I was without a bike for the better part last year; I also bought a car in the same time span. With every gas station fill-up, I dreamed of peddling around the city instead. As gas prices rose, this feeling became more and more intense. I would have gladly ditched the car for two wheels

On July 17, Manayunk’s new neighborhood book shop, The Spiral Bookcase, opened its doors at 112 Cotton St. Neighbors with Mugshots’ ‘yunk location, the store will sell new and used books, art and jewelery from local artisans. In this day and age, an independent book store is truly something to celebrate. Check out their Facebook

News flash: It’s been hot. Really hot. Oh, and muggy too. The whole city has been in a deep schvitz for weeks now—it’s like we’re living in that movie A Time to Kill. In conditions like this, rolling on deodorant feels a bit like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound, but its good to feel

Yesterday, I harvest my first tomatoes. It was a glorious occasion.
It wasn't my first nimble of the baby fruits—that happened last week when I plucked a perfect yellow orb, and then dashed for my life away from an approaching thunderstorm—but it was my first opportunity to incorporate them into a real meal.
Now, things are pretty

This past weekend, I spent a hot minute flipping through a friend’s dead tree edition of The Atlantic. Apparently, in my online perousing, I had missed this feature on a California couple building “the world’s greenest home.” It all comes across as a wondrous fantasy—part Rivendell, part Gattaca. They even share their swimming pool with

Local cake lovers rejoice! A week from today (July 26), Night Kitchen Bakery‘s pastry chef Jenny Low will be featured on TLC’s Fabulous Cakes. The reason for the attention is the stunning Earth Day cake she created for the Sustainable Business Network‘s SustainaBall fundraiser. Other local bakeries will also be featured; the show airs at

We’ve told you before about Lancaster Farmacy, the medicinal herb business from Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop‘s Casey Spacht and his partner Elizabeth Weaver. The Inquirer recently ran a story on the Farmacy featuring some interesting facts and great recipes: The land was nearly in full bloom on a hot late-June day, with purple, white, and

To continue our Grid contributor blog rundown, Tenaya Darlington (a.k.a. Madame Fromage, now on round three of her monthly cheese column) recently tried a local goat cheese that surprised her: Amazing Acres‘ chocolate chevre. Here’s what I liked about this chevre: it’s not too sweet. It looks like a mini chocolate cheesecake, but it doesn’t

This summer has found Grid contributor Marisa McClellan in a serious fruit butter state of mind (Strawberry Rhubarb, Blueberry) over at foodinjars.com. This week, due to the myriad comments she’s received, she posted a bit of a butter FAQ. She offers tips on everything from flavoring with herbs to crock pot cooking to defining differences