Despite her Philly sounding surname, award winning author Deesha Philyaw is not a Philadelphian — yet.
Philyaw, whose first book The Secret Life of Church Ladies(West Virginia University Press) won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction and was a finalist in 2020 for the National Book Award for Fiction, is planning to move to the City of Brotherly Love next spring.
Over the years she’s spent a fair share of weekends in the city visiting restaurants, shopping haunts, and art museums. Philly friends keep her up on the latest happenings. She already has plans to connect with the women and nonbinary literary group The Claw when she moves to town. And she’s on the BlackStar Film Festival’s host committee for its forthcoming gala.
And Philadelphia, she noted, is extra special to her because it is home to the preeminent Black church, Mother Bethel AME.
There is a lot of history here.
The highly anticipated debut novel ‘The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman” by Deesha Philyaw was released Sept. 29. Philyaw appear at a book signing on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Center City Barnes & Nobles.HarperCollins/Mariner Books
Philyaw grew up in the Black church and respects its storied past. Still, she says she doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the dogma, patriarchy, and misogynoir.
That was as apparent in The Secret Life of Church Ladies as it is in her latest novel The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman(HarperCollins, Mariner Books). True Confessions centers on the extravagant life of Atlanta first ladyScharisse Freeman as she tries to fit in with other first ladies in the mega church world. Just as she’s starting to fit in with the catty group, a sex scandal erupts. Scharrise is treated like a pariah and readers are left wondering how such cruelty can be perpetuated in His name.
“The stories in Church Ladies and True Confessions are not a middle finger to the church or its true believers,” Philyaw said. “They do, however, point out where the institutions have failed and hurt Black people, particularly Black women and queer folks. I don’t feel like I need to protect the church. That has been the problem. In doing so, we look the other way, remain silent, and down play these things.”
Philyaw, a mom of two who is queer, lived in Pittsburgh for 25 years before moving to Oxford, Miss. where she served as the 2022-2023 John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi before settling in Miami. She’ll be in town on Monday for a talk at Barnes & Nobles and in between book signing and book pedaling, she’ll be taking in the scene of her next homebase.
This is her idea of a perfect Philly Day.
One of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast’s six overnight suites, The Blue Note, named after The Sound of Philadelphia’s most iconic group’s Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes.Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast
6:30 a.m.
I’m a woman of a certain age so I’m both an early bird and a night owl. On a wonderful morning, I’d wake up at Akwaaba, the West Philly bed-and-breakfast owned by Monique Greenwood. It’s so beautiful. I’d enjoy a lazy morning that would include having a breakfast of oatmeal without fruit. (Something about fruit and oatmeal irks me.) I’d also have some herbal tea and honey. I’m not a coffee girl.
Inside of the Barnes Foundation’s galleries. The Barnes Foundation
10 a.m.
I would check out one of the private collection tours at the Barnes. I really enjoy the art. They always have such great curated exhibitions like [Maori Karmael Holmes and James Claiborne’s] “Freedom Dreams.” On a perfect Philly day, that exhibit would still be open.
The oxtail cheesesteak from the Taste Cheesesteak Bar in Center City on Friday, June 14, 2024.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Noon
I’d have lunch at Logan Square’s Taste CheesesteakBar for the oxtail cheesesteak. Then maybe I’d visit the BlackStar film offices in the Bok Building, and definitely catch a movie if the festival was going on.
Interior of Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books.ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer
I still mask indoors so Sally in Rittenhouse Square is one of the few places where I can eat outdoors year round. My friend Tre Johnson took me there a few years ago when I was in town for the AWP Conference (the Association of Writers and Writing Programs). It was in March and they had heated seats. I’d start with the Japanese eggplant, move on to the fennel sausage pizza and I’d have to get that sangarita
The Philadelphia Parkway Central Library on Logan Square.
7:30 p.m.
I’d end the night at a talk and book signing at the Free Library of Philadelphia. These are great events for writers and readers. There is so much to pick from.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Deesha Philyaw will appear Monday, Oct. 5 for a reading, book signing and live recording of Barnes & Nobles Poured Over podcast hosted by Miwa Messer. The event starts at 6 p.m. Barnes & Nobles Philadelphia, 1708 Chestnut Street, at 6 p.m. Tickets include the cost of the book are $34.56. Ticket information here.
Zoe Tanner’s handiwork is immediately recognizable: Cloudlike cold foam puffs flecked with sprinkles that adorn the lattes at Loretta’s, the Society Hill cafe at the epicenter of Philly’s little treat boom.
Loretta’s sells about 200 specialty lattes on a busy day, Tanner estimates.
This September, Tanner spent hours in Loretta’s basement making bite-size uncrustables to top the coffee shop’s PB&J latte, which comes with Concord grape syrup and a peanut butter cold foam. In May, the drink du jour was a black-raspberry-maple concoction topped with a nutty tahini whip and sprinkles shaped like spring flowers. Next month, Tanner is whipping up a banana latte decorated with pretzel rod ghosts. Proceeds from each creation have gone to local charities such as ACCT Philly and the Eagles Autism Foundation.
“Say what you want about the girls that come in from Instagram, but they’re making a difference by buying a drink,” Tanner said. “That matters to me.”
Tanner, 31, serves as the operations director of all three of Bush and Morris’ businesses, splitting her days between training staff, managing inventory, and developing latte recipes. Barista-ing at Loretta’s, however, is the best part of her job.
“I love connecting with people,” said Tanner. “And coffee is so cool because it goes through so many processes to get into your cup, but everyone who touches it is really important, from the grower to the roaster to the barista.”
Zoe Tanner pipes marshmallow whip onto a speciality latte at Loretta’s, a coffee shop in Society Hill.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Tanner, who moved to Philly in 2015 from a small town in Maryland, fell into coffee by working at Starbucks while attending the University of Valley Forge. After, she worked her way up from being a barista at La Colombe’s Dilworth Park location to account manager for the local coffee chain, where she was responsible for convincing mom-and-pop shops to use the brand’s products. She started at Loretta’s when they opened.
The job fuels Tanner’s second career as a self-made musician who writes, records, and mixes all her music. This fall, Tanner will release her fifth album as Mommy Rockstar Bitch, the grunge persona that has helped Tanner find power in her role as the self-proclaimed “mom friend.”
Tanner said working at Loretta’s keeps her grounded like the novelist Charles Bukowski, who kept his job as a mailman during his early days as a writer. It’s also brought her unexpected fame.
Zoe Tanner plays guitar in the living room of her apartment in Olde Kensington.Rowan Ohara
“I was running in Fishtown the other day when a group stopped me and were like, ‘Can we take a picture with you? You’re the Loretta’s girl,’” Tanner said. “Never did I think coffee would be how I build my brand.”
So, how does Philly’s most famous barista spend a perfect day in the city? It involves sharing human food with her dog, running a half marathon, and mixing music from her home in Olde Kensington.
5 a.m.
I generally wake up at 5 a.m. with my dog Barrett — a 6-year-old German shorthaired pointer — barking at me to give him pets. I automatically smile; one of my biggest accomplishments in life is that he’s so well-behaved because GSPs are such a tough breed.
After a quick morning walk with Barrett, I’ll head to a 6 a.m. Heated Power Strength yoga class at Monarch Yoga in Kensington. I go without having any coffee, which is so unnatural for me, and then when I get out, I feel so awake and alive. The music is also so upbeat and fun for a strength class, but since it’s a yoga studio, [the instructor] still gives us a spiritual concept to focus on.
Tanner likes to share food with Barrett, her 6-year -old German shorthaired pointer. His favorites include banh mi from Ba Le and pizza from Pizzeria Beddia.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
7:30 a.m.
Next, I’ll grab Barrett for a long walk that’s mostly about him being the center of attention. People might say that I’m a bad dog mom for this, but I share my food with him.
I’m not even embarrassed by this because Barrett has good taste: When we go on long runs, we always stop at Ba Le Bakery in South Philly for a lemongrass and beef banh mi, and when we walk down Frankford Avenue, he will literally yank me across the street for Huda Burger. I even gave him a Pizzeria Beddia birthday party. I promise he’s a healthy dog.
Anyway, on our long walks we will either stop at Rival Brothers Coffeefor a short Americano and so Barrett can look out the window, or Càphê Roasters to split a fried chicken sandwich. It’s funny because I used to joke about never wanting to be a regular somewhere, but now I walk into these places and it feels like I’m talking to my siblings. It’s a beautiful way to start my morning.
The inside of Càphê Roasters in Kensington, where Tanner and her dog Barrett are regulars.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
10 a.m.
After also feeding Barrett real dog food, I head down to Loretta’s to clock in for a shift. On a perfect day, work involves barista-ing a little bit, doing latte research, and filming content for social media.
All of our specialty lattes involve a specialty syrup and cold foam, and they take about three iterations each to get right. I love it because I feel like I’m in a lab, trying to find the right balance of fun and sweetness without just serving people sugar just because it looks pretty … [Kelsey Bush] and I are both very anti-unicorn frappuccinos.
As director of operations at Loretta’s, Zoe Tanner says the best parts of her job include working on latte recipes and barisa-ing.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
At some point, I will stop for lunch. I’m in a protein era right now, so I like to order the Emma, which I equate to Loretta’s version of a chicken Caesar salad wrap. I also love our Rice Krispies Treats. They’re just perfectly done. Packaged Rice Krispies Treats are always so dry.
2 p.m.
It is officially time for me to go on a long run — 13.1 miles at minimum because I’m a distance diva.
My go-to route is river to river: I’ll run from my apartment to Penn Treaty Park, down to the Headhouse Shambles, across South Street to Schuylkill Park, up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and back.
While I’m running, I like to listen to a lot of my raw mixes to get a sense of what needs work, but if I’m trying to have a really blissful run, I’ll listen to Dean Blunt or Sade. If you run by the river and put on Sade, you’ll feel like the hottest person in the universe. Trust.
Tanner likes to run along the Schuylkill River, the Delaware River, and through Penn Treaty Park.TYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
I also like to think of my runs as quests. I will deliberately only bring my phone and headphones so I’m forced to stop for the things I need to keep going, like a snack or electrolytes. It’s fun because it helps me get to know the city better, even after more than a decade. … I think people get tired of Philly because they don’t chew down on it enough.
Running this way has also made me a public bathroom expert because peeing, of course, is always part of the quests. My hot tip: Never count out a Whole Foods.
6 p.m.
After my run, I like to get dinner and drinks with my friends.
Our go-to is Monk’s Cafe, which I recently learned might be haunted? I typically order the Thai curry mussels, a saison, and fries.
I know there’s a lot of discourse about Monk’s having the best fries, but I want to make clear that I do NOT play that game. Fries come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re all good. I would never body shame a fry. It’s like trying to say a basketball player is more athletic than a football player. How could you?
A pot of mussels in Thai curry broth at Monk’s Cafe.Craig LaBan
If we want to have a less chill night, my friends and I will go to Johnny Brenda’s— I had my first ever legal drink there, and they make a great steak. For a more chill night, we like to eat at Phở 75. I want my pho with dark meat chicken and all the fixings — jalapeños, bean sprouts, cilantro, sriracha, hoisin. Barrett, of course, will probably have a piece of the chicken.
9 p.m.
I like to end my day with music, either by practicing with my band or mixing my album, which reminds me a lot of coming up with drinks for Loretta’s since both start with me asking the same question: What can I do to make this thing pop?
Sound mixing is so similar to food and beverage because it’s very easy to sense when you’ve done too much and need to pull back. Things often taste and sound the best when they’re at their most natural.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Catie Gainor conceived the idea of a bookstore dedicated to cookbooks in a “fever dream” four years ago. Today, her 350-square-foot shop Binding Agents has become a destination for home cooks, chefs, and authors in the Italian Market neighborhood.
“I really envision myself being a stop on the path in the Italian Market — pick up things on your way up and down Ninth Street and step in to [Binding Agents] to grab a book, whether it’s a beach read or a cookbook to plan your holiday,” she previously told The Inquirer.
The shop has also become a community gathering space where Gainor hosts a monthly cookbook club and every guest brings a dish from a featured cookbook.
On her perfect Philly day, Gainor loves basking in the abundance of the Italian Market. She makes quintessential stops, often running into her customers along the way, and ending the day by cooking an omelet.
7 a.m.
I am not a morning person, but I have a 3 year old, so I usually start clawing my way out of sleep when she wakes up. This is a perfect day, so it’s a Saturday. My daughter is jumping into bed with me for a snuggle and a chat before my husband, Matt — an early riser— takes over the morning routine. I’ll remain horizontal and half awake until about 8 a.m.
8 a.m.
I get up, get dressed, and trundle down the stairs. My husband and daughter have wandered up the street to Mug Coffee & Clay, so I step out to meet them. I love their iced coffee — but since we’re sitting in, I get a cortado. Matt and my daughter have been bringing in pastries from Rougarou Baking on the weekends. [It’s] a gorgeous apricot tart [today]. By the time I sit down, my child is completely covered in croissant crumbs and asking me the names of clay-shaping tools I’ve never seen before — bliss.
9 a.m.
We head over to Gold Star Park to enjoy the perfect weather for a bit. Miraculously, I remembered to bring lawn chairs. So, my husband and I set them up and I pull out a book. I usually have multiple books going, one we carry in the shop and one (or two) we don’t. A recent in-store fave was What I Made for Dinner by former Philly resident Krys Malcolm Belc. Another summer release I loved was Rainbow Rowell’s Cherry Baby — not at all culinary, but I liked it so much that I stocked it in the shop anyway.
10:30 a.m.
Then, I’ll walk my family back home and head up to the store. I feel connected to the neighborhood — and the city, really — in a way I never did before. I say, ‘Hi’ to some local customers and market pals as I make my way up Ninth Street. It’s the best.
11 a.m.
I arrive at the shop and flip the shop sign — and I’m holding back from hollering, “Cookbooks! Cookbooks for sale!” like some kind of deranged Eliza Doolittle. Folks slowly wander in. I love seeing coffee cups from all over, giant bags of Isgro’s Pastries, and hearing reports about the lunch lines at Angelo’s and Mawn. On a perfect day, I’m flinging book recommendations left and right, and everyone’s kitchen problems or gift-giving conundrums are solved.
1 p.m.
My best friend Kate arrives to help for the afternoon after her morning class at Movement Source Pilates (which I also love). She brings me a lavender lemonade from Gleaners and a tofu banh mi from Pho Skyline. I eat my sandwich in the back and eavesdrop while she beautifies the shelves and chats with customers. Someone’s going home with a copy of Dinner Changing the Game by Melissa Clark.
3 p.m.
Later, I’m leaving Kate behind at the store so I can run up to Kin Boutique. Whenever I need a clothing item for any reason/occasion, that’s where I’m starting. It feels like entering Cheers, and I immediately have a Diet Coke in hand and 12 things to try in the dressing room. Everyone in the store celebrates my grand sartorial successes. I love them.
4 p.m.
Shopping took less time than I thought, so I text Matt and a bunch of friends that I’m assembling snacks for a Di Bruno Bros. Piazza happy hour. I gather all my favorite things from Biederman’s, Claudio’s, Di Bruno’s, and Tortilleria San Roman, thenraid Binding Agents for some cutlery, cups, and napkins. While I’m back at the shop, I grab an upcoming cookbook off the shelf of advance copies to take home — I’ll see if I can use it for meal planning next week.
5 p.m.
The shop closes and my crew descends on the Piazza. My kid gives me a full account of her day before becoming engrossed in the giant Connect 4. I pour Gulp Hablo Orange into cups. I am one with the universe.
7 p.m.
The party breaks up as my friends head off for evening plans about town. My family and I head to John’s Water Ice for a slouching-off-to-toddler-bedtime treat. Many years ago, Matt discovered the gelati combo of lemon water ice with raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. The ice cream has teeny tiny little chocolate cups with a dot of raspberry jam inside each one. It is transcendent, and that’s what I get.
8:30 p.m.
My daughter’s book selection is — unsurprisingly — very food focused. Lately Thank You, Omu [by Oge Mora] has been on repeat at bedtime. I love this one because I get to do lots of voices, and the lyrical repetition is so lovely.
Once she’s down, I’m not truly hungry but I am a little peckish — and I am realizing I haven’t cooked today. Turning on the stove sounds good. I grab a half loaf of Mighty Bread Co. sourdough from the counter, pull some vegetable odds-and-ends out of the fridge, and make a French-ish omelet. I am not good at rolling them but enjoy both the process and the eating, so I keep trying. I assemble plates — and Matt and I dig in.
The novelist Emma Copley Eisenberg is not supposed to write about her new South Philly neighborhood.
A longtime resident of West Philly, Eisenberg wove its eccentricities and institutions into two books of fiction: the 2024 queer road trip novel Housemates, and the newly released Fat Swim, an interconnected short story collection featuring, among other local allusions, a pool inspired by the one at West Philly’s Kingsessing Rec Center.
Then about a year ago, Eisenberg and her partner, Art Phung, moved together across the river. Phung suggested that maybe Eisenberg could avoid writing about their new environs, so they wouldn’t have to move again. (Eisenberg made no promises.)
On her perfect Philly day, Eisenberg treks between fresh and familiar haunts, floats in the city pool immortalized in Fat Swim, and browses at least three bookstores.
8 a.m.
In a perfect world, I wake up at 8, and I go to Café y Chocolate, a wonderful Mexican brunch and breakfast spot in our new neighborhood. I read my book for a little bit until meeting a friend. The mocha they make is pretty life-changing. When my mom was in the hospital, she was like, “All I want is café con chocolate from there.”
I like to look at all the dogs. I don’t have a dog, my partner says I’m not responsible enough. So I force a friend who has a dog to bring their dog to the park to meet me. I like to run into people and hear the queer gossip of the day — who went out last night, what’s going on.
A lot of my friends have kids now, so it’s usually a good excuse to see some of their kids and hear about theirgossip at school.
Noon
At the Kingsessing pool, I like to just kind of flop around and float. I can’t ease my way into the pool, I have to jump all the way in. I’m not a particularly good swimmer per se, but it makes me happy. After doing the pool, I always feel 10% less dead inside.
Walking from Old City back to South, I stop at Head House Books. It’s kind of magical: whatever the book is that I want, they always have it. They have good book clubs, they’re supportive of local authors, they do a lot of events.
Head House has a really good children’s section. I usually try to buy a couple of board books because they’re good for little kids and they’re cheaper. I also have a soft spot for the classic things that I read when I was a kid, like The Baby-Sitters Club and Nancy Drew. I buy a couple of kids’ books and put them in little free libraries because I find that joyful.
I also cut over to Giovanni’s Room, because they have all those $1 paperbacks out. I’ll browse around to see if they have anything that’s cheap that I want to buy for my library or for one that I pass on the way home. I might wind through a few little free libraries. I could hit the one at the Singing Fountain on East Passyunk, and say hi to Little Yenta Books.
6:30 p.m.
My partner and I go to Cafe Nhan at least once a week. I love their vermicelli bowl with grilled pork, and fried spring rolls. They have an amazing limeade too. If you follow Cafe Nhan on Instagram, they often show what broths and soups they have going that day, so you can get excited.
Eisenberg poses with a billboard along Interstate 95 promoting the release of “Fat Swim.” Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
8 p.m.
I used to be partial to Fred’s on 54th and Chester. I put Fred’s in Fat Swim. However, I will say that at Chuck’s Water Ice [on Snyder], the texture is incredible. It’s very fluffy. The flavors they have are really special — tangerine, blood orange. I like to get a gelati of tangerine and vanilla custard. I eat it as I walk home.
8:15 p.m.
If I’m feeling like I want a little nightcap, I go to Brewery ARS.They have good beer and it’s kind of a hole-in-the-wall, but not in a sports way. More in a “we might have a weird musician” way. They probably wouldn’t have the game on, but they would have a Sun Ra music video on.
10 p.m.
I watch a comfort episode of television or read a book. Right now I’m doing a rewatch of Girls, like everybody else. I get into bed at 10 and go to sleep by 11, if I’m honest.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Philadelphia historian, author, and educator Michelle Craig McDonald knows her coffee. Especially the revolutionary kind.
McDonald, who serves as an academic adviser for PBS’s series Drive By History, is the author of the new book, Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States.
Philly historian and educator Michelle Craig McDonald enjoys reading in Rittenhouse Square Park. She is the author of “Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States.” Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Telling the story of America and coffee, McDonald traces the bean’s beginnings from slavery-based plantations of the Caribbean and South America in the early 1700s through its prominence in Colonial life to the rebranding of the exotic good as an American staple. McDonald details the emergence of coffee shops, like the Old London Coffee House at Front and Market Streets, as critical Revolutionary-era hubs for politics and business.
“Within 50 years of our independence, the United States becomes one of the largest suppliers of coffee to the world — but we can never grow it,” said McDonald. So in this moment, when we think about independence, coffee really reminds us that the United States remains deeply tied and deeply embedded with the economies of the region. It was not just a self-sustaining nation that looked inward.”
Given the nature of her research, it’s no surprise that McDonald’s Perfect Philly Day revolves around food and drink. McDonald, a Southern California native who lives in Rittenhouse Square with her husband and fellow historian, Roderick A. McDonald, said her perfect day includes lots of coffee and cooking, a great Philly workout, and reading crime novels in Rittenhouse Square.
6:30 a.m.
My coffee pot is my first spot. I’m going to need fortification if I’m going to tackle the day’s news. I just go with the tried and true Colombian roast from Trader Joe’s.
When we are down the Shore, my favorite comes from Remedee Coffee, started by two sisters who source their beans from Colombia. It’s a great small business.
On a perfect day, this is when we do our New York Times games — like Connections or Wordle — which we do together. My sister says it’s cheating. I like to say it’s “collaborating.”
8:30 a.m.
I love cooking of all kinds, but baking is my first love. My go-to on a perfect day is a batch of scones. I have a recipe that I got online from a website called Love and Lemons. It’s a base recipe. You can make anything you want. Cranberry, orange walnut, apricot, ginger almond, or my brother-in-law’s favorite, which I know because he buys the ingredients every time I visit, blueberry lemon.
I used to head over to Metropolitan Bakery on 19th Street, which I am still mourning the loss of.
I loved their Millet Muffins and raisin walnut bread. My freezer is stuffed with both because I bought as many as I could before they closed. And I’m slowly rationing them so I don’t lose them quickly.
9:30 a.m.
We have a solid division of labor in the household. I do the cooking. But my husband does the shopping. While the scones are in the oven, he may well be on his way down to the Italian Market on his vintage 1962 Schwinn bicycle — expertly serviced by Curtis at Via Bicycle on Broad Street. He’s a fan favorite!
My husband is the provisioner of the house. I get to take what he brings back from the list — and sometimes not from the list. It feels like my own personal version of Chopped. He comes home with five ingredients and says, “What can you do with this?’”
10 a.m.
I’m hitting the gym. I do love eating, which means I need to pay the piper. I go to Pure Barrein Center City. It’s wonderful. It’s a class — a core-based workout that does weightlifting, planks, pushups. An hour there, any day I can get it, gives me enough brownie points for the rest of the day’s culinary adventures.
If the weather is nice, we might substitute a bike ride down the Schuylkill River Trail. Manayunk is a great destination.
Noon
That’s when Small World Seafood is in the area with deliveries. It’s an Old City business that was born out of necessity. The owner provided fresh seafood to restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then he began an online business selling directly to customers. You can get anything — halibut, skate steaks, steelhead trout, oysters, clams — for a lazy cooking night.
Michelle Craig McDonald’s perfect Philly day includes lots of coffee and cooking, a great Philly workout, and reading crime fiction in Rittenhouse Square.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
1 p.m.
I’ve got the fish and I’m marinating it for dinner. Steelhead trout is one of my favorites, so super easy, a little bit of soy, a little bit of orange, a little bit of brown sugar, a little bit of maple, and garlic.
2 p.m.
On a perfect day, when I can while my time away, you will find me reading in Rittenhouse Square. I have an abiding passion for crime fiction. Ann Cleeves. Donna Leon.
And if it’s not great weather, you could still find me reading, but probably in one of any of a dozen coffee shops that are within walking distance of my house.
There was a great article that just ran recently in The Inquirer about the rise of Yemeni coffee shops in the city, such as Moka & Co.
3 p.m.
This is where it’s going to get busy. I would be remiss if I didn’t bring a little history and culture into this day. The American Philosophical Society has a wonderful project called “The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding.” It’s a partnership where five Philadelphia historical institutions — the APS, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Kislak Center at Penn Libraries, and the Museum of the American Revolution — came together to plan for 2026, and all their exhibits build on each other. Now I know that’s a long afternoon. Readers can pick and choose and see the others on their second favorite perfect Philly day [laughter].
6 p.m.
My husband and I cook together. If it’s Saturday, the compulsory listen is “The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn.” Cooking is my way to unwind and my husband is an excellent sous chef.
8 p.m.
We tend to have a leisurely meal with a glass of wine or two, and review the day’s exploits. An episode of television in the evening is a good escape. We are huge PBS fans. We love British crime dramas. We are huge fans of Shetland, a Scottish crime drama, and Vera, an old British crime drama with a curmudgeonly police detective.
10 p.m.
I am not a night owl. But I will confess to a wee dram of bourbon most evenings. Then, a little more light reading. And it’s time for lights out.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
South Philly-raised director and actor Amina Robinson is one of the region’s most celebrated theater makers, known for directing major productions including Fat Ham, Once on This Island, and The Color Purple. Now based in Cherry Hill with her husband and son, Robinson was just named the new artistic director of Norristown’s Theatre Horizon, where she’ll take the helm later this year.
When she’s not directing plays and musicals like this spring’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, the Temple University professor spends her days walking around Philadelphia and visiting family in West Philly. On her perfect Philly day, she takes her family for cheesesteaks at Jim’s before walking around the Schuylkill and, of course, catching a show at her soon-to-be artistic home, Theatre Horizon.
8 a.m.
I get up and I wake up my son and my husband. We decide to get ready and go to Philly for breakfast. We’re gonna go to Eggcellent Cafe on Chestnut Street and I’m gonna eat their truffle avocado toast — it’s so big and good. I’m gonna have their golden turmeric latte, too.
Families and friends gather from all over to watch the firework show over the Delaware River on New Years Eve at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
10:30 a.m.
We’ll walk breakfast off by taking a nice little walk down Penn’s Landing, right along the water.
11 a.m.
After that, we’ll go visit my mom in Overbrook Park. I would bring her decaffeinated Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, that’s a must. Then we’ll sit and talk with my mom for a little bit. I would see my brother and my stepdad, and probably my nephew, and maybe my brother’s girlfriend would be there, but I really would be going to visit my mommy.
Ken Silver, owner of Jim’s Steaks, corner of 4th and South Street with sign on front of building.The restaurant is under construction after 2022 fire destroyed the cheesesteak restaurant. Photo taken on Monday, March 25, 2024.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
1 p.m.
For lunchtime I want to go down to Jim’s on South Street and get a cheesesteak with whiz and fried onions. I probably need to walk off my cheesesteak, but I’m not going to walk off my cheesesteak. I’m going to let it just sit in my belly for a while.
3 p.m.
Then we’ll go out to the Art Museum area and chill out and walk around. Maybe we’ll have ice cream, there are usually ice cream trucks out there. I love walking around that area so much — I’ve always loved West River Drive and Kelly Drive. When I was a kid, I didn’t know that Boathouse Row was like boathouses, even though it’s called that — I used to always say, when I grew up, I’m gonna live in one of those houses.
Boathouse Row is relit with a new programmable system containing 6,400 LED lights that allow for 16 million color combinations in Philadelphia, Pa. on Thursday, March 7, 2024.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
5:30 p.m.
At night, I’m gonna go to Norristown. There’s this Mexican restaurant on Main Street that’s so freaking good, Taqueria La Michoacana. I would definitely have their beans and rice, and tacos, and I don’t know what else.
7:30 p.m.
I would go see a show at Theatre Horizon. They want to foster empathy and edify the people who come to see the theater. As the incoming artistic director, I’d love to start programs like that to grow the artistic community there, all the while supporting the community that’s already been built there.
New artistic director Amina Robinson at an event for Theatre Horizon’s 2018 production of ‘The Color Purple.’Courtesy of Theatre Horizon
10 p.m.
I’d head home to sit outside and watch the cars go by, just like chill out and relax. Then I’ll lay on the couch and fall asleep watching a television show, probably a Lifetime Movie Network movie.
For Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, city life is like a large quilt.
The fabric of Philadelphia, she said, is pieced together by the people and communities that make up the region, and public art is the thread that best illuminates its beauty.
Every time Golden steps outside her home in Spring Garden, she’s reminded of its impact and grandeur. “I pay attention to all the stories our city has to tell, and the way art can help us see each other differently,” she said.
Jane Golden, Mural Arts Philadelphia, speaks at the Bells Across PA event in celebration of America’s 250th Birthday in Philadelphia, Pa., on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Next month, Golden will be moving into less familiar terrain.
After 30 years building Mural Arts into an international arts organization, the Fairmount resident is stepping down as executive director. The search for her successor is already underway.
For now, Golden is focused on rolling out Mural Arts’ Semiquincentennial plans, and is still carving out time to hunt for new walls in need of a makeover.
“I can’t help myself,” she joked.
In a perfect Philly day, Golden visits iconic murals, grabs dinner in Chinatown, and checks out new exhibitions sprawled throughout the city.
Jane Golden, Executive Director for Mural Arts Philadelphia, speaks at the announcement for the 52 Weeks of Firsts at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
6 a.m.
I’m always an early riser, so I wake up at 5 a.m. and walk my dog, Cleo.
Sometimes I sleep until 7 a.m., but that’s a luxury. My cat Bella is one of the reasons I get up so early. She will take her paw, and go up and down on the blinds in my bedroom to get me up, or purr really loudly by my head. That’s better than an alarm.
8 a.m.
I walk from my place to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I like to push myself, so I walk up the Rocky Steps and around the museum because I think it’s really pretty. Then I come back down by the Rodin Museum, and then we go to Twisted Grounds for coffee and a pastry because I have a sweet tooth.
If me and my husband Tony are really feeling energetic, we walk up to Lemon Hill.
10 a.m.
Tony and I go to Bartram’s Garden and walk around. I go to where FloatLab is at 56th Street, and if anybody is standing around, I tell them it’s there. And if we are energized, we will kayak. I’m always a little bit like the caboose, but he’s a good kayaker.
Jane Golden, artistic director of the Anti-Graffiti Network, works on a four-story mural with the help of Haisonn Shadding high above the Schuylkill Expressway near the zoo exit. Photo from March 25, 1994Andrea Mihalik
Noon
For lunch, I go to Frieda in Old City. I like Frieda because there are artists’ events there, and there’s always really interesting art on display. It’s good food, but also a delightful environment.
1:30 p.m.
Then I walk through Old City because wherever I am, I always like to check out great walls, murals, or murals in process.
At around 3 p.m., I’m going to Fishtown. There’s a new mural I have to see by Miriam Singer on the side of Mural City Cellars. They are great partners of Mural Arts. Then I’m going to walk over to 25 Oxford St. to see the new Matthew Henning mural because that’s fantastic. It’s joyful and captures the spirit of Fishtown.
Then I go to Cake Life Bake Shop. It has delicious sweets, and then I’m going to look at the mural there that’s a tribute to the trans community called We Are Universal by Kah Yangni.
3:30 p.m.
Next, I’m going back to PMA to see Paul Farber’s “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” exhibition. I will zip through it because I’ve seen it a few times, but I want to see it a few more times before it goes away.
Then I’ll go to the painting created by the artists at the State Correctional Institution – Phoenix. There used to be a three-story mural of Bernard Hopkins at SCI Graterford. But after SCI Graterford closed, we weren’t able to recreate it at SCI Phoenix because it’s a very different prison. So, we had the men recreate it, and now it’s on display at PMA with all their names listed, which is great. I look at that and get really inspired.
4 p.m.
I walk down the Parkway, and walk around the Swann Memorial Fountain. It’s just lovely. Then, I’ll slow up to look at the wall of the Sheraton, where we’re going to have a mural there soon. It’s a good wall.
Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, takes the stage during the dedication of the Super Bowl LIX mural at Spike’s Trophies on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 in Philadelphia. The mural is an addition to the existing City of Champions mural series by David McShane.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
I always cheer people on who give work and opportunity to artists, and she commissioned like 100 artists to do work at [Ministry of Awe]. I just love the fact that I’ve seen her career grow and thrive, and now she’s running an institution.
8:30 p.m.
Oh, and because I still like sweets, I’m going over to Franklin Fountain for ice cream.
9 p.m.
At around 9 p.m., I’ll go home to watch British mystery movies and series like Karen Pirie and Broadchurch with my husband.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
For Angela Val, experiencing the charms of Philadelphia is far more than just a personal pastime. It’s part of her job.
President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, the nonprofit that serves as the city’s official leisure-tourism marketing agency, it falls to Val to sell the city’s many allures to the wider world. Especially this year, as Philadelphia prepares to ascend the global stage for America’s 250th anniversary.
“It’s exciting for it to be here,” said Val, who has led Visit Philadelphia since 2022, after a prior 17-year stint at the agency, when she worked her way from a receptionist to vice president. “I have been preparing for this year with lots of different people, and to see it come to fruition — to be in the implementation stage — is really thrilling.”
Angela Val, president and CEO of Visit PhiladelphiaRachel Rosenstein
A native of Rockville, Md., Val fell in love with Philly’s rising potential after earning a degree in hospitality management from Drexel University in 1994.
Starting out working hotel front desk and catering jobs, Val first joined Visit Philadelphia in 1998, amid Center City’s long awaited renaissance.
“I just felt like I was going to be part of a city that’s going to have a great deal of growth over the next 10 years,” she said.
Now, Val helps spearhead that growth.
For the 250th, Visit Philadelphia has rolled out a series of marketing campaigns and events, including TED Democracy, a daylong symposium of broadcast TED talks exploring modern day democracy scheduled for June 13 at the Kimmel Center.
Val, who lives in Point Breeze with her husband, and her dogs, Dash and Bailey, who are Mi-Kis, said her perfect Philly day would include a rooftop sunset, a killer workout, sweets before dinner, lots of great Philly food, and some late-night hanging with neighbors.
7 a.m.
We always start off with my dogs. We have two puppies. They’re about a year old. I take them to the deck to run around very early in the morning. We have a skyline view. We took all of our COVID refund and renovated the deck. I do like to sit on the deck with a cup of tea. The Random Tea Room sells a great loose mint tea that I love.
I usually go back to bed. I am not a morning person. I am somebody who likes to hit the snooze button. So I’ll do that — just chill out in bed a little bit longer and catch the news.
Angela Val, President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, Speaks to guests and press about the announcement of TED Talks focus on democracy leading up to 2026 in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, May, 21, 2024.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
9 a.m.
I usually head to the gym. I have a trainer. I belong to the Bellevue Sporting Club. I am all about strength training these days. As you get older, the doctor recommends less cardio, more strength. I had never really lifted weights before. Thus, I got a trainer, and I have to say, I do love it. Emily’s fantastic. I usually try to get that in two or three times a week, if possible. It always makes me feel better.
11 a.m.
I get a good walk there and a good walk back. I’m pretty ravenous afterward. Joe and I will usually meet up at Enswell. It’s just so pretty in there. They have this awesome egg sandwich — it’s so buttery and delicious. If that’s not available, I get the omelet, which is also delicious. Always with a side salad..
1 p.m.
In the afternoon, we just pick an activity to do. I love to walk so we usually walk some place — go see some exhibit or gallery. If this is a day in 2026, I’m going to want to check out “The Declaration’s Journey” at the Museum of the American Revolution. They have rare copies of the Declaration of Independence but also an advanced copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I have a dream.” And the bench on which he wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
And [I’d go to] Calder Gardens. It’s small, but so different for Philly. It’s so modern and beautiful.
4 p.m.
[Then I’m] headed to the Bread Room — from High Street Hospitality and Ellen Yin — to get a couple sweet treats. And I would love to be able to take one of the baking classes there. They have this scone with orange blossom frosting. It is delicious. They also have a chocolate chip cookie that has a little bit of sea salt on the top, which I also think is delicious. And it’s a big boy, so you can share it, and not have to eat the whole thing, like I do.
6 p.m.
We would honestly come home and take a nap and play with the dogs. But we would definitely go back out.
8 p.m.
We do eat out a lot. It’s just the two of us. We would go to Sao. That is one of the places that I would love to try. We’ve been to Mawn many times and it’s delicious. But we heard Sao was really great too. Fresh seafood. I am a seafood lover. I don’t eat meat regularly. For me to find a great seafood place, especially one that’s close by, I’m in.
We go to Alice a lot. I like their artichoke salad there. We like to sit at the bar there at the very end. Also American Sardine Bar, which is right down the street from our house. I eat so often downtown during the week because of work. So I try really hard on the weekends to hit neighborhood spots. I don’t eat sardines. But what I wish they would bring back is their fried bologna sandwich. I will tell you that at two o’clock in the morning, if you’ve had a few drinks, it’s delicious. Always a cocktail. I’m old school. I’m always going to love the Cosmo (very light pink, not too sweet). But I was also was recently introduced to the Paper Plane. It seems just like a Cosmopolitan, but it has a whiskey base. It’s not too sweet.
11 p.m.
A perfect end is actually going next door to see our neighbors. We’re very good friends. And they have a beautiful patio with a pergola up top, so we’d just hang around with them around the firepit and listen to records. The soundtrack is probably Leon Bridges. That’s a perfect night.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
In the 25 years since Jennifer Weiner’s first book Good in Bed debuted, much has changed.
Considered the first chick lit novel centering women with imperfect bodies — basically all of us — Good in Bed is a fictional story about Connie Shapiro, a plus-size Philadelphia journalist, coming to terms with her body image.
Good in Bed spent almost a year onthe New York Times Best Seller list and was part of the early aughts’ pop-culture body positivity arsenal that gave curvy girls the courage to demand to be seen on the red carpet and in shopping haunts.
Cover of Jennifer Weiner’s first book “Good in Bed.”Simon & Schuster Books
Then came Ozempic and the rash of weight loss drugs.
“It’s kind of inevitable there would be a pendulum swing back,” Weiner said. “It’s always one step forward, two steps back. But I’m glad I wrote that first book and have written many books since that give women a chance to see themselves.”
Weiner, who was single when she wrote Good in Bed,has gone through her fair share of life changes.She married, had two daughters — Lucy and Phoebe — and divorced, married again, this time to her “second and final husband.”
Lucy graduated from college. Phoebe is on her way to college.
Weiner, who grew up in Connecticut and moved to Philadelphia in 1994 for a job at The Inquirer, has written 20 adult novels, a collection of essays, and three novels for middle grade students.
Jennifer Weiner’s “The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits” was optioned by Universal Pictures in 2026. Amy Sherman-Palladino will write and direct.HarperCollins
Her second novel, In Her Shoes, was turned into a 2005 movie starring Cameron Diaz. Earlier this year, Universal Pictures optioned the rights to develop her 2025 book TheGriffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits. Amy Sherman-Palladino will write and direct.
The Queen Village resident has gone from telling stories about 20-something Gen X women seeking relationships and falling in love with their authentic selves, to telling stories about 50-something Gen X women seeking relationships and falling in love with their authentic selves.
“I feel really, really lucky that I’ve gotten to do this for this long,” Weiner said on a recent video call. She was sitting at her desk, sipping iced coffee from a mason jar that her Instagram feed influenced her to buy.
“My readers stayed with me, I’ve picked up new readers. I feel really fortunate the characters I created along the way, and the questions I have asked them, have resonated.”
Here is Weiner’s idea of a perfect Philly day.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
8 a.m.
I wake up. My husband and I do [the New York Times’] Wordle, Connections, and the Spelling Bee together. We usually win, but when we don’t, we know it’s going to be a bad day.
We take our dog Levon, third in our series of terriers, out for a walk at Mario Lanza Park in our Queen Village neighborhood.
Mario Lanza Park, in a photo from October 2022.Michelle Myers
Now, I would go to Fiore Fine Foods in Queen Village. Because it’s my perfect Philly Day, they have not moved [to Kensington] from our neighborhood. I’d order an iced coffee and theSaltie, a breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs and ricotta cheese. It’s just the perfect breakfast sandwich.
10 a.m.
Next, I’m going to get some exercise. You know I’m a middle-aged woman. I try to sweat every day because it’s helpful when you are sitting at a desk all of the time. I lift weights atG-Strength. It’s funny, the same women who were doing step aerobics in the 1990s and aughts, and transitioned to yoga and Pilates, are now lifting weights. It’s like we all read the same health articles.
Joggers and walkers move along the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk on March 8.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
And because I have so much energy, I’d then ride with the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia. Since it’s a perfect day, the weather is great, there aren’t any cars parked in the bike lane, and people go around me without honking. I’d make my way up 26th Street, along the Schuylkill Banks,and meet at the Philadelphia Museum of Art or Cosmic Cafe and ride through Manayunk up to Narberth. We’d stop at GET Caféand Little Blue Owl Baking Company. The joke at the bike club is we are riding for coffee and a croissant.
Jennifer Weiner with her bike in Rock Creek Park in August 2023. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
2 p.m.
When I get home, my daughter Phoebe would be there and we’d go to Forîn Cafe on South Street for a matcha. That’s my daughter’s thing, she loves matcha.
We love thrifting, so we might wander over to ACE Coffee Outpost, a vintage clothing shop and cafe, and B-Bop, a shop that sells plus-size clothes. There is a chance I’ll go to Merrygold Shop and Wall Flower Paper & Party where they have cute baby things, presents, and beautiful cards.
Philadelphia author Jennifer Weiner at her home in Queen Village on April 27. Going on the 25th anniversary of her book “Good in Bed,” Weiner is seen here with her daughter Phoebe Bonin, 18.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
3:30 p.m.
Then I’ll take a shower and a nap. And I’ll write till about 6.
6 p.m.
Because it’s the perfect Philly day, I have the opportunity to bend the rules of time and space. So, now it’s 10 a.m. again and my husband and I are walking to places that would still be open at this time of day like the Mighty Bread Companyor Machine Shop Boulangerie in the Bok. Then we’d walk to Superétteon Passyunk.
Now since I’m on Passyunk, I’d fast forward to evening and have dinner at Juana Tamale. My favorite is the birria quesadilla.
Juana Tamale, 1941 E. Passyunk Ave., on May 18, 2023.Michael Klein / Staff
8 p.m.
I’d end my perfect Philly day with a reading at a local bookstore, like Head House Books to support Philadelphia authors like Emma Copley Eisenberg, who might be reading from her new book, Fat Swim. I went to see the billboard the first day it was up. I work with her at Blue Stoop.
It’s important I end my Philly day trying to help the next generation of writers.
Emma Copley Eisenberg’s billboard touting the website that announces her newest collection of short stories, “Fat Swim.” The billboard is visible from I-95 right before you get to the Girard Avenue exit.Elizabeth Wellington
Weiner is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut novel “Good in Bed” all year. She is currently working on her next novel.
