After more than five years of operation, The Farmacy, the popular brunch spot at 45th and Spruce, has closed. The restaurant closed at the beginning of the month, and “For Rent” signs have been displayed in the windows since then.

The owners, local chefs Ross Scofield and Danielle Coulter, want to focus on their new restaurant in New Jersey, according to Foobooz.  Continue Reading

Mayor Jim Kenney speaks on Thursday at the opening of the Trolley Portal Gardens near 40th and Baltimore. (Photo by West Philly Local).

As trolleys screeched by, Mayor Jim Kenney was among the dignitaries who spoke Thursday at the opening of Trolley Portal Gardens, the public space near the trolley stops at 40th and Baltimore. Kenney, whose mayorship is defined by balancing the “old” Philadelphia of open fire hydrants and block parties and the “new” Philadelphia of “eds and meds,” said the new space balances both.

“This is the ‘old’ Philadelphia and the ‘new’ Philadelphia,” he said. “This is where we’re going.”  Continue Reading

Photos by Kyle Cassidy

Trolley Car Station, the long-awaited restaurant next to the 40th St. trolley portal at 40th and Baltimore (or 40th and Woodland, depending on which way you’re standing) has finally opened! It’s the third Trolley Car location opened by restaurateur Ken Weinstein. Convenient to trolley commuters, Penn, USciences, the VA hospital and visitors to The Woodlands, Trolley Car Station offers lunch and dinner options, a separate breakfast menu and a full bar. The restaurant has ample indoor seating spread out over two floors as well as an outdoor seating area, though the bar is located on the first floor only.  Continue Reading

Photos by Kyle Cassidy

Fast-casual D.C.-based pizza &pizza opened its second Philly location Tuesday at 3925 Walnut St., where popular gelato shop Capogiro used to be. Featuring their signature oblong pizzas in one size, &pizza offers unlimited toppings for a flat price as well as several standard options, both vegetarian and otherwise. They have vegan and gluten-free options; the vegan options, like soy-cheese, don’t cost extra, but getting a pizza with the gluten-free pizza dough does.  Continue Reading

Though it opened a few months ago, many West Philly Local readers may not be familiar with Hadramout Restaurant, a Yemeni eatery located at 136 S. 45th Street (between Walnut and Sansom, just across from the AICP mosque).

Hadramout serves generous portions of traditional Yemeni dishes, many of which feature ingredients and flavors not often seen in American eateries. Among these dishes are molokhia chicken (chicken with cooked greens), saltah with holba (beef stew with fenugreek topping, served with fresh-baked flatbread), haneeth (pressure-cooked lamb) and Yemeni milk tea (shahi haleeb). All the meat is halal, slaughtered in accordance with Islamic dietary law.

Hadramout offers both takeout and dine-in options, with delivery a possibility for the future. The restaurant is open until 10 at night, 7 days a week.

– Mike VanHelder

Photo via tastiesoulfood.com

A fine-dining soul food restaurant has opened on a block not exactly known for upscale sit-down eateries. Tasties Soul Food is launching where Pappy’s Pizza used to be, just north of Girard on 52nd Street. The restaurant is from Barbara Devan, a home-grown Southwest Philly success story who already runs two fast casual take-out restaurants under the Tasties brand. You may remember her from Jollies West, now the Corner Bar at 38th and Lancaster (right across from the site of the notorious Women’s Medical Society), or the old Tasties food truck, which would be often spotted near 48th and Market.

Tasties Restaurant features a full bar and will have brunch options on the weekend. In addition to standard soul food fare like BBQ chicken, turkey chops, candied yams and collard greens, Devan has added fancier options like fried lobster, lamb and mussels to the menu.  Continue Reading