Photo from Herban Quality Eats’ Facebook page.

Herban Quality Eats, a West Philly healthy food startup, which has been operating for a little over a year out of the shared kitchen space at the Culinary Center at 48th and Spruce, is opening a fast-casual restaurant this Tuesday at 3601 Market Street. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the recently completed University City Science Center’s high-rise apartment building.

The restaurant will open at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 15 and to celebrate the opening, the first 101 guests will be treated to a free lunch.

At Herban (a mashup of “herb” and “urban”), diners can build their platter starting with a base such as Himalayan red rice, seasoned kale, or chilled whole wheat peanut noodles, then adding a protein: you can choose from grilled chicken, backyard steak, pesto salmon, or “the vegan jawn”, a mix of lentils, quinoa, and sweet potatoes baked into protein-packed balls. Next, you can pick a sauce to accompany your combo, from herbed tomato, walnut coriander, and Herban hot sauce. And to finish off your plate you can choose two sides, like roasted Brussels sprouts and quinoa ‘n cheese.

Salads are also on Herban’s menu: the Montego with organic baby spinach, avocado,  plantain chips, fresh pineapple, and jalapeno-lime vinaigrette and the Spruce with organic kale, feta cheese, pear, pecans, dried cranberries, and balsamic-ginger vinaigrette.

Throughout December, Herban Quality Eats will be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. In 2016 they will extend their hours. For more information, visit www.herbanqualityeats.com.

A new PA CareerLink West Philadelphia Center began operations today at 5070 Parkside Avenue (5th floor), providing all job readiness services to area residents. This interim location will serve all West Philadelphia job seekers until the permanent facility for the PA CareerLink West Philadelphia Center at 3901 Market Street is open in the spring of 2016.

PA CareerLink offers Philadelphia job openings and training resources to help job seekers prepare for and find work regardless of their background, skill level and educational level. The new center serves both traditional PA CareerLink clients as well as those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, who previously reported to a separate Employment Advancement and Retention Network (EARN) center for job readiness and placement services. The West Philadelphia Center will be operated by a consortium of workforce partners that include SER Metro; Educational Data Systems, Incorporated; PA Department of Labor & Industry (L&I); PA Department of Human Services and the L&I Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.

More information about the new center can be found here: http://www.philaworks.org/career-link/pa-careerlink-centers.

December 13, 2015 in West Philly:

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U.S. Marshals have arrested a man wanted for the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Maurice McDonald inside a Mantua convenience store last month.

Kayree Reid, 28, was tracked down and arrested in Orange Park, Florida on Tuesday evening after a car chase, according to a report by CBS Philly.

Reid had been at large since the November 10 shooting, which happened inside J and R Perez Grocery at 38th and Aspen shortly before 8:30 a.m. McDonald was shot multiple times and died at the hospital the same day.

McDonald’s mother Tiffany Phelps spoke to ABC Action News in November and said that her son had just enrolled in community college and “was rebuilding his life” when he was targeted and shot inside the store.

The holiday edition of the popular Go West! Craft Fest returns to The Rotunda (45th and Walnut) on Sunday, Dec. 13. The number of local artists and craftspeople participating has reached 100! As always, Go West! is a great chance to shop for unique, handmade gifts, such as artwork, jewelry, ceramics, clothing (including warm knitted items), prints, stationery, soap, candles, home accents, children’s items, and more. Check out the vendor list here, and also follow Go West! Craft Fest on Facebook and Instagram.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Go West! Craft Fest Instagram page screenshot.

Each holiday season, we encourage folks to do more of their gift shopping locally. You can buy some unique gifts here, from arts and crafts to clothing to jewelry to locally made food and drinks to gift cards from a variety of local businesses. We also want to remind that books make wonderful holiday gifts, and we have several great, independently-owned bookstores in the area that need your support.

This piece, written for West Philly Local by award-winning writer Emma Eisenberg almost four years ago, might persuade you to buy books at local stores instead of Amazon. Many stores have special holiday hours and are holding holiday sales this month, so when doing your holiday gift shopping please don’t forget to stop by and check them out:

• Penn Book Center (130 S. 34th St.) is offering 25% off selected Random House titles, including new fiction, biography, history, cookbooks and more. Become a frequent buyer and get a $10.00 credit every time you spent $100.00. Open Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave) is open daily, Noon until 7 p.m. (except Sundays when it closes at 5) through and Thursday, Dec. 24. The store will be receiving new shipments twice weekly (generally Tuesday and Friday), and special orders are welcome. Special orders received by the end of the day on Dec. 20 (Sunday) will be available for pick-up on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Feel free to call 215-662-5780.

• House of Our Own (3920 Spruce St) – Open Mon-Thu 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. E-mail: hooo@verizon.net or call 215-222-1576.

• The Last Word Book Shop (220 S. 40th St) – Open daily 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. For more info call 215-386-7750.  Continue Reading