Let it Ride by Emily Kovachphotos by Gene Smirnov Human Zoom Bikes & Boards MANAGER: Stanley TworekOPEN SINCE: 2005NEIGHBORHOOD: Manayunk and ArdmoreVIBE: Big like a chain, cool like an indie. “We have our tattoos and piercings, but we’re getting a little more clean-cut.”REPAIR, RENT OR RETAIL: All three are availableUNDERLYING VALUES: Service to all. “I
MoreGear Up by Emily Kovach 1. LOCK HOLSTERS FROM FABRIC HORSE No more locks rattling around on handlebars or shoved awkwardly in back pockets. $10 at fabrichorse.com, 1737 E. Passyunk Ave. 2. LOCKDOWN FOOT STRAPS FROM R.E.LOADMade from the same tough Cordura waxed canvas as their legendary messenger bags, these straps can be made in the
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A Movable Visual Feast by Emily Kovach Gourmet food trucks are everywhere in Philly, dishing up creative, restaurant-quality fare around town at lunchtime, festivals, concerts, farmers markets and street fairs. While it’s the cuisine cooking inside the trucks that entices us—melty deep-fried cheese curds, overstuffed tacos, authentic Southern barbecue and decadent cupcakes, just to name
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by Emily Kovach EL GUACO LOCO The owner: Rafael de Lunaelguacoloco.com@ElGuacoLoco on Twitter Specialty: Mexican food/mole and guisados Your spot: Temple University, Monday—Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Most popular dish: Chicken with mole Who designed the truck?My brother Ronaldo and I did it with help from our parents and Brands Imaging. We were
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by Emily Kovach DUMP-N-ROLL The owner: Peter Tongdumpnroll.com@DumpnRoll215 on Twitter Specialty: We’re the only world fusion inspired creative dumplings and spring rolls food truck! Where we can find you? On social media, because I’m all over the tri-state area. But I’m often at Frankford and Girard in Fishtown, or in University City at 34th and
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by Emily Kovach MOM-MOM’S POLISH FOOD CART The owners: Kaitlin Wines and Ryan Elmore (they’re engaged!) @MomMomNomNom on Twitter Who is Mom-Mom? We are named after Kaitlin’s Mom-Mom (grandmother), Rita Chmielewski, a second-generation Polish immigrant and thriving 93-year-old. We could have called ourselves Babcia’s (the Polish word for grandmother) but Kait grew up eating/cooking/baking with Mom-Mom—it
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by Emily Kovach FARM TRUCK The owners: Kris Pepper and Eliot Covenfarmtruckphilly.com @Farm_Truck on Twitter Cuisine: Seasonal, farm-to-table. We buy locally whenever possible and serve an eclectic mix of American, Asian, Mediterranean and fusion cuisine. We often get asked if everything on our menu is healthy. To which we say, “It isn’t health food, it’s
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Photo by Gene Smirnov Counter Culture by Anna Herman Many of us with yards have those small animals that are dubbed micro-livestock—chickens, ducks, rabbits and honeybees and the like—as part of our urban homestead and hyper-local food sources. But even apartment dwellers can improve their nutrition and cultivate microorganisms by fermenting food. So many traditional
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Illustration by James Olstein Blinded by Science by Jerry Silberman Question: Is sustainability a religious value?The Right Question: Can you have faith without respecting the world? “If then you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day… I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late.
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Short and Sweet by Peggy Paul Casella Large, watery, cone-shaped strawberries are available any time at the grocery store, but if you want the real thing—fragrant, red all the way through, with juices that dribble down your chin—you have to wait for that sweet spot in the year, when late spring meets early summer. Strawberries
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