How to have a Perfect Philly Day, according to MSNBC’s Ali Velshi
It starts with a homemade cappuccino in Bryn Mawr and ends with dinner at Zahav.
Ali Velshi has spent most of his career toggling between cities. As the veteran MSNBC host of the show Velshi and senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News, he broadcasts from a Manhattan high-rise most weekends. But for the last two decades, Philadelphia has been his weekday retreat — the place where, as he puts it, “I do my best eating, my best sleeping, and my best thinking.”
From his home in Bryn Mawr, Velshi balances the rhythms of domestic life with the civic pulse of the city. He’s on the boards of the National Constitution Center and the Philadelphia Citizen, hosts public conversations at the Free Library of Philadelphia, and frequents museums like the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. But when the cameras are off, his perfect Philly day is far simpler: a slow morning at home, a gluten-free slice of pizza, maybe a motorcycle ride out to Wings Field — and the kind of unhurried errands you only get to run when you’re not in Manhattan.
Velshi told us how we would spend a perfect day in Philadelphia.
8 a.m.
I love having breakfast and coffee at home in Bryn Mawr. In New York, I have a wild life where nothing happens at home. I’m always out doing something. So I enjoy starting my day with a nice cappuccino that I’ve frothed myself and breakfast at home.
11 a.m.
I’m gluten-free, so I shop at Mom’s Organic Market in Bryn Mawr, which offers a better selection of gluten-free and healthy food options. I’ll buy what I need for the house and sometimes take food from there to New York.
If I want lunch, I’ll go to Jules Thin Crust pizza in Ardmore. I think someone in the family that runs Jules is gluten-free because I’ve hardly ever seen a place where gluten-free is not just an option but central to the operation. It’s fantastic, gourmet-type pizza that I can eat.
There’s also a place called Bakery House in Bryn Mawr that truly makes the best gluten-free pastries. They make a beautiful vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. If I buy it and serve it to people, no one has any idea it’s gluten-free.
1 p.m.
I don’t have a ton of recreation time in life, so I don’t have a lot of outdoor fun. But when I do it usually involves my motorcycle, a 1400cc Suzuki Intruder. I take it to a place called Cycle Stop in Norristown, where a mechanic named Mike fixes it up, and the owner, Steve, reminds me that I don’t ride enough to justify owning it.
During COVID, I would ride the bike out to Wings Field, a general aviation airport in Blue Bell. I’m a pilot, not a very notable one; in fact, I’d argue I’m pretty bad. Once, I accidentally flew into the restricted airspace over Trump National Bedminster and was intercepted by the Air National Guard.
But most of the time, I’m running errands and replacing light bulbs, or changing things around the house.
4 p.m.
I spend a lot of my free afternoons in Philadelphia visiting and hosting events at the city’s many wonderful civic organizations. I serve on the board of the National Constitution Center. I also work with the Poynter Foundation.
The Free Library is one of my favorite places. The concept of a public library came from Benjamin Franklin, who believed access to books should be free. I talk about banned books every Saturday on my show, so the library’s mission resonates deeply with me.
I’m also on the board of the Philadelphia Citizen, which holds an annual event called “Ideas We Should Steal.” It’s a full day at the Comcast Technology Center, where people share solutions that have worked in other cities. I usually moderate panel discussions about democracy and voting that feature people from across the political spectrum, which I’m proud to do.
And I love the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. It’s not a Holocaust museum; it’s about the American Jewish experience. I’ll be there on Dec. 11 interviewing author Eddie Fishman for his book Chokepoints.
7 p.m.
If the event is in Center City, my favorite place to go to dinner either before or after would be Zahav. Michael Solomonov is a great friend. We both think our jobs are to bring people together. I think he is more effective because he brings people together over food. Zahav is, in my opinion, the best restaurant in Philadelphia.
About one and a half times a year, I’ll have a cheesesteak. I love them, but I’m gluten-free, so I don’t do it often. My spot is Joe’s Steaks and Soda Shop in Fishtown. They have an amazing gluten-free bun — clearly baked locally — that’s better than any other I’ve tried.
10 p.m.
Philadelphia is where I do my best thinking, my best sleeping, and my best eating. It’s where I rest, reflect, and live. New York is for work. Philadelphia is for life.