Come late summer, West Philly will be home to two new diverse and palate-pleasing restaurants located in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises at 310 S. 48th Street.

For those who love Caribbean-American fusion cuisine, 48th Street Grille will provide a taste of the islands with a focus on seasonal fresh and local ingredients. Owned by Chef Carl Lewis of Catering by Carl Lewis, LLC, 48th Street Grille will serve fresh seafood, pasta, meat, poultry, curry dishes, burgers, salads, soup, vegetarian dishes and sandwiches, and non-alcohol beverages, as well as signature fare from the South and Jamaica, once it opens late summer. The 65-seat dining space will also offer sidewalk dining, take-out service, and full-service catering. It will be open Tuesday – Sundays for lunch and dinner, with mid-week breakfast available through Saturdays. Chef Lewis also plans to host special events for New Year’s Eve, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Mother’s Day, as well as host midweek Family Dining Nights.

Area vegans and vegetarians craving more chow options in West Philly will find potential in Planet Vegan Café, a sit-down vegan juice bar and eatery opening in late July/early August. The vision of Dorinda Hampton, owner of vegan food company Really Fresh Vegan, Planet Vegan is a reinvention and enhanced version of the restaurant Hampton developed as part of her stint on Food Network’s 24 Hour Restaurant Battle in 2010. The 25-person capacity space will feature a full juice bar with all organic juice and smoothies, as well as serve hot and cold sandwiches, hot vegan and veggie dishes, soups, and salads using all healthy, organic, non-GMO products. It will also offer juice cleansing, in which six 16 oz. bottles of fresh-made juice are given for the amount of time needed.

“We want to have a really cool place where people can come, socialize and enjoy people’s company,” said Hampton, who also owns Sprout Vegan Eatery and Juice Bar, located at 909 E. Baltimore Pike in Kennett Square. “I want to [also] give people a new way of thinking about healthy eating. You don’t have to compromise texture or taste. It can be tasty as well as beneficial to your health.”

Planet Vegan will be open Mondays – Sundays (hours are yet to be determined), with takeout and delivery options available. Hampton plans to host local entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays, and hold screenings of wellness, health and nutrition documentaries on Sundays.

Opened in September, the Center for Culinary Enterprises was designed to assist start-up and established food enterprises by providing commercial kitchen and food storage space for rent, as well as affordable food business development services. The 13,000+ sq. ft. facility, which is open 24 hours a day, includes four state-of-the-art commercial kitchens, the eKitchen Multimedia Learning Center (a demo kitchen and classroom), and retail space. A third restaurant may open in the space but it could not be confirmed.

-Annamarya Scaccia
 

On Sunday, April 7, Dock Street Brewery (50th and Baltimore) will become a venue for two great events – a fundraiser for Cedar Park Neighbors scholarships and a pop-up shop featuring local artists and merchants.

The 6th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser which supports local youths’ pursuit of higher education will take place from 4-6 p.m. and will include beer and pizza, a silent auction, and live music by local band Big Tusk. Tickets are $40 and are available at the door or online. To buy tickets online click here.

Dock Street’s first pop-up shop will begin at 1 p.m. and go on until 8 p.m., so you if you’re participating in the fundraiser you can definitely check out this event, too. Here’s a list of participants:

Pinups For Pitbulls

Recycled Lovers -Vintage clothing and accessories

El Vivimor -Vintage clothing and accessories

Terra Luna – herbal vinegars

Wicked Apothecary - all natural soaps and skin care products

Adelina Mictlan Jewelry – occult style jewelry

Thrillhaus – tees, painted skulls and prints

Cut & Paste Photo Booth

As the Crow Flies & Co. -re-purposed heirloom jewelry & retro style kids clothes

Bitten Sweets – handmade chocolates, crafted into devilish shapes

For more information on the vendors and the event visit: shopdockstreet.wordpress.com.

There will be a raffle to benefit Pinups For Pitbulls, a non-profit organization comprised of animal lovers, advocates and educators. A few of the vendors and local businesses are donating things to raffle off. Dock Street will have pizza slices and will be serving all six taps and new beer cocktails, such as Dude’s Manhattan, Rye Bloody Maria, Pilsner Brew-driver, and a few more.

Here’s another CSA option in West Philly. The West Philly Foods CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program is taking applications for the upcoming growing season.

Run by The Enterprise Center, this CSA includes a box of fresh, locally grown produce – from herbs to tomatoes to berries -  delivered monthly and optional items, including jams, pies, baked goods and bread. The program even includes shares for beer, pesto and flowers.

The program is also committed to providing fresh produce to low-income residents around the Walnut Hill and surrounding neighborhoods. The program also employs local youths in the program and helps connect a growing network of young urban farmers.

Pick-up locations include the Walnut Hill Community Farm at 46th and Market and Milk and Honey Market at 45th and Baltimore.

Spring is finally here and The Porch, once a congested parking lot and now an animated public space adjacent to the second busiest train station in the country, is getting ready to start its 2013 season programming. Beginning this Wednesday, April 3, all are welcome to stop by The Porch between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on most weekdays and enjoy gourmet food trucks, live music, street performers, fitness bootcamps, and a beer garden. Here’s more information on what’s coming up this month.

Lunchtime Accordion Serenade, Mondays & Fridays, Noon – 1 p.m.

Experience the beauty of solo accordion, from Eastern European to South American, Polka to American Jazz.

WXPN Philly Local Wednesdays, Wednesdays, Noon

Live music every Wednesday from Philly’s rising stars.
April 3 – Dante Bucci
April 10 – The Fleeting Ends
April 17 – Christie Lenée
April 24 – The Splashing Pearls

Gourmet Food Trucks

Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Cow and the Curd
Cupcake Carnival
Lucky Old Souls
The Sunflower Truck Stop

Fridays, 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.
Just Jackie’s Food Truck
Say Cheese
Spot Burger
Sweetbox Cupcakes

Bodyrock Fitness, Thursdays, 6 p.m.

Put your lunch break to work for you with fitness programming from University City’s BodyRock Bootcamp.

April 4 – Bootcamp
April 11 – Bokwa
April 18 – Zumba
April 25 – Bootcamp

Give And Take street performers and The Little Circus

The Give and Take Jugglers and Little Circus shows feature juggling, comedy, vaudeville, circus arts and theater.

Wednesday, April 3, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Street Performers

Friday, April 12, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Little Circus

Backpack Gallery, Friday, April 5, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Combining contemporary visual art and performance, the Backpack Gallery brings the art to you.

The Porch Beer Garden, Thursday, April 18, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, April 19, 3-8 p.m.

Experience the Outdoor Beer Garden at The Porch at 30th Street Station. Bridgewater’s Pub will offer German and craft beers. Enjoy the fresh air and live music.

For more information about events at The Porch at 30th Street Station visit http://universitycity.org/porch-events

Mariposa celebrates a year in its new home next week.

Our friends over at Mariposa Food Co-op have had a fantastic year since they moved to their new location at 4824 Baltimore Ave last spring and to mark the first anniversary of the move the store is planning a full week of celebration that begins this Saturday, March 16 (March 17 is the actual anniversary).

Here are some things that the store is planning and inviting residents to check out:

- In-store product sampling and special sales all week

- PARTY on Sunday, March 24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be food, entertainment, raffles, and fundraising for a food justice and anti-racism library.

- Mariposa is also recruiting new members. If you are a member, each time you refer a new member your name will be entered in a drawing at the anniversary party on Sunday. Prizes include gift baskets, food and health and beauty products.

The inside of the new Mariposa location back when was all still just an idea.

It has already been a year since Mariposa opened at the new location. Here’s a quick look at how it got there:

• When it was all just a dream.
• A peak inside before renovations began.
• Mayor Michael Nutter stops by to celebrate before the renovations officially get under way.
• A video that gives sneak peak inside the store in March, a couple of days before the grand opening.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) yesterday cleared the way for local ice cream producer and retailer Little Baby’s Ice Cream to open shop on the 4900 block of Catharine Street, across the street from Cedar Park. If all goes as planned, the shop should be open by April 1.

Little Baby’s has been wooing Cedar Park residents for a while now and even sent them an “open love letter” on Valentine’s Day. The Cedar Park Neighbors civic association loved them back with a letter of support to the ZBA, which late yesterday provided Little Baby’s with the necessary permit to convert the storefront at 4903 Catharine into the company’s first retail shop west of the Schuylkill.

The company got a massive boost in the form of a 5-year, $50,000 loan from The Enterprise Center to expand into Cedar Park.

Little Baby’s Ice Cream is handmade in their production facility in East Kensington. Their dairy comes from Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, Penna. Here is a great profile on the three musicians who turned their passion for ice cream into a successful business.