Chef Marcie Turney and Valarie Safran, the entrepreneurial duo who have been transforming 13th street over the past few years into the nationally recognized Midtown Village with their acclaimed Mediterranean restaurant Barbuzzo, along with Mexican BYOB Lolita, gourmet food market Grocery, and two lifestyle boutiques Verde and Open House, have done it again with their new restaurant Jamonera.

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Portrait shots from the Fourth Annual Philadelphia Tweed Ride

See also: Philadelphia Tweed Ride: Candid shots

A piece I shot, designed and wrote about my current obsession, coffee!

We’re in the middle of a great coffee revolution here in Philadelphia, in the past two years a slew of new coffee shops have setup shop on our streets, we’ve even got a new mobile coffee truck serving artisanal coffee courtesy of Rival Bros. Coffee. These shops have slowly started to change our drinking habits and enlighten us to the Third Wave coffee movement which focuses on ethical sourcing from small farms, sustainability, roasting in small batches and appreciating coffee as culinary product like wine, wherein we pay attention to the complexities and variations in flavor.

Everything you always wanted to know about espresso but were too afraid to ask

Design Consumption Vol 7: Percy Street BBQ

It’s no secret that our city has lot to offer in terms of dining, hell even New York based publications like GQ and Details are coming down to visit us and praising our food scene. A lot of the current and upcoming restaurants feature concepts we’re familiar with, so that’s why having an authentic Texas-style BBQ joint in our midst is even more special. Before it opened last year on South St. the crew (Mike Solomonov, Steve Cook and chef Erin O’Shea along with the management staff and family) traveled to the Lone Star state in order to taste authentic Texas-style bbq and get a sense of the feel and atmosphere of bbq joints. They sampled some of the best the region had to offer and brought back what they learned to Philadelphia.

Design Consumption Vol 6: Cook

Spearheaded by Audrey Claire Taichman of Audrey Claire and Twenty Manning Grill restaurants and presented by Philadelphia Magazine, “COOK is a state-of-the-art, fully-equipped, sixteen-seat kitchen-classroom to discover, prepare and enjoy meals made from local and seasonal ingredients.” The space, “provides a platform for classes, conversation, demonstrations, experimentation, and private dining events focused on celebrating the craft of cooking, drinking and gathering at the table.”

Talk about a beautiful kitchen! The concept of this space is very unique in the area and it’s great to get the opportunity to connect with chefs on an individualized level. You can book a class with one of the many acclaimed chefs on their site.

Photos: Feastival: A feast for the senses

Had a great time photographing Feastival. It was a fundraising event for the live arts in Philadelphia. 60+ of the city’s best restaurants and bars were there serving some really spectacular drinks and food. Read the write-up and get more details on the delicious food and drinks that were served by Philly’s finest at the link.

Design Consumption Vol 5: Elixr Coffee

In the heart of Center City, stands a coffee shop inspired by Indonesia and Seattle. Evan Inatome opened Elixr earlier in the year and already it’s a neighborhood favorite and national success, receiving attention from The New York Times along with beloved coffee shops like Shot Tower, Spruce St. Espresso, Bodhi and Ultimo. Even though it seemed like last fall and winter there was a new coffee shop opening up every month, Elixr brought something new to the game. Here you can learn how to enjoy coffee extracted from brewing methods we haven’t really been exposed to in Philly until now; it’s a unique experience even for this foodie town.

One of my favorite pieces that I’ve written so far. I learned a lot about coffee while interviewing Evan, he inspired me to continue my research into specialty coffee and expand my palette. My usual is a cappuccino or macchiato but there’s a world of hand poured coffee that is amazing!

Design Consumption Vol 4: OCF Coffee House

In a city that has no shortage of coffee shops, the midcentury modern inspired OCF is a standout. Earlier this year OCF Coffee House (an offshoot of OCF Reality) joined the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, already home to LaVa and Beauty Shop coffee shops and, upped the ante in terms of design.

See more pics at the link.

Design Consumption Vol 3: Shot Tower Coffee

If you’re following the coffee shop explosion that has been happening in the city since last fall, you might have noticed the design influence Shot Tower has had across the city. Beaming with natural light, white oak hardwood floors, reclaimed white pine on the side of the bar, chestnut counter-tops, up-cycled blue glass, 1920’s subway tile and custom lighting designs, the vintage industrial interior design makes it one of the most beautiful coffee shops in the city.

One of my favorite coffee shops in Philly, it really was pioneering design-wise. It moved away from that dark and dingy coffee shop look we’d gotten used to and left behind the very corporate looking furniture of the likes of Starbucks to make something more organic. I love all the plants it has too, it’s not something you really see in coffee shops.

Closet Stocker: Briar Vintage

Briar Vintage is a full service vintage menswear shop in Old City, Philadelphia. It’s on a mission to bring back individualized customer service in a world filled with ready-to-wear and one size fits all fashion. Briar focuses exclusively on menswear, encouraging men to be more of a made-to-measure type when it comes to personal style. If you’re looking to tap into your inner sartorial for the upcoming fall/winter season then this is the place to get started.

A new feature I photographed for Phrequency.com I came across this place like a day after it opened and was super impressed with the interior decor and selection of men’s accessories. Highly recommend checking it out! Click the link to see the full set of photos.