Dine Arounds - Monk's Cafe, err uh Warsaw Cafe

Hello everyone at MLA! Please take note of the Dine Arounds available at MLA. As a first time MLA attendee it was nice to go out to dinner with fellow librarians. You can sign up for dine arounds near the registration desk. My colleague and I had signed up for the Monk's Cafe dine around last night, but our group arrived late to the restaurant and thus they cancelled our reservation. Nonetheless, we wound up at Warsaw Cafe right down the street. Good food and maybe 15 minutes walking distance of the Marriott.

~Angela Anderson, guest blogger
LSUHSC-Shreveport
http://sassysystems.blogspot.com

Dine-Arounds

Please join some of your colleagues to explore the tastes of Philadelphia. To register for a Dine-Around on Friday or Saturday evening, please sign up at the Hospitality Desk by 2pm on the day of the scheduled dine around. For Thursday night Dine-Arounds, sign up in advance by emailing the host or at the Hospitality Desk after it opens on Thursday at 4pm. Dine-Around participants should plan on being at the Message Area 5 minutes prior to the time listed below. Please be on time as your party will leave promptly. If you miss them it is up to you to get to the restaurant on your own.

Please let your non-blogging colleagues know about these events!

Thursday, May 17th (note: you can email the host to sign-up in advance)

Lolita http://lolitabyob.com
Mexican
106 S. 13th Street
Host: Anne Seymour seymoura@mail.med.upenn.edu
Time: 6:30
Number of dinner slots: 7

Swanky Bubbles www.swankybubbles.com
Asian, champagne
10 S. Front Street
Host: Andrea Kenyon kenyon@collphyphil.org
Time: 6:30
Number of dinner slots: 8

Friday, May 18th
(additional restaurants may be added)

Nodding Head search.cityguide.aol.com/philadelphia/bars/nodding-head/v-130117
www.noddinghead.com
16th and Sansom
Hostess: Maura Sostack msostack@virtua.org
Time: 6:30
Number of dinner slots: 7 persons

Estia www.estiarestaurant.com
(Greek)
1405 Locust Street
Hostess: Andrea Kenyon kenyon@collphyphil.org
Time: 6:30
Number of dinner slots: 5

Monk’s Belgian Café www.monkscafe.com/
16th & Spruce
Host: Dan Boutchie
Time: 7:00
Number of dinner slots: 7

Saturday, May 19th
(additional restaurants may be added)

Singapore
(Chinese, kosher, vegetarian)
1006 Race Street
Hostess: Diane Wolf
Time: 8pm
Number of dinner slots: 7

Farmacia www.farmiciarestaurant.com/
15 S. 3rd Street
Host: Jen de Richmond JdeRichemond@ECRI.org
Time: 7:30pm (meet at message board at 7pm)
Number of dinner slots: 7

Pub Crawl
Tour of the drinking establishments in the Center City East/TJU area including Ludwig’s Garden, McGillians (Philly's oldest pub), Fergie's, the Irish Pub (the one by Jefferson), and Doc Watson's. Please note that while restaurants are smoke free, none of these establishments qualify for the exemption.
Host: Brad Long
Time: 8:45
Number of slots: 12 persons

Join your LGBT colleagues

Every year during MLA, the LGBT SIG ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Health Science Librarians Special Interest Group--longest SIG name ever!) gets together for a social event. This year two events are planned!

Dinner: Sunday, May 20 at 7:30
Tavern on Camac http://www.tavernoncamac.com/
243 South Camac St.
215-545-0900
(We will be ordering from the regular menu and there will be at least one additional vegetarian entree)

Happy Hour: Monday, May 21, 5-7
Bump Lounge http://www.bumplounge.com/
Corner of 13th and Locust Streets
215-732-1800

If you are interested you can RSVP or just show up, we'll make room for you. Both spots are walking distance and in the Gayborhood.
Here's a map with both event locations.

Early Morning Coffee

For those early birds and caffeine hounds, here are a couple of places that will be open early to help get you going for a full day of conference activities!

Starbucks
Marriott Lobby
Sunday-Thurs 5:30am-10:00 pm
Fri & Sat 5:30-10:30pm

Java's Brewin
1101 Market St (just 2 blocks down from the Marriott)
Mon-Fri: 6:30am-6:30pm
Sat: 10am-4pm
FREE WIRELESS FOR CUSTOMERS

Olde City Coffee
Reading Terminal Market
12th and Filbert Sts (Walk out the backdoor of the Marriott and you're there!)
Mon-Sat 8 am- 6pm
FREE WIRELESS FOR CUSTOMERS

Research Philly restaurants

The MLA dining guide should be available online soon. In the meantime you can explore these local restaurant listings/review sites. They are a good source for info on the hippest, popular, and hard to get a reservation spots, so you can make plans and reservations now.

Philadelphia Magazine
Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News
Philadelphia CityPaper (weekly)
University of Pennsylvania's daily newspaper
Gayot guide to Philadelphia restaurants

Chocolate Redux

For those who are still thinking about chocolate (or are always thinking about chocolate), here is a little article about that lesser known alternative to the Hershey Kiss -- the Wilbur Bud!

On the Side Better chocolate, and prettier, too
Kiss off - try a Wilbur Bud
By Rick Nichols
Inquirer Columnist
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/dining/16646831.htm

Best of Philly

Philadelphia Magazine, Best of issue is a great place to find the typical (Best Italian Restaurant) and the no-so-typical (Best Place to Play Vintage Arcade Games). Other useful categories include:

• Best new BYOB
• Best Falafel
• Best Cocktails
• Best Toy Store
• Best Pet Jewels
• Best Express Manicure
• Best Place to Buy New Junk for Your Basement
• Best Cupcake
• Best Shoes for the Trendsetter
• Best Hoagie

Philly IS the Best!

Librarians love chocolate, right?

Philadelphia is a mecca for chocolate lovers. You won’t have to venture far from the Marriott to fulfill your cravings, either. Just across the street at the Reading Terminal Market, you will find Chocolate by Mueller where the chocolates are made on site and where chocolate body parts, including an anatomically correct chocolate heart, are big sellers. Also at the Market is the Pennsylvania General Store – a great place to find both Pennsylvania and Philadelphia souvenirs. (Aren’t the best souvenirs the ones you can eat?) PA General specializes in candies such as Asher’s, Neuchatel, Wilbur’s and Zitner’s, that are made in Pennsylvania.
The Naked Chocolate Café, 1317 Walnut St., (www.nakedchocolate.com) merits a visit for many reasons (the name?) and offers yummy baked items as well as candies.
Several blocks further away, Lore’s Chocolates, 34 S. 7th St., (www.loreschocolates.com) has been making and selling fine chocolates for 35 years.
Stroll further down Market St. in the direction of the Delaware River and you will be rewarded by Shane Candies (shanecandies.com). Located at 110 Market St., Shane’s has been delighting customers since 1876. The store and the employees are just as wonderful as the candies! Plus, you can stop for an egg cream or a phosphate at The Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St. (http://www.franklinfountain.com/) to fortify you for the walk back to the hotel.

If you want to head off in the other direction, toward City Hall, for your chocolate excursion, you will not want to miss Maron Chocolates, 1734 Chestnut St.
(http://www.maronchocolates.com/). Maron’s has been in business at several different Center City locations since 1850! It is still a small, family-run operation and produces great chocolates. If you’ve brought along a non-chocoholic friend, no worries! Opt for ice cream instead at Maron’s ScoopDeVille (http://www.maronchocolates.com/cream.html).

[posted for Nancy Calabretta, chocolate lover and medical librarian extraordinaire]

Philadelphia: Home of Ice Cream?

Someone heard that Philadelphia is the "home of ice cream." And asks, what are some of the LAC's favorites for ice cream? Is Capogiro Gelateria really as good as they say? I turned to the collective expertise of the LAC and this is what I found out:

History of ice cream in Philadelphia:
http://www.chillyphilly.com/icehist4.html

Best of list
http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/bestof/icecream/philadelphia.html

Website that talks about "Philadelphia style" ice cream:
http://www.slate.com/id/2121378/

For the true ice cream aficionados, a recipe for Philadelphia-style ice cream
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPES/RECIPES/Desserts/ice_desserts/ice_cream_philadelphia.html

Comments on specific ice creams and locations:
Bassetts-- the ice cream most associate with Philly (a long-timer - founded in 1861)
right next door in the Reading Terminal Market
http://www.bassettsicecream.com/news.html
great French Vanilla, great Butterscotch

Capogiro Gelateria, yes it is as good as they say -- 20th and Sansom.

Scoop de Ville at Maron Chocolates, the oldest, independent retail candy
business in America (91 years), has great ice cream. (1724 Chestnut)
http://www.maronchocolates.com/cream.html

Also wonderful is More than Just Ice Cream -- wonderful ice cream and really good food as well. between 11th and 12th on Locust.