On my recent trip to Philadelphia I happened to stop in a funky homeware store called Foster’s. It was full of bright colors, fantastically designed kitchen & houseware products, and unique gift items (you know, like Sigmund Freud action figures). You can find this cool place at 399 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or you can (luckily) shop online at shopfosters.com. (I’ll feature some cool products I found there later this week!)
Need a pretty Mexican Restaurant to coincide with your visit to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Of course you do! Xochitl is the place to go (the picture above is actually from Time Out New York Online) — especially considering it currently has a special Frida Kahlo three course meal filled with all of Frida’s favorite dishes. (Unfortunately, it’s $35 per person!) If you can’t afford that, you can purchase a single appetizer, dessert, or meal that is also included in the Frida full-course meal. For example, I recommend the $7 Sopa Azteca (tortilla soup).
I know this is an art & design site, so it’s a bit out of my realm to advertise a soup, but this soup gets design & creativity points all its own. At Xochitl the soup portion of the dish was poured out of a jug over a bowl of tortilla strips, avocado, and cheese (which delightfully melted in the warm soup).
If you aren’t in Philadelphia, (more…)
I visited Philadelphia this weekend (mainly for the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art), so this coming week I’ll bring you my reports on art & design in the city of brotherly love. (Okay, so I spent most of my time AT the museum of art and was only actually in Philly for two days. So let’s call it an abbreviated report…)
BKNY (stands for Bangkok New York) is a Thai place in far Flushing, Queens (the Auburndale / Bayside area). While the food is tasty and not too expensive, the atmosphere is what’s most impressive. The place looks like it could have popped right out of Manhattan, somehow accidentally misplaced in Queens.
The best part?
Pictures and logos on this page were collected from the BKNY web-site which offers more information on menus, pricing, location, etc.
If you are ever in the Lower East Side at… whenever o’clock… stop in at the Yaffa Cafe (97 St. Mark’s Place). It is “Open Always” and it is Always Cool. The decorating is Vintage Random: the wallpaper ranges from flowers to leopard print, the Christmas lights are up year-round, and the paint is cheerfully exuberant.
For more information check out NY Magazine’s Restaurant Listings. (Three images on left gathered from New York Magazine. Two images on right are my own.)
