Another welcome addition will be a rotating selection of soups. Down the road Steenstra and Aiq hope to add brunch.

Stay tuned for more from Café Renata.

Yasser Aiq and Kate Steenstra.