Running Up the Wall

Every year, druing the bike race, otherwise known as the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, I venture out to Manayunk to catch the race.  While the bike race consists of 150 miles and 10 laps through the city, there is no better place to catch it (and party) than in Manayunk.  The most distinctive and notable part of each lap, of course, is the Manayunk Wall.  For the uninitiated, the Wall is a HUGE climb up Levering Street and Lyceum Avenue.  It’s a 12 to 17 percent grade over about six tenths of a mile, and cyclists do ten laps on it.  It’s an enormous challenge, and the Wall is well known in cycling circles.

For both the challenge as well as to work on “hill” training, I decided to incorporate a run up the Wall in the middle of a recent 20 mile long run.  So, in the early morning of a hot, humid day, I was running up Levering and Lyceum, with some curious stares from local residents.   And the result?  Well, let’s just say that it’s much more fun to walk up and down the wall during the bike race with a beer in your hand.  The climb starts off brutal and gets worse as you keep going up.  When you turn the corner to the left a little bit up the hill, you still have a ways to go until you hit Ridge Avenue.  Every step results in a burning sensation in your thighs and calves. 

Continue reading →

Why the Roast Pork Sandwich From John’s Roast Pork Is City’s Best

On the occasions I have to drive somewhere in the local surrounding area for work, I try, if possible, to hit up lunch places that I’ve been meaning to try.  One place, though, that I make as repeat visits as I can is John’s Roast Pork in South Philly.

If it’s possible to be both well-renowned and yet relatively unknown, John’s falls into this category.  Considering the place has been serving up terrific food for over eighty years, it may be surprising that it’s stayed under the radar.  Only in the past year have shows on Travel Channel and Food Network featured pieces on John’s.  The main reason, of course, that John’s Roast Pork has received less notice, both nationally and regionally, is accessibility.  It’s located on Snyder Avenue near Columbus Boulevard (right by Lowe’s, IKEA and other stores) and is only open on weekdays from breakfast to mid-afternoon.  You can’t swing by there after work to get dinner or at any time on weekends.  There’s no near notable tourist destinations for increased foot traffic, and it’s not in any residential neighborhood.  And despite receiving increasing accolades for its sandwiches, John’s Roast Pork has no immediate plans to expand its hours from its initial roots of catering to shipyard and area workers.

Continue reading →

Night Market May Be Victim of Own Success

On a perfect weather night last October, the first ever Night Market in Philadelphia took place in the Passyunk Avenue neighborhood.  With the combination of good weather, terrific participating local restaurants and the city’s most popular food trucks and other street food vendors, the Night Market was an unbridled success.  Tons of people walked around a great neighborhood and sampled many wonderful eats. 

The second edition took place this Thursday night, in a special Philly Beer Week edition.  Moving on to a different neighborhood, Night Market was held at a large parking lot on 39th and Market.  Not quite the same as  Passyunk Avenue and having a little bit of the feel of attending a church-sponsored fair in my youth, but that’s neither here nor there.  Despite the oppressive 90 degree heat, droves of people still came out (at least until the much-needed rain fell around 8 p.m.). 

Playing off the success of the fall’s edition, this effort featured large does of taco trucks and other mobile vendors though, in contrast to the first one because of the location, not much in the way of establsihed neighborhood restaurant stands.  The big hits were the Philly debut of Nomad Pizza, which makes handmade Neapolitan-style pizza in its mobile brick oven (at a reasonable $9-10), taco trucks (Honest Tom, Guapos Tacos and Chris Taco Stand all had huge lines), and beverage stands (Made in the Shade Lemonade and the Blockley Beer Garden had big business thanks to the weather).  What was not as as hot?  Hub Bub coffee didn’t exactly have people waiting, and the multiple cupcake trucks (Sweetbox Cupcakes, Jimmies and  Sugar Philly) may have oversaturated the cupcake market.

Overall, the second Night Market was a good event, especially considering the weather, but it definitely was a notch down from the success of the fall event.  There were a lot of attendees, but some of the lines were insane.  It’s a great idea, similar to the likes of the Rittenhouse Row Festival and other neighborhood fairs.  In addition to taking place in actual real neighborhoods (maybe Chinatown, Headhouse Square, etc.),  perhaps it actually needs  more high quality vendors (and beer stands) to alleviate the lines.