The lure of the East: it's mystified Westerners for ages. For Europeans, it was the Mediterranean and the Black sea that divided east from west; for modern Penn-ites, it's the Schuylkill.
Mexican food, while mouth-watering and comfortably familiar, rarely surprises. It also doesn't require much of a hike if you are looking for chewy tortillas and defrosted corn salsa with an air of gyro meat and feta wafting overhead.
Standing outside of most restaurants in Chinatown can be a tad disconcerting, and Szechuan Tasty House is no exception.
With its year-round Christmas lights flashing red and green, the Tasty House makes its presence known among its more drab neighbors, like Philadelphia Eddie's Chinatown Tattoo.
Whether you're the freshman on the hall who can't even figure out what goes into a gin and tonic, or a senior who still doesn't know exactly what went into that last, unfortunate shot at your friend's 21st, this is the column for you.
Simple, good Korean food. This refreshingly straightforward approach to cuisine is always a welcome sight in a city that idolizes the elaborate and uber-trendy.
Merlot from Chile occupies that uneasy spot as the forgotten stepchild of the world wine scene. It doesn't come close to the pretension of France, with its rigorous distilleries and snotty accents.
Whether you're the freshman on the hall who can't even figure out what goes into a gin and tonic, or a senior who still doesn't know exactly what went into that last, unfortunate shot at your friend's 21st, this is the column for you.
Ants Pants Cafe
2212 South St.
(215) 875-8002
ANTS PANTS (adj.) Australian colloquial term meaning unequivocally "the best" or "height of fashion." As in, "mate, this coffee is the ants pants"
If study abroad just won't fit into your schedule, head over the Spruce Street Bridge to Ants Pants, an Australian coffeehouse and BYO that merges the food and atmosphere of its owners' international experiences.
The iced and hot coffee and espresso specialties are made with Belaroma beans, which are roasted in Australia.
Beats Crying Alone In Your Room
Whether you're the freshman on the hall who can't even figure out what goes into a gin and tonic, or a senior who still doesn't know exactly what went into that last, unfortunate shot at your friend's 21st, this is the column for you.
Red Bicyclette Syrah, 2004
France
$9
From its yellow label, to the Frenchman with beret and baguette riding his bicycle with his dog yipping along behind, to the substitution of "Syrah" for "Shiraz," Red Bicyclette wine oozes expatriate, hipster sensibilities.
Every week, 34th Street purchases, consumes, and reviews select wines from around the world. Employing only the most rigorous of standards, we demand that the wines we sample be unique, balanced and most importantly, alcoholic, in addition to costing less than $10 at the liquor store at 41st and Market.
By the way it looked - completely empty - it was hard to believe the Italian-based Mercato had been named Philadelphia Magazine's Best BYOB of 2006 when we arrived to take an early, 5:30 p.m.