There is no shortage of food delivery options in West Philly. You got your pizza/cheese steak standards. Manakeesh has made Lebanese fusion a phone call away. Roost will bring a half a rotisserie chicken and biscuits to your front porch. Now the folks behind New Delhi, the classy Indian restaurant near 40th and Chestnut, will bring you two curry platters for lunch complete with samosas for $8 (plus tax and tip).

The operation is called CurryBox and is available at lunchtime on Tuesday through Friday. The service is targeted at University City employees so the delivery area, which covers Drexel, Penn and USP, only extends west to 46th Street.

A different selection of entrees is available daily, though Chicken Tikka Masala (the only meat entree) is available every day and it’s $1 extra.

Here’s how it works: Order before 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and choose your delivery time. You can also place an order after 3 p.m. for the following day. Orders are done online. Done.

They plan to expand the service to Center City soon. Check their website for full details and the menu.

Mariposa Food Co-op has moved to a new stage of its expansion project – the new store renovation – which is scheduled to finish in October. One of the benefits of the expansion is that over the next few months Mariposa will be hiring for additional, permanent staff positions. 8-10 new jobs are supposed to open.

The first position is a Member Coordinator, as their membership numbers approach 1,000. Mariposa began accepting applications for this position last week.

Mariposa is looking for a person with great interpersonal skills, someone who will develop and refine methods and practices for their entire member program.

The job will average 30 hours per week, primarily daytime hours with some weekend/evening hours. For the full job description and information on how to apply go here. Deadline for application is July 13, 2011.

For this and future position announcements visit this page.

West Philly residents Clare Hyre and Rania Campbell-Cobb want to build an organic rooftop farm on a warehouse in Southwest Philly. This would be a first in Philly and they need a little help.

The two accomplished farmers hope to use Cloud 9 Urban Rooftop Farm (Facebook link) to research urban farming best practices, educate folks on the benefits of rooftop farms and, of course, supply more fresh, locally grown food to West Philly. Read a lot more about the project here.

There are two ways you can help. Clare and Rania have started an online fundraising campaign to raise $5,000 to help cover the start-up costs. They are well over halfway there and need to raise the rest by month’s end. They also have some cool gifts for contributing. Go here to check it out.

Second, they are hosting a benefit BBQ tomorrow (Facebook link) at 4909 Warrington Ave. $7 gets you into the door and a plate of good food.

They hope to start building infrastructure this fall and start farming in the spring.

Pssst. Do you like Indian food? The no-nonsense, $5 kind served as a Bollywood film plays nearby. If so, read on.

Philly.com includes a profile today of the backroom bistro at Rice & Spice, the unassuming international grocery store at 4205 Chestnut St. Mosey past the stacked bags of rice and spices to the rear of the store and you will find one of those hidden West Philly gems (And, believe me, I understand that writing this helps “unhide” it. Blame philly.com.)

Writer James Osborne talked to a number of customers for his story, many of them students who craved familiar food.

“It’s close to how you get food at home,” said Sachin Sachdeva, 27. “That’s the selling point. That, and it’s relatively cheap.”

Read the full article here.

If you missed the summer’s first Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll or want to enjoy it again don’t miss the event tomorrow, July 7, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Last month’s Stroll was a huge success. It brought enormous crowds of neighbors and visitors who strolled to over 15 Baltimore Avenue locations for deals and treats of all varieties, each for only a buck. Participants included Green Line Cafe, Baltimore Pet Shoppe, Dahlak, Desi Village, Milk & Honey, the Gold Standard, and even the Curio Theatre.

Tomorrow’s Stroll will probably be as crowded as the previous one, so come early in order to avoid at least some of those lines.

Here’s a nice video from last month’s Stroll put together by the UCD:

It’s hard to imagine West Philly without its street vendors. Many of them have become so popular that people from all over the city come to try their food. Now one of them might get some award love in the form of the Vendy, a newly established in Philadelphia award which celebrates the best street vendors in the city.

The awards show will take place next Saturday, July 9, from 3 to 7 p.m. at The Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties (1015 N. 2nd Street) and will feature the street food showcase and an intense cook-off between the chefs. One of the judges will be Mayor Michael Nutter (That guy is busy!).

West Philly will be well represented in the event with five out of the eight award nominees based on the left bank. Here they are:

 
For more information about all the nominees and to buy tickets go here.