Dumpster Divers say goodbye to South Street

A South Philly art gallery celebrated a successful six months of selling art made from recycled materials and remains optimistic as artists continue to spread sustainability.

If you’ve taken a stroll down South Street during the last few months, you may have noticed a new art gallery. For the last six months, the space at 734-736 South St. was occupied by Dumpster Divers, a group of 22 artists who — you guessed it — literally dive into trash to gather the materials from which they create their own masterpieces.

On Jan. 17, Dumpster Divers hosted a party to celebrate the end of the collective’s time on South Street and the 26,000 customers who played a part in their short-lived success. The space will soon be occupied by Community Living Room, which according to its Web site, will provide sofas, televisions and Internet access to be “your home away from home.”

One of the divers, Alden Cole, said the group was able to rent the space on South Street because the unoccupied areas made the street appear “run-down.” When Howard Lander, one of the local landlords, offered the space to the divers, they jumped at the opportunity to be a part of an area known for its appreciation of art.

“There are a total of six [spaces] scattered pretty much east of here on South Street,” Cole said. “They’ve all been inhabited and have been rented. And we are the last ones.”

For the past 40 years artists like Isaiah Zagar have transformed old buildings and empty lots in South Philly into areas of possibility and beauty. In light of that, businesses like the Big Green Earth Store and the Dumpster Divers’ gallery have been successful in selling the oh-so-popular “green” idea to South Street.

“It’s in the winds, the whole idea of green and recycling, rather than just making it new all the time,” Cole said. “It’s definitely a major trend. It’s got to happen. Hopefully it’s not just the buzz word for now. It has to go beyond that.”

The Dumpster Divers were able to gain popularity and make a living because of the environmentally conscious idea to reuse and recycle. Their artwork may represent a trend, but it also proves that extraordinary things can be created from what others deem as trash. Originally called the Dumpster Diners, the group started out meeting around plates of food to swap techniques, found objects and personal diving tricks.

“It was a lunch club, but they were all pretty much ‘dumpster’ people.” Cole said. “They had all ‘diven’ into dumpsters to retrieve stuff at one point, so they became the Dumpster Divers.”

Inside the gallery, materials you could find anywhere became art. Diver Jamie Campbell designs jewelry from discarded LPs, newspaper and magazine clippings, while Ellen Benson uses computer chips and bingo markers. Tim Congo, another diver, turned his hobby of decorating model trains and trolleys into Tim’s Miniature Transit. Congo remodels replicas with custom features like real cloth seating and carpeting.

David Gerbstadt is the most recent artist to join the Dumpster Divers. He may be new to the group, but Gerbstadt has been selling and sharing his artwork in Philadelphia for years, making frequent sales during First Friday in Old City and dropping his artwork randomly around town. He was featured in the documentary David was Here, a film that follows the people who collected the 3,000 pieces of artwork that he left throughout Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Mexico and Poland.

Toward the back of the gallery are photographs of the Dumpster Divers — 10, 15, 20 years ago. Some of the divers who are in every photo were also in attendance at the closing party. Their spirits were high at the thought of what the future might hold for each of them as artists.

“Each one of us will take our things back to our studio or home and wait until the next opportunity comes along,” Cole said.

With the confidence of a true artist, Gerbstadt simply added, “whatever happens, happens.”

Lauren Macalso can be reached at lauren.macaluso@temple.edu.

Game 5 and mystery Phillies liquor shots please crowds at South Street bar

Part five of a multi-part series.

Many fans watching World Series Game 5 at the bar North on Monday night were skeptical at first, in part due to the Phillies’ performance in Game 4.
“Word on the street is the Yankees are going to let us win this game so they can beat us in their own state,” said Donnie Biresch, a sophomore Temple student.
Biresch’s conspiracy theory didn’t stop him from accepting the free celebratory “Phillies shot” North granted its game watchers during the seventh inning. North’s Phillies shot ingredients are unknown, but it was red, potent and crowd-pleasing.
The 222 South Street establishment is co-owned by Phillies fan Ben Reiter, originally from Long Island.
“There is a direct correlation between how much money the bar makes and how much I like the Phillies,” he said of his fandom.
“This is the kick-start I needed, the Phillies and Halloween.”
The token die-hard fans were in attendance at North, as well. One of them, decked out in Phillies garb, said he came all the way from Wisconsin to watch his favorite team.
The bar was filled with cheers and high fives when – thanks to Cliff Lee – the Yankees came up short in the ninth.
As Biresch predicted, the Phillies took Game Five, 8 to 6, and the Series makes its way back to New York for Game Six on Wednesday night.
Michelle Provencher can be reached at michelle.provencher@temple.edu.

South Street hosts local version of Global Cannabis March

Onlookers crowded on the sidewalks of South Street Saturday afternoon to watch as several hundred demonstrators marched chanting and waving signs.

“Howdy, howdy, howdy ho,” they shouted repeatedly. “Prohibition’s gotta go! Howdy, howdy, howdy hey! Marijuana’s here to stay!”

For the fifth year in a row, marijuana smokers and non-smokers alike rallied in cities across the globe for the Global Cannabis March in support of the reformation of marijuana laws. Organizers of the event said more than 250 cities worldwide were involved this year.

The demonstrations in the U.S. were put together by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a non-profit organization. The march was a call for the end of “marijuana prohibition,” as Philadelphia demonstrators put it.

“NORML supports the legalization of marijuana for medical, recreational and industrial use. Our goals are to legalize it in any capacity we can,” said Derek Rosenzweig, co-chairman of Philadelphia’s chapter of NORML.

Currently, the organization has its sights set on the legalization of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. “Right now, our main goal is to make sure that patients have access to marijuana and won’t go to jail for it,” said Rosenzweig.

Rosenzweig became involved with the organization after his father was diagnosed with a disease that, according to proponents of medical marijuana, can be treated with the use of marijuana.

During the march, many demonstrators carried signs depicting a pill bottle marked “Rx Marijuana.” Leaders called on people to write to their representatives in support of the medical marijuana bill that is currently in the state legislature.

“We have a really big opportunity here with this bill coming into our house,” said Bill Wilhelm of Western Pennsylvania NORML. “The biggest thing we need to do right now is really contact these legislatures.”

The bill to legalize medical marijuana was introduced to the state legislature by Rep. Mark Cohen and NORML on April 29. It’s the first bill of its kind in Pennsylvania.

Modeled after New Jersey’s Compassionate Medical Marijuana Act, the Barry Busch Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would allow authorized patients in Pennsylvania to grow, buy and possess marijuana from state-approved compassion centers for therapeutic purposes.

Adam Weiss has been working to build support for New Jersey’s medical marijuana bill as a member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana, and has helped to see the bill through both houses of the state legislature.

“[Medical marijuana] is the issue that’s really important,” he said. “It’s good for the people who can’t get help anywhere else.”

Approval from the General Assembly and Gov. Jon Corzine are all that stand in the way of New Jersey becoming the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana.

Still, many of the demonstrators called for a complete legalization of marijuana. One participant, who identified himself as “Scruff” but said his real name was Jeff, said the drug should be legalized simply because he uses it.

Then after a long pause, he elaborated on his views.

“Our jails are crowded with non-violent offenders,” he said. “We’re wasting all our money locking up drug offenders.”

Tim McCullough can be reached at tim.mccullough@temple.edu.

Film finds beauty in unique family

Since most South Street novices are initially enamored with the massive mosaic display of broken bicycle wheels and beer bottles, it’s no secret they eventually question its wacky origins. Frequenters and novices alike are unaware of the origins of painted tiles and seemingly random rubbish affixed to nearly 50,000 square feet divided into more than 100 murals that become a canvas of sorts on the South Street strip.

In A Dream, a film produced by Jeremiah Zagar, is bent on clearing up the ambiguity.

“My father’s pretty famous already,” said Zagar, who is the son of Isaiah Zagar, “so maybe he’ll be even more famous.”

Now playing at the Ritz at the Bourse, In A Dream is a lyrical documentary that chronicles the lives of Zagar’s father and mother as artists during the 1960s. The film depicts how the entire family unit and the surreal, iconic artwork of his father were emblazoned on edifices in South Philadelphia.

“We wanted to combine the real and the surreal,” Zagar said of the documentary. “The real is the work, and the surreal is the slow-motion, animation and the film.”

Narrated by Julia Zagar, Isaiah’s wife, In A Dream is a love story about the strength of family and is told in three parts. One of the three parts is titled “Part II: The End of an Era.”

“That era is the belief that family is stronger than everything else in the world,” Zagar said. “It’s an era of familial perfection. The end of that era is that families are not always strong. They are living in a dream, and the end of the era is the end of that dream and the beginning of a reality.”

The reality is that despite an idyllic childhood as described by Zagar, he and his brother Ezekiel’s upbringings were anything but conventional.

“My father is very attentive but kind of nutty,” he said. “You would go to an art opening, and he’d be naked and covered in mud. It was awkward because I was 5 years old, and all I wanted was my friends to think I was good at soccer.”

Growing up in a castle of shattered glass with a surreal family history, Zagar describes his childhood simply as “cool.”

“I lived in a house people thought was cool, so we’d invite them over and make them pasta, and they thought we were rad,” Zagar said.

“I always loved the basement in my house because it’s circular,” he said. “It’s small, and it’s completely mosaic from floor to ceiling, so you can see all the way around. It’s total immersion in the work – a glittered cavern.”

As a child, the cinema was Zagar’s sanctuary.

“I wasn’t the most handsome kid,” Zagar said. “I was a little chubby and a little awkward, and I just loved the movies. Movies were the dreams that other people dream.”

After years of watching dreams of other people, Isaiah’s very own dream, showcased throughout South Philadelphia, turned out to be the inspiration for a poetic verite narrative.

In A Dream, essentially a life labor, was seven years in the making, after Julia encouraged Zagar to begin filming his father.

“My father is a product of Philadelphia, and he’s quite the performer, so the first footage I got was not very good,” Zagar said.

When he first began capturing footage, Zagar said his father grew closer to him outside of the city.
“I took him to the country, and when he was isolated from the comforts of home, he became much more intimate,” he said. 

Zagar said the five days in the country were incredibly difficult, as his father told him a story about being molested as a child, his love for his wife and his battle with balancing art and his presumed madness.

“I knew our relationship had changed from father and son to subject and filmmaker and that I had some incredible footage,” Zagar said.

Zagar said the footage obtained in the country was a chronicle of the memories that built a person — his father.

At first glance, Isaiah’s work appears only as shattered glass and Philadelphia debris crafted into a pastel paradise. But look closely, and it becomes clear that his work documents the life, profanity and sexuality of his life.

Zagar said it is because his father sees everything — even his own feces — as beautiful.

“The scene says you can take this dream too far,” Zagar said. “Playing with your poop is unhygienic, regardless of whether it’s beautiful or not. There’s a certain craziness to someone who wants s–t in his hand.”

Zagar said his father had the tendency to go over the edge.

“I think everything he does is a little bit over the line,” he said, “which is part of what makes it so great.”

Refreshingly obscure and appropriately surreal at times, it is the stunning cinematography interspersed with 8 mm film and Super 16 mm footage of his father and mother from the 1960s that makes the documentary a loving representation of an arts-driven family.

Zagar’s years of cinematic appreciation paid off visually.

“We shot the movie on 35 mm film, but most documentaries are digital,” Zagar said. “Film is silver – big, giant blocks of silver. It’s a true reflection of what we see in light and shadow, and it gives you this feeling of the surreal world.”

The vintage footage of his father and mother was easily obtained, since Isaiah compiled massive amounts of footage. As prominent artists and owners of Eyes Gallery, the couple was involved in the South Street corridor’s 1960s hippie movement.

“People were documenting my parents from back then,” Zagar said. “We had about 30 hours of archival footage, and we tried to use all of it that we could…because the movie is very much a mosaic itself.”

Gabrielle DiPietro can be reached at gdipietro@temple.edu.

South Street gallery lends Tyler space

Senior painting students from the Tyler School of Art opened a gallery on South Street to display their work.

Stephen Giannascoli, owner of Triad Realty Inc. and a representative of the properties on South Street, said he contacted Tyler because his company wanted Tyler to have a presence on South Street.

Initially, school officials declined because they didn’t want to take on another gallery during the transition to Main Campus.

With the help of 16 students, Theresa Kitch, chair of student affairs at Tyler, worked with Triad Realty to obtain gallery space.

Associate Dean of Tyler Brigitte Knowles encouraged Kitch to aid students in the process.

Kitch accompanied Andrea Caldarise, a senior painting major, to the property on South Street to sign the lease.

Knowles said she feels “positive about [the] opportunities that the South Street venue offers to young artists.”

The gallery is made up of works from 16 senior painters. Among the 16 painters is Christy Romano.
“I take part in watching the gallery. All 16 of us divided up the work and take turns monitoring everything,” Romano said, adding that she thinks the gallery is a success so far.

The students involved divided the shows into three groups of painters. There has already been a show for one of the groups.

“Originally, when we came down to Main Campus from Tyler, we weren’t sure if they’d have space for their [bachelor’s of fine art] shows,” Kitch said. “Because of the new situation, some of the planning was up in the air.”

Students looked into the idea of taking the space on South Street because they wanted space for their bachelor’s of fine arts shows. Tyler provides students with limited space for their galleries.

“They decided they would try to do this on their own to get the experience and to try to show their work,” Kitch said.

“Since there were very few slots for BFA shows this semester, I’m using [the South Street gallery] as my BFA exhibition,” Romano said.

Caldarise took on most of the responsibility among the students. She started the gallery, signed the lease and coordinated the student group.

Other students heavily involved are Lauren Herring, Glenna Ryer, Jamie Straw, Chris D’Antonio, Rob Kelleher and Ally Boyd.

“They’ve been doing really well,” Kitch said. “It has been a good experience for our students, and I am impressed with the cooperative effort that they’ve made to handle this venture successfully.”

The Tyler Gallery on South Street is associated with the South Street Arts Initiative and the Eyes Gallery. Some of the vendors on South Street who had empty stores tried to bring Tyler to South Street. Many of the vendors and restaurants on South Street have contributed food during the students’ shows.

“The Tyler administration appreciated this opportunity for our students to have a presence on South Street,” Kitch said.

Valerie Rubinsky can be reached at valerie.rubinsky@temple.edu.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Senior painting major Andrea Caldarise also serves as a designer for The Temple News.

Neighborhood Watch

Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. Think of them as living, breathing organisms—ever-changing, ever-growing and each entirely different from the next. Now think of yourself as an explorer that is about to set off on an urban safari. Wander, observe and listen. Familiarize yourself with the city. After all, it’s your new home—and while it may be overwhelming at first glance, its bark is tougher than its bite. Follow this guide and you’ll feel like a local in no time.

Fairmount

Best known as: A mostly residential area with cheaper-than-Center City rent prices and home to some of the city’s most famous tourist attractions.
Where to eat: Fairmount’s Osteria (640 N.Broad St.) was named the best restaurant in the city by Philadelphia magazine in February, and its traditional Italian food lives up to the hype. The London Grill (2301 Fairmount Ave.) and the Rose Tattoo Café (19th and Callowhill streets) are also good back-ups if Osteria is booked for the night.
What to do: Check out the Eastern State Penitentiary (2124 Fairmount Ave.), a former state prison where Willie Sutton and Al Capone were once prisoners. For a little outdoor adventure, spend some time exploring the vast expanse of Fairmount Park or take a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo (3400 W. Girard Ave.)

University City

Best known as: A diverse and eclectic residential neighborhood that is also home to the University of Pennsylvania’s gorgeous campus, Drexel University’s not-so-gorgeous campus and some of the city’s best house venues, where local experimental rock bands play low-key shows.
Where to eat: Feast yourself on foods from around the globe. Grab Ethiopian cuisine at Abyssinia (229 S. 45th St.) or Dahlak (4708 Baltimore Ave.), try Pakistani at Kabobeesh (4201 Chestnut St.), or gorge on the $10 all-you-can-eat buffet at Sitar India (60 S. 38th St.) For drinks, Dock Street Brewery and Restaurant (701 S. 50th St.) is a West Philly favorite. Try its award winning premium amber beer, which is brewed and bottled on site.
Where to shop: For those who travel on two wheels, the independently owned Trophy Bikes (3131 Walnut St.) is a must-stop. The Last Word Bookshop (220 S. 40th St.) is a great place to find dog-eared novels and cheap textbooks, and The Second Mile Center (214 S. 45th St.) is a thrift store with tons of stuff to dig through—some of it decent and salvageable, some of it not.
What to do: The International House (3701 Chestnut St.) hosts frequent concerts and movie screenings, and the World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) is known for its live music and bar.

Templetown

Best known as: The best-lit part of the city. Don’t even try to stargaze here.
Where to eat: Koja Grille (1600 N. Broad St.) offers delicious, spicy Korean dishes
for cheap prices—and you can use Diamond Dollars to pay. The Sexy Green Truck, located outside of the
Student Center, has some of the best food on campus and all of its produce is locally grown. But when it’s 2 a.m. and you’ve just come from a frat party, the only place to go is Temple Star (1412 W. Diamond St.)—for quick, greasy Chinese food that will soak up the beer in your stomach.
Where to shop: Phenomenal Records (1432 Cecil B. Moore Ave.) is a great place to
find underground hip-hop, rap and R&B records. Keep your eyes peeled—you may run into regulars Method Man, Ludacris or Ghostface Killah.

Northern Liberties

Best known as: A haven for artists and musicians, and a dining and nightlife rival for neighboring Old City.
Where to eat: Snack on miniature vegan donuts at the Soy Café (630 N. 2nd St), and then taste the bubble tea and stuffed pretzels at Euphoria Smoothies & Coffee (1001 N. 2nd St.) The gastropub offered at the Abbaye (637 N. 3rd St.) is a good spot for drinks. The brand-new Cantina Dos Segundos (931 N. 2nd St.) is earning a reputation for its guacamole and chips.
Where to shop: Made to Order (817 N. 2nd St.) and Art Star Gallery & Boutique (623 N. 2nd St.) both offer unique and eclectic clothing and accessories for men and women.
What to do: Indulge your inner child with bowling, arcade games and tater tots at North Bowl (909 N. 2nd St.), or catch a free Thursday night outdoor movie screening at the Arbol Café (209 Poplar St.)

Old City

Best known as: A place for sightseeing, wining and dining.
Where to eat: Stephen Starr’s original restaurant, Continental (138 Market St.), may look like a diner on the outside, but you won’t find lobster mashed potatoes or decadent martinis at your local greasy spoon. Old Original Bookbinder’s (125 Walnut St.) is another Old City classic, a Philadelphia landmark where everyone including David Bowie, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Nixon
have dined. For dessert, check out the old-fashioned milkshakes and malts at the Franklin Fountain (116 Market St.)
Where to shop: All within a few blocks of each other, used book stores Big Jar Books (55 N. 2nd Street) and The Book Trader (7 N. 2nd Street), and record emporium A.K.A. Music (27 N. 2nd Street) are worthy stops. Chic boutiques are plentiful on Third Street, but Sazz Vintage Clothing (133 N. 3rd Street), in particular, is a gem—the store sells mostly men’s vintage, with a focus on rockabilly and disco styles.
What to do: The Khyber (56 S. 2nd Street) is one of Philadelphia’s most popular bars and a frequent stop for bands and musicians on the road. Also worth checking out is Penn’s Landing, located on the Delaware River waterfront, where concerts and other events are sometimes held.

South Street

Best known as: The first place most people visit when they move to Philadelphia.
Where to eat: The Jamaican Jerk Hut (1436 South St.) serves up mouthwatering
Caribbean food, while South Street Souvlaki (509 South St.) makes a mean gyro. Also, Lorenzo & Son
Pizza (305 South St.) is known for its huge, greasy slices.
Where to shop: The best shops on South Street are the sex shops— Condom Kingdom (437 South St.), Erogenous Zone (523 South St.) and The Mood (531 South St.) Also worth
checking out are Repo Records (538 South St.), vintage shop Retrospect (534 South St.) and women’s boutique Guacamole (422 South St.)
What to do: Make sure you visit Isaiah Zagar’s spectacular mosaic labyrinth, the Magic Garden (1020-1022 South St.), open to the public for a mere $3 donation during weekday and weekend afternoons. Whole Foods (929 South St.) often holds movie screenings, concerts and other
events on its roof, and Manny Brown’s (119 South St.) is home to the original Kinky Quizzo, held every Wednesday night. If that doesn’t peak your interest, check out Bob & Barbara’s Lounge (1509 South St.) for live jazz, drag shows and drunken spelling bees.

Italian Market

Best known as: The battleground for the war between Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s, a better alternative to Pathmark in terms of produce and a great spot for people-watching and
cheese-buying.
Where to eat: A trip to either Pat’s or Geno’s is absolutely necessary when roaming the Italian Market. Both are located at the intersection of Ninth and Wharton streets and Passyunk Avenue, and both offer pretty much the exact same cheesesteak—just remember to order in English if you’re visiting Geno’s. Sabrina’s Café (910 Christian St.) is another Italian Market favorite, known for its great breakfast food.
Where to shop: Molly’s Bookstore (1010 S. 9th St.) always has tons of cheap used books to poke through. For gourmet cheeses and meats, stop by Di Bruno Brothers (930 S. 9th St.), Esposito’s Meats (1001 S. 9th St.) or Talluto’s Pasta and Cheese (944 S. 9th St.), where they make fresh mozzarella every day.

Gayborhood

Best known as: The friendliest neighborhood in the city for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders and a great spot for dining and nightlife.
Where to eat: Stephen Starr’s El Vez (121 S. 13th St.) serves unique, Mexican-inspired dishes and huge margaritas. Bump Lounge (1234 Locust St.) offers specialty martinis with names like “The Metrosexual” and two menus, one with “big plates” and the other of “small plates.” While restaurants like Italian joint Portofino (1227 Walnut St.) and the French bistro Caribou Café (1126 Walnut St.) tend to be a bit pricier, there’s always the Pad Thai Shack (122 S. 12th St.) for those looking for cheap, tasty take-out.
What to do: Woody’s Bar (202 S. 13th St.) is the Gayborhood’s most famous
nightclub and a favorite among college students, even those who aren’t gay. Sal’s (200 S. 12th St.) holds regular dance parties and concerts, and the Last Drop (1300 Pine St.) is a popular Gayborhood coffee shop that stays open late for night owls.

Chinatown

Best known as: A predominantly Asian neighborhood with a lot of cheap restaurants and bubble tea shops.
Where to eat: Penang (117 N. 10th St.) is well known in the area for
its unique Malaysian cuisine, while Imperial Inn (146 N. 10th St.) is often hailed as one of Chinatown’s best – and least expensive – dim sum restaurants. For those with dietary restrictions, New Harmony (135 N. 9th St.) and Kingdom of Vegetarians (129 N. 11th St.) are both certified kosher vegan restaurants that also serve gluten-free dishes.
Where to shop: The best shopping in Chinatown is at its many Asian grocery stores,
where you can purchase all the goods you need to make your own sushi, as well as fresh noodles, spices, sauces and dumplings.

Anna Hyclak can be reached at anna.hyclak@temple.edu.

Ms. Tootsie’s serves southern comfort pipin’ hot

A restaurant doesn’t need rarities or refinements in order to be successful. Ms. Tootsie’s Soul Food Café may not wow you with foreign ingredients or the artistry of its presentation, but it has a knack for comfort – soothing the soul with its southern fare and balmy ambiance.

Owner Keven Parker’s first entrepreneurial endeavor was Simply Delicious Caterers. Soon after came Cafe 3801 and Ms. Tootsie’s Soul Food Café. His latest expansion is Ms. Tootsie’s Restaurant Bar and Lounge, located adjacent to the Café.

RBL features four floors of stylish bar and lounge spaces that were designed by Parker himself and could rival clubs in New York City. It also has an abbreviated menu based on the Café’s servings. Meanwhile, it stays inviting and utilizes class the way it should. Parker could consider opening his own interior design firm.

Ms. Tootsie’s real name is Joyce Parker. Her friends coined the nickname “Ms. Tootsie” because of her fondness for eating Tootsie Rolls. In tribute to his mother, Parker named the restaurant after her and his memories of her cooking.

One would not expect such a welcoming place quartered inside clean brick façade, or prefaced by elegant cursive font inscribed on the awning.

I instantly fell in love with the place when our server greeted us with watermelon and freshly baked cornbread. Dante Stanton, our server, happened to be a sophomore business major at Temple.

Sweet aromas steamed from the exposed kitchen as the hushed sizzle of the deep fryer filled the room with the scents of simple, southern fare. Nostalgia for my Alabama homestead gripped me as I sipped the syrupy-sweet blend of fruit punch and iced tea ($3-$5). I must have had three or four glasses that night.

The interior is painted a muted baby blue with simple furniture accommodations. Overall, the ornaments of décor are few, with the exception of a photograph display on the wall.

Whitney Thomas, whose photographs are featured, is renowned for his beauty shots and photographs of soul, jazz and R&B artists. Energy and expression darkly glow in radiance amid each photograph.

Meanwhile, the space is modest and manageable, so a server – or a manager – is never out of reach. Our server, Stanton, was attentive and managers David Archie and Jose Duran were charming.

Southern fare is not meant to be fancy. It’s meant to be hearty and in large portions that make your mouth water.
We shared the shrimp Caesar salad ($12) and the three-green salad ($10). Each salad could have sufficed as an entrée enough for two or three dainty appetites.

The former was a mound of traditionally dressed romaine lettuce, which was modestly populated with lightly seasoned shrimp and garnished with croutons and grated Parmesan cheese. The salt in the dressing, however, was a little overpowering.

The latter was also a mound, this time, of baby mixed greens chock full with tender, lime fried chicken liberally drizzled with honey mustard dressing with slices of cucumber and tomato guarding the corners of the plate. Tender chicken cuts and honey mustard is a match made in heaven.

Each entrée comes with your choice of two sides.

The Sadiki’s fried catfish piqued my interest ($18). It astonished me with unexpected satisfaction. I chose the caramelized candied yams and okra as sides – creamy, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth yams. The okra, however, was a tad cold on arrival.

And of course, no southern-styled meal could be complete without southern fried chicken ($13-$16). At Ms. Tootsie’s, you have your choice of breasts or thighs that are deep fried in a buttermilk batter. The mention of that made me quiver with anticipation. My guest wisely chose the collard greens and macaroni and cheese. Sultry and savory, both sides lived up to their legendary, toothsome goodness.

By the end of the night, we had sat through about two table turnovers in a two-hour period with a few lingerers. Even their Mondays, which are usually the slowest days for most restaurants, are populated as though it were the weekend – a true testament of customer satisfaction and booming patronage.

Aaron Stella can be reached at aron.stella@temple.edu.

In the know…
Ms. Tootsie’s Soul
Food Cafe
1314 South St.
(215) 731-9045

South Street Bridge plans auto-centric shift

The South Street Bridge, an 80-year-old span across the Schuylkill River, is falling to pieces and must be replaced, but the plans for its reconstruction have left much to be desired. The new bridge will effectively be a gussied-up highway overpass, designed for cars first, and the pedestrian as a distant second.

Sadly, while Philadelphia may be entering a true renaissance period, our government still treats our infrastructure problems with utilitarian solutions. Using budgetary constraints and the need to relieve congestion as the answer to all critiques, the city repeatedly justifies selling out our city’s greatest marketable asset – our walkability.

Something so rare in American cities and so abstract, we take it for granted in many East Coast metropolises. Yet, this feature, the wonderful density that makes a neighborhood, that provides convenience to amenities, and the infrastructure that provides a habitat comfortable to a human not encased in machinery, this is what makes a city truly great.

So much development in the United States has followed the pattern of ignoring our most natural mode of transport, simple walking, and created vast stretches of land that are unnavigable by foot. For me, this feels less like development and more like imprisonment. It restricts our ability to truly move about freely and forces a dependency on private automobile and petroleum companies for “access” to public space and transport. What separates a city like Philadelphia from these chronic problems of the car-centered suburb is that we are more free from the domination of the automotive landscape.

And it is for this reason that the incursion of an auto-centric structure into the heart of our city is so abhorrent, especially when we are only now experiencing success as a city because people are attracted to the novelty of our built environment. We cannot afford to idly accept substandard infrastructure that seems more fitting for the New Jersey Turnpike than Center City. It diminishes the character, history and irreplaceable authenticity that Philadelphia possesses, and that many other places, even cities, lack.

In the case of the South Street Bridge, a community organization in Center City has presented a revised plan for the bridge that provides better separation for pedestrian areas and car traffic. Mayor  will soon weigh in on whether these recommendations will be taken seriously.

For many who read this, there is little to be done except hope that a better design prevails. However, this column is not a cry for action over this particular issue that is already largely out of the public’s hands, but more a vehicle for emphasizing the importance of design in cities. This is an issue that is elusive for the average city dweller, that too often people simply accept the things that are created around them, as if they were created by a force of nature.

Of course, these things are not supernatural, but very much a product of the priorities of the governments and therefore politicians who approve their construction.

Ryan Briggs can be reached at rwb@temple.edu

Day Trippin’: Sick of South Street? Travel to New Hope

New Hope is a place that keeps you trailing from store to store as the day flies by. Piercing and tattoo venues are everywhere. Cuban cigars, bumper stickers, Bob Marley T-shirts, hemp purses and vintage clothing fill the Main Street stores.

New Hope is similar to Philadelphia’s South Street, with lots of people walking around outside and motorcycles at every parking meter. However, it’s more secluded than the city. It is surrounded by trees and located right on the Delaware River.

About 40 miles north of the city, New Hope is easily accessible by I-95 and you can take the R3 train to Yardley or West Trenton, the closest train stations.

The first spot I visited along Main Street was the famed Love Saves the Day. This store sells everything from cowboy hats and colonial outfits to angel wings and fur coats. The shelves are also full of sex toys, gag gifts and posters. It’s a combination of Condom Kingdom and your dress-up closet.

Store employee Cleo Guyer said they sell “whatever the owner [Leslie Herfon] likes. It’s the owner’s way of expressing her art through an eclectic store.”

Love Saves the Day was founded in New York City in 1966 and still exists in the city’s East Village, as well as on Main Street in New Hope. Cleo said stylists and designers from the New York shop frequently shop at the New Hope location. Other buyers throw costume parties or simply enjoy unique items, since the store’s collection

includes mustaches, velvet capes, lace and ballerina skirts, masks and more.

One such item is a three-inch doll called “Grow a Girlfriend,” which expands to life-size when submerged in water. They also have insult gum that says when your breath stinks and action figures modeled after Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allen Poe, Vincent Van Gogh and Albert Einstein.

They sell coffee mugs that mock the president as well as numerous vibrators. Most merchandise sold at Love Saves the Day isn’t mass-produced, which makes it a perfect fit for New Hope, a primarily non-commercialized, liberal town.

New Hope is a major hang-out for bikers, especially since long stretches of open road that are uninterrupted by traffic lead to the town.

The clothing shop After the Ride carries all things leather, from skirts to jackets to dog collars. Next door is Mystical Times, which sells candles, incense and instructional tarot card books. They also offer in-store palm readings.

Nearby is Primal Urge, a well-known, extremely clean piercing place. Keep walking and you’ll see Medieval Gallery, which features replica armor attire, women’s corset tops and men’s medieval-style clothing. Their main attraction is their sword collection, which ranges in price from about $15 to $250. They even offer a treasure chest filled with swords for $20.

A few stores and a pizza shop down from that, there is a store called Three Cranes on Main. Here, you can find wooden dragon statues, Buddha figurines, bongo drums, girls’ shoes, head bands, skirts with salamander patterns, wall hangings and acoustic Brazilian CDs.

After shopping, you might get hungry. Luckily, there are tons of places to eat, all with outdoor and indoor seating. Havana serves world cuisine until 11 p.m., as well as drinks like the South Beach Mojito, Voodoo Juice, Rasmopolitan and Jamaican-me-crazy. They have a wide selection of imported and domestic beer, including smaller brewing names like Flying Fish and Magic Hat.

If you’re a smoker, don’t forget that this is Bucks County, not Philadelphia. You can always smoke inside Havana. There are couches and full screen TVs, plus a stage where local bands perform.

Havana offers live music Thursday through Sunday from 9 p.m. to midnight. A DJ dance party takes place on those days from midnight until close. Monday nights draw a huge crowd for karaoke and Tuesday nights are open mic nights. On Wednesdays, they host Kinky Quizzo, which features sex trivia games with erotic prizes.

Bartender Lindsay Hudock said that she loves to work at Havana “mostly because of the clientele. The locals are so extremely nice, and the management is phenomenal.”

Right across the street is a bar called 90 Main, which is smaller than Havana but has a similar atmosphere. They play ’80s music, hip-hop and rock and sometimes showcase live bands, acoustic guitarists and singers. They serve tapas, pizza, sushi, burgers, wine, martinis and beer. Like Havana, they have both indoor and outdoor seating.

While in New Hope, you can shoot pool, eat, drink, get psychic readings and pick up T-shirts with unconventional, funny logos. This is a relaxed town that makes for a very promising and eclectic day trip.

Annette Gollan can be reached at annette.gollan@temple.edu.