To do this week: Plan your September.
And, have a roast pork sandwich.
On the to-do list this week: There’s a lot to choose from in the coming days. You can go to the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival, hit up the Fringe Festival, check out the Philly Honey Festival, go out to eat, or learn a little something at one of our great museums.
What’s on my personal to-do list: I’m going out to Silk City for brunch — their courtyard is one of my favorite places in the city.
We’ve collected our best Philly tips all in one place here. Stay healthy, stay safe, and get vaccinated.
September toolkit
The best sushi in Philly by Maddy Sweitzer-Lamme
2021 Oktoberfest guide to the Philly area by Jillian Wilson and Nick Vadala
Where to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in the Philly region by Jillian Wilson
How to help victims of Ida from Philly by Nick Vadala
Do you really need a COVID-19 booster shot? Experts disagree. by Marie McCullough
» Ask us a question through Curious Philly: Inquirer.com/askus
Do this
Here is one highlight from our weekly events calendar:
Philadelphia Honey Festival 🍯 (Seasonal / in-person / multiday / free) What better way to celebrate National Honey Month than with Philadelphia’s annual Honey Festival? Hosted at three historic venues, come out to learn more about our local honey bees, our honey supply, and urban beekeeping. This year’s selected venues include Bartram’s Garden, Glen Foerd, and the Wyck House. (Free, Sept. 10-12, various locations, phillyhoneyfest.com)
🔎 Find more of this week’s events, and we even have a kid-friendly events calendar, too.
Eat this
One specific Philly sandwich gets all the fanfare, but before there were cheesesteaks, roast pork was the standby sandwich in Italian South Philly. In the years since the sandwich’s creation, chefs have perfected the sandwich, which often comes drizzled with au jus, and topped with broccoli rabe and melty provolone. Drooling yet? Here’s where to get some of our favorite roast pork sandwiches:
John’s Roast Pork: One of the city’s best roast pork sandwiches remains the signature specialty and the namesake at John’s Roast Pork. The thin-sliced meat simmers in a pan of juice, and eats like a river of garlic and rosemary on a bun lined with provolone and spinach.📍14 Snyder Ave., 🌐 johnsroastpork.com, 📷 @johnsroastpork
Dolores’ 2Street: Nick Miglino named his shop after his late mother, Dolores Miglino, with the goal of replicating her roast pork. He tracked down the specific cut of pork she used to cook at home; the cut is a cushion, a large softball-shaped boneless meat cut from a picnic shoulder, that he slow-roasts with dried herbs, garlic, wine, and cherry peppers in vinegar, which lend a distinctively spicy tang. Each piece is hand-cut a little thicker than the paper-thin sheets pulled off an electric slicer, commonly seen elsewhere, which allows the intensity of the snappy green rabe, the molten provolone, and the charred spice of roasted long hot peppers to shine.📍1841 S. Second St., 🌐 facebook.com/Dolores2Street, 📷 @dolores2street
Porco’s Porchetteria: Philly knows pork sandwiches, but the Roman-style tenderness of the juicy, herb-scented meat from this Washington Avenue sandwich shop and bakery is already in the city’s pig elite, accented by the shattering crunch of a sheet of crackling tucked inside. Try it Philly-Cubano style with pickled giardiniera, Gruyère, and grain mustard aioli on a toasty house-baked ciabatta or in a more classic Philly style with rapini pesto and sharp provolone.📍2204 Washington Ave., 🌐 smallovenpastryshop.com, 📷 @porcosphilly
» READ MORE: The best roast pork sandwiches in Philly
Know this
There are many, many museums throughout Philadelphia. They range from established institutions that have been welcoming guests for generations to smaller, niche spaces that focus on a lesser-known aspect of history. We’ve assembled a list with some insider museum tips to help you out, even if you’ve lived here your whole life.
For your next museum visit, whether it’s the Academy of Natural Sciences or a historic home in Germantown, here are some insider tips from museum curators and staff:
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University: “The enormous meteorite on display in North American Hall is my favorite treasure. It is one of several pieces from the Canyon Diablo meteorite that plowed into the Arizona desert 50,000 years ago. The meteorite created the most famous and best-preserved meteorite crater in the world, the Barringer Crater. Meteorites in general are very valuable to collectors and can be worth their weight in gold at some auctions. Ours weighs 480 pounds.” —Jennifer Sontchi, Senior Director of Exhibits and Public Spaces, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
The Mütter Museum: Einstein’s brain remains the biggest draw among visitors. It’s only one of only two places in the world where you can see pieces of the German physicist’s vital organ. You can see sections, about 20 microns thick, and stained with cresyl violet, that have been preserved on glass slides.
Historic Germantown: Check out the grounds of the Wyck House, which has a 197-year-old rose garden that spans two-and-a-half-acres, and features 70 varieties of the beloved flower. Developed by architect William Strickland, it is the oldest rose garden in its original plan in America. The grounds also feature perennial flowers, fruit trees, and a herb and vegetable garden. There is also a carriage house, smokehouse, greenhouse, and ice-house that date back as early as the late 18th century.
» READ MORE: Our insider’s guide to 22 essential Philadelphia museums
Heading to the Fringe Festival?
Starting today, the Fringe Festival returns to venues and non-traditional performing arts spaces throughout the Philadelphia region. In total, the festival brings 170 shows, both virtual and in-person, to you. Shows include dance performances, outdoor pop-up plays in parks, opera, sit-down theater, and circus-centric displays. If you’re looking to take part in Philadelphia’s annual Fringe Festival, we have a guide to some of the best shows happening over the next month, according to local theater professionals.
They suggest opera performance Sun & Sea, outdoor dance performance Nanay, improv show No Diggity, trivia cabaret Gilligan Gigs Again, livestream Bon Appétit! By Julia Child and Lee Hoiby (During a Pandemic!)., interactive show at Taylor Arboretum Lovers and Madmen, dance theater show deprogram, and many, many more.
» READ MORE: These are the Fringe shows that Philly theater insiders are most excited about
Insta inspo
Summer’s over and September’s here. But don’t cry because it’s over, smile because Eastern State Penitentiary’s Halloween scare fest is back after a hiatus in 2020. This year’s event, Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary, is different from its regular Terror Behind the Walls. Instead, it combines all of that scary fun in two haunted houses, along with less-scary options like themed bars, live performances, a 3D fun house, and more. In other words, it’s bigger ... and you can go to an on-site bar after.
The event kicks off in a few weeks on Sept. 24 and runs on select days through Nov. 13.
Day trip resources
🍽️ Where to eat (and drink) in the Poconos
⛰️ The best things to do in the Poconos
🐄 Dairy farms, creameries, and cheesemakers worth a drive near Philly