Hidden Gems

Things Should Be Special: UBB Hidden Gems Part 2 of 2

Posted: April 18, 2011 | Author: Alli | Tags Around Philadelphia, Farm and Fisherman, Hidden Gems, Restaurants, Sustainable Seafood

Alli writes about UBB approved Hidden Gems in Philadelphia and across the country. She loves talking to new people as much as she likes discovering new experiences. She can be reached at [email protected]

Chef Joshua LawlerAs sustainability has encroached into the mainstream and the local food movement has become de rigueur at many Philadelphia BYOs, sometimes it’s easy to confuse “from a farm” with “farm to table.” Vegetables alone do not a farm-to-table meal make.

But Chef Joshua Lawler of The Farm and Fisherman was born and bred into the farm-to-table movement before it was trendy. He grew up gardening and cooking with home grown ingredients, and can’t imagine cooking any other way. “Even if I was doing sushi or another concept, I would still cook this way.” For Chef Lawler, farm-to-table isn’t a fad or trend, it’s just how he has always made good, simple food.  It’s his way of life.

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Introducing: UBB Hidden Gems, Part 1 of 2

Posted: April 11, 2011 | Author: Alli | Tags Around Philadelphia, Hidden Gems

Alli writes about UBB approved Hidden Gems in Philadelphia and across the country. She loves talking to new people as much as she likes discovering new experiences. She can be reached at [email protected] and hopes you’ll reach out to her!

At UBB, we’re all about that moment when you discover something new, something old, or something entirely unexpected.  Our team makes a point of seeking out these experiments, so we thought, “Hey, why don’t we share it with our community? And an idea was born: UBB Approved Hidden Gems.

 

UBB Hidden Gems must live up to three strict criteria.

First, an experience must in some way have to do with supporting pro-ocean movements.  This category is wide, as everything from eating organic to drinking sustainable wine to fishing (the old fashioned way) can be ocean-friendly.

Second, it must be hidden. Hidden could mean that it’s so new (in the case of our first Hidden Gem) that you might not have found it on your own, so old that you didn’t even know it existed, or so well camouflaged that only eagle eyes could see it.

Third, and most importantly, it must be totally cool, totally fun, and totally brag-worthy. If we don’t think it’s worth it, you won’t hear about it. But if we do talk about it, you’ll know that it’s worth checking out.

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UBB Hidden Gems: Philadelphia's Small Streets

Posted: June 2, 2011 | Author: Alli | Tags Architecture, Hidden Gems, Philadelphia, Save Irving Street

Alli writes about UBB approved Hidden Gems in Philadelphia and across the country. She loves talking to new people as much as she likes discovering new experiences. She can be reached at [email protected]
 

Hidden throughout Philadelphia are streets. But we’re not talking about your arterial Broad or Spring Garden, or even your pleasant but still well-trafficked Walnut or Pine. Instead, we’re talking about even less well-known streets hidden between and behind the ones we all walk on or drive through every day.  We’re talking about Philadelphia’s small streets.

Philadelphia streets are so small, in fact, that they aren’t actually technically part of the city. They’re also not technically private property, either, but are stuck in an unusual limbo between the two.  For a tour of some of Center City’s small streets, we sat down with Lynn Landes, president of the newly formed Philadelphia Society for Small Streets and Jessup street resident.
 

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Pop-Up Garden

Posted: July 21, 2011 | Author: Alli | Tags alli, blog, Hidden Gems, Hidden Gems, Philadelphia, pop-up garden

Janet’s brother wanted know what kind of edible plant would grow well in Philadelphia, so she suggested grapes.  Grapes grow on winding, stretching vines that take over their habitat. Before Janet’s brother knew it, his neighbors two doors down were enjoying grapes of their own!

 

We heard this story from a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) garden expert at a temporary hidden gem in downtown Philadelphia at 20th and Market Streets.  Here, as well as at Logan Square and at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society headquarters, are pop-up gardens.  All summer long, the pop-up garden will take over what was once a vacant lot, giving it new life as a garden and a UBB Approved Hidden Gem.

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