American Sardine Bar Is Celebrating Its 4th Anniversary

American Sardine Bar in Point Breeze is celebrating 4 years.

Remember way back when (say, five years ago) when long-time residents of Point Breeze tried to stop real estate developer John Longacre from turning the former Wander Inn into a craft beer bar? Their fears of gentrification delayed the opening of American Sardine Bar by at least a year.

But open it did, and fans of Longacre’s landmark South Philly Tap Room a few blocks away now had another place to drink high-end beer from cans and curb their munchies with fried PB&J sandwiches. Things haven’t gotten much easier for Longacre–what with community members trying to shut down his Point Breeze Beer Garden this summer–but at least the Sardine Bar still stands, four years after opening.

And so tomorrow, starting at noon, Sardine staff and friends will celebrate the bar’s anniversary (and its tenacity) with a party. The kitchen will whip up a fanciful menu and guests will play games, compete for prizes and tipple a spectacular draft list.

Notice the PBC Kenzinger at the bottom – an easy-to-obtain local flagship that we can only presume is being kept on amidst the headliners as a gesture of friendship for the brewers who named one of their first beers “Newbold” after the new name Longacre gave to the SPTR neighborhood with good intentions yet over the objection of some residents.

Call it what you will, Newbold, Point Breeze and much of South Philly have become commercial and residential magnets for Longacre’s clientele and their friends, and PBC engenders that modern street cred, as do Longacre’s cluster of three establishments (the Brew bottle shop moved in nearby).

Certainly playing into the fears of his critics, Longacre told Craig LaBan in 2012, “I have no idea why hipsters like going into bad neighborhoods and obscure locations, but I’m glad they come. … I know I feel safe here. Plus, I’m more of a danger to myself.”

Source: PhillyMag

 

Miss Rachel’s Pantry featured on CBS3

“It is a bakery that invites to you make yourself at home around their farmhouse table. And it’s not the kind of eatery you’d expect to find in South Philly. What make this place so special?” Vittoria Woodill from Taste With Tori on CBS 3 reports.

Besides the delicious food and the ingredients that go into the dishes, this place offers people a once-a-week unique dining experience. Get ready to make a reservation.

Walking into Miss Rachel’s Pantry is like walking into your mom’s kitchen back in the ’50’s – that apron; those glasses; that refrigerator.

On the table warm sticky buns or maybe french chocolate brownies. Rachel Klein, owner of Miss Rachel’s Pantry is fussing to make everything perfect and everything vegan. No dairy, eggs or meat.

Style spread made from soy beans. How about a dip in the pub cheese?

“We take the cashews and grind them up and get to sleepover night with probiotics until they get nice and tart. Then it’s ground up with sun-dried tomatoes, smoked paprika,” Klein says.

Miss Rachel’s Pantry sells soups, sandwiches and sweets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But on one of those days, something special happens here.

Continue reading at philadelphia.cbslocal.com.

Neighborhood News: Buckminster’s now open in Point Breeze

The former location of Burg’s Lounge at 21st and Federal has seen a huge transformation in the past year.

The once dated corner property is now home to an affordable neo-bistro by the name of Buckminster’s. This new restaurant from the owners of Cafe Lift, Kensington Quarters and Bufad opened on November 15.

Owner Michael Pasquarello thought of Buckminster Fuller, the 1950′s architect, as he was searching for light fixtures for this new restaurant. At the time, the restaurant had no concept or name. The idea of Fuller then helped shape the vision for the restaurant based on his values of sustainability, form and function. While the restaurant isn’t a full-on homage to Fuller, Pasquarello says, it is inspired by him in various ways.

Continue reading and view more photos at PassyunkPost.com.

reNewbold Resident Alison K. shares her story

Alison was one of the first people to move into reNewbold. We asked her about the experience.

How did you first become aware of reNewbold and what attracted you to the property?
I have been going to the South Philadelphia Tap Room for about 10 years and became friendly with John Longacre. When I decided that I wanted to move out of my house, he was one of the first calls I made. I knew that reNewbold was in process and with how John had been talking about it, I knew it was something special.

Did you live in South Philly before coming to reNewbold?
Yes, I lived in EPX before coming to reNewbold.

In regards to local amenities, which do you most frequent and support?
I work at home, so most of my day is spent in South Philly. There have been some amazing restaurants on Passyunk Avenue and there seems to be a new amazing happy hour every day. I am a big fan of shopping locally so I also frequent the craft and gift stores.

What would you say to someone who was on the fence about moving into a reNewbold property?
I would say that when I bought my first house on the other side of Broad, I had terrible buyer’s remorse. I worried I made the wrong decision and that I spent a lot of money and didn’t know what I was getting. With reNewbold, I haven’t felt that way once. I trust John and the team and I know they will do everything they can to make sure this is the best house I could have possibly purchased.