January 31, 2008 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of Two |
Local LifeHe’s retiring from Super Bowl viewing
On Super Bowl Sunday, American males will gather to bathe in beer, grovel in guacamole and worship at the wide-screen altar of alleged superness. Hundreds of millions of people will be watching worldwide, as America once again proves that it is the undisputed king of extravagance, violent competition and crass commercialism. As sexy as all that is, it would be even better if the game itself were actually exciting. In reality, football is really a very slow sport. Take away all the shots of zany, costumed fans, bouncy cheerleaders and glitzy graphics (“First-half red zone incursions by left nicklebacks with Attention Deficit Disorder: None”), and what have you got? Line up, wait, hike, wait, all fall down, wait, repeat. Once every nine times through this sequence, something actually happens: “Wow! He picked up a yard on that play, but wait, there’s a flag on the field. The officials are going into the playback teepee to watch films of the game. We’ll be back after these 12 commercials.”
Lafayette Hiller the next Stephen Starr?
Watch out, Stephen Starr, four young Philly guys are gaining on you. While Stephen Starr is the undisputed king of independent, upscale restaurants in Philadelphia with showcases like Morimoto, Barclay Prime, Striped Bass and Buddakan, and nobody outside the restaurant business has ever heard of Gary Cardi, Brian Harrington, Frank Falesto and Chris Coco, this quartet of local thirtysomething entrepreneurs is definitely moving up quickly along the rail. While their business, P.H. Investments, does not have a very romantic name, banks supplying millions in loans must be finding them pretty sexy. While others may have been offering season’s greetings, they have been offering season’s eatings, and there have been lots of takers. Early in 2005 the quartet opened Public House in the former home of Dock Street Brewery at 1801 Arch St. in Logan Square. It offers a new modern-meets-traditional decor and an American comfort food menu to appeal to all ages and tastes. I hear that at Happy Hour, their 77-foot-long granite bar is a real meat market (or you might say “meet market”). It is said that money talks, but if all yours is saying is “goodbye,” then perhaps you should try their enormous salads, which are a meal in themselves for about $8.
Hare shines in play about sexual relationships at Mt. Airy theater
Allens Lane Theater in West Mt. Airy invites you to “explore your voyeuristic side” with The Blue Room by David Hare. The play involves a chain of 10 sexual relations in which each new affair reprises one member of the previous tryst. It begins with The Girl (street walker) and The Cab Driver, and comes full circle with The Aristocrat and the same Girl. Two actors each take on five roles in a fast-paced work that plays without intermission. Kristie J. Lang handles each of her characters with aplomb — The Girl, The Au Pair, The Actress ... Her playmate, Christopher M. Bohan, does his best acting as The Playwright, a delightfully foppish figure. Park some of your voyeuristic side at the curb. The stage is always dark and silent at the moment of truth. An overhead screen comically alludes to amorous goings-on by flashing a number of minutes. Lights soon return for the post-coital chat, where manipulation competes with prurient curiosity, self-deception and genuine unhappiness.
A G-rated column from our professional male stripper After spending the past week stripping wallpaper from our kitchen, I have become something of an involuntary expert on the subject. If you’re considering taking on such a project, the best advice I can offer is to throw out all your old scrapers, scorers and steamers. You’d be surprised how much easier it is when you decide to just douse the wallpaper with kerosene, set it ablaze and rebuild.
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