Photo from Taco Taco’s Facebook page.

A new Mexican restaurant, Taco Taco, quietly opened last month in the former Honest Tom’s Plant Based Taco Shop location at 261 S. 44th Street. According to a recent report, Honest Tom’s longtime kitchen staff members – Alvaro, Maria and Eli – took over the space after former owner Tom McCusker left at the end of July to start a new business, Fruitadelphia.

The new restaurant is no longer vegan, although it still features some vegan items, like BIFF (a walnut-based “meat”) tacos and burritos. The new owners brought back the old menu, including breakfast on the weekends, which Honest Tom’s used to serve before it went all-vegan in the summer of 2018.

Taco Taco is open Monday – Friday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

For more info, check out their Facebook page.

Parks on Tap, Philadelphia’s traveling beer garden, is returning this Wednesday to Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore. The program is a partnership between Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and FCM Hospitality. It provides beers on tap, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and fresh food at different parks throughout the city all summer long.

Parks on Tap is family-friendly and offers a variety of programming, including free yoga in the park with Roots2Rise. Dogs on leashes are welcome.

Parks on Tap will be in Clark Park from this Wednesday through Monday (Labor Day) during the following hours:  Continue Reading

Tom McCusker behind the counter at his shop on S. 44th Street (Archived photo).

It’s an end of an era for neighborhood taco and burrito lovers. After nearly eight years of operation as Honest Tom’s Taco Shop near 44th and Spruce (and a few more years as a food truck prior to that), well-known local restaurateur Tom McCusker is closing his business at the end of this month. But here’s some good news: Honest Tom’s kitchen staff are planning to take over the space and reopen as a new Mexican restaurant next month, according to a report by Foobooz.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of The Enterprise Center.

Since its opening in 2012 the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises has helped many local food entrepreneurs launch their businesses: restaurants, catering services and more. Now those interested in learning the ins and outs of operating a food truck have a chance to try their hand at this business while bringing fresh, healthy food options to West Philadelphia.

The Culinary Center, located at 310 S. 48th St., launched their first food truck incubator last month. The program is based on the Beefsteak food truck concept (patented by James Beard award-winning chef and humanitarian Jose Andres’ Think Food Group).  Continue Reading

University City Dining Days, the popular annual dining promotion, will be held from Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 28.

This year, over 30 restaurants will offer three-course menus for either $15, $25, or $35, including first-time participants like Mediterranean-influenced restaurant The Common, Argentine empanada shop Jezabel’s Cafe, and upscale sandwich joint KQ Burger. For the first time, many restaurants will also be offering lunch options for 2019 Dining Days.

Make your reservation directly at a restaurant of your choice. The menus and contact info of participating restaurants can be found here.

Mariposa Food Co-op will be closed on Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18 for a “store reset” which includes installation of new shelving units and thorough cleaning. The store will also close early (at 7 p.m.) on Tuesday, July 16.

“Along with getting new shelves and the deep cleaning, we’ll also be updating our product selection to bring on lots of new items, revamping pricing, switching up placement and much more!” reads an announcement on the Mariposa website.  Continue Reading