CAR CRASHES INTO CENTER CITY'S SOPHY CURSON'S AT RUSH HOUR

Pedestrians in Philly, remember things happen in three's. In a matter of days another car careens out of control smashing into a building in Center City. Earlier this week a car crashed into a Burger King at 8th & Market, today this guy wanted to do a little window shopping.
I was hanging with my buds Julie & Susie at Skin Palette spray tanning salon, next to Sophy Curson's, when we heard a loud thud. I didn't think anything of it, cause I'm just that kind of City guy that ignores those things now, until the fire engines came screaming by to a haltAwkward. Driver of runaway car and Sophy Curson dba Susan Schwartz, who's on the phone to the All State Insurance no doubt.

There was one hysterical women, not picture here, but someone who's appeared on PhillyChitChat before, freaking out and yelling he could have killed someone, I was a block away and saw the whole thing, had I walked faster ie not been texting to see where happy hour was tonight, I would have been killed. Then she laid into me cause I shook the guys hand and thanked him for giving me the details. "What you are shaking his hand, he could have killed someone. OMG he's a beast, then she gave an earful to the cop who basically gave her the yada yada yada look" Lady that's why they call them accidents, otherwise he would have been dragged off to jail. By the time I took the last picture the cops were gone and he was getting in the tow truck. Bottoms up.
Egon(on right) tells me that he was making a right onto Samson street and a pedestrian crossed the street in the middle and he did a defensive move to avoid him.
taking the report on an ipad looking thingy
On the job training on how to break out the rest of the plate glass windown. Perhaps the first lesson is the photographer needs to get on the other side of the yellow police tape.
He noticed people sitting at tables alongside O'Shea's and no one on the left side so he maneuvered his car to the left to avoid hitting the guy crossing the street and the folks at O'Sheas. (Note he knocked over one of those metal posts. Had that not been there he'd been way into the store. Lead sandal wearing foot driver.)
Next thing he knew he ended up crashing through the window. No one was hurt in the store, even though there were a few customers. Accident happened about 4PM.

RANDOM FRIDAY - CAUSE I'M DOING MY FIRST PHILLY "ABOUT LAST NIGHT" SEGMENT ON FOX 29 ON GOOD DAY

I'm having random shots around town that I think you would likestarting with aren't this lamps at the Berlin Mart preciousPINK
what is he shooting?
red
smoking on the phone crossing the Ben Franklin Bridge
I think Nicki Minagj and Britney Spears are staying at the Ritz. There's a whole lotta buses there.


House in Audubon, NJ with big Peace sign on the side made of ivy
2nd Street
Happy Birthday Arthur Etchells with his babe Michelle Cassidy at the Philly Mag after party at Table 31. Watch Fox 29 this morning for my recap of the party, and check back here on Monday for the photos.

You Say You Want A Revolution, well you're not going to be up in arms at the Revolution House (Party Pictures)

Revolution House 200 Market St opened about a month ago in the old location of the Snow White diner. What was once a one story building that housed the iconic, weathered Snow White diner is now a more modern two story eatery with a roof top garden, with a touch of historic Philadelphia and colonial accents through out the rooms. Luca Sena, owner of Ristorante Panorama and The Penn's View Hotel, along with partner John Poulous, has opened Revolution House. The 144-seat restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night seven days a week. Luca's son, Luca Sena Jr. serves as executive Chef.

Sena enlisted longtime friend and noted commercial photographer Dominic Episcopo to design the look and vibe of Revolution House. Episcopo used a palette inspired by the Confederate flag. Crisp navy blue and soothing charcoal gray accent the former Quaker Friends Meetinghouse’s original 1798 brick. Episcopo sourced local reclaimed accents to create an aesthetic that he describes as Industrial meets Federal chic.The menu is extensive and Cristian David says it has a "Great Salmon Sandwich"I loved the lasagna muffins, there was shrimp, pasta etc, but the biggest draw is

the coal oven pizza. For the last couple years steak was king, but move over carnivores the PIZZA is king. Here's Luca Sena showing a pie to John Bolaris who did not have his Playboy girlfriend with him (See Dan Gross' column Wednesday)
Justin Giza, editor at Drink Philly.com and Adam Schmidt, the founder of DrinkPhilly.com, the Philadelphia-based drink specials website that won the People's Choice Award at the 2011. In August they celebrate their 1 year anniversary, yeah! "Drink Philly celebrates their first anniversary First Friday Part & Art Showing with a fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. Donations requested at the door. 8/5/11 5PM 239 Chestnut St, Second FloorIs there an Attorney in the house? Spencer Creddy, Esq. Ross DiBono, Esq., Michael Mattioni, Esq. and Dawn Tancredi, Esq.
The antique bottle lighting 2nd floor bar is an interesting accent to the bar
Where Magazine Team: Kari Oriolo, Brett Copol and publisher Beth Douglas
Jerry Blavet with 6ABC's Alicia Vitarelli showing the REVOLUTION HOUSE GM Megin Mowry the wine he would like her to carry at the restaurant. He likes it so much he brings it with him in a wine holder her carries over his shoulder to dinner wherever he goes.
Speaking of wine: Meet Alana Zerbe of the Wine School and Keith Wallace, Author of the forthcoming book "Cork & Fork CEO" out in August.
How pretty is food writer Maria Valetta, Weekly Press

Grub Street Philly's Collin Keefe and his wife Holly Keefe were enjoying the view.
and the delicious food.
Joe Broderick, Lathan Hotel Doorman, and marketing director April Martin. Joe tells me that the Lathan is just about ready to open and he is eager to get back to work.
The landscaping for the deck was done by Luca's son in law who's name escapes me and my notebook. He won a ribbon at this years Philadelphia Flower Show too.
Luca Sena, Linda Sonnie of GPTMC and Meryl Levitz, President and CEO of Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC)
Beautiful twosome executive producer Mara Webb and 6ABC's Brian Taff stop by to check out the new digs. I think it's safe to say they both love their jobs and good things happen there besides getting to work with the genius Jim Gardner. Follow him on Twitter @Jim_Gardner
The most dramatic and some would say adventurous element I would have to say would be the steel wired stair case. Every step you take to the 2nd floor there is a distinct reaction, and if that wasn't enough there is the illusion that the folks below you can see up your skirt. They can't, but you can certainly look down id them as it's like a two way mirror. It's not exactly like plexiglass floor in the woman's department at Boyds, it's a little more obscured. I think you need to go check it out yourself, it will no doubt be a novelty in many future conversations, have you walked up the flying staircase at Revolution House, oh and their pizza yum.

and that roof deckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Giveaway! Win Tickets to the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival!

I was just given this opportunity to participate in this contest Thursday afternoon. It's a 12 hour contest. Read the scoop to find out how you can win two tickets to the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival's big Saturday event. (Sponsored by Summer FordCast)

The Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival will be held this weekend, July 28 – 31, in – you guessed it – AC. And I’d like to send one lucky PhillyChitChat reader and a friend to experience the event!

This summer, Ford Focus is going on a Summer Fordcast Tour, where you can experience Ford Focus at different events around the Northeast – from Six Flags to New York Comic Con to the AC Food & Wine Festival. As a result, our friends at Ford Focus are hooking up one lucky reader and a friend to the Grand Market event on Saturday in AC. (These tickets are valued at $90) gets you access to more than 125 food, wine, ale and liquor vendors. For three hours, you’ll be able to sample some of the best restaurants and brands.

Here’s how to enter:

Twitter this right now (cut & past & put in your twitter feed): Follow @iPhillyChitChat & @FordcastTour for the chance to win 2 tix to @FoodAndWineAC. RT this msg to enter! #FocusVIP

Contest ends Thursday, July 28 at 3:o0pm EST. Winner will be notified by email.

And if you are in the mood to enter contests, check out this contest Ford Focus has going on. Right now, you can enter to win the VIP package of your choice. From baseball games, to clubs, if you win, you’ll be able to pick where you’d like to roll in as VIP.

So get ready to share with us your favorite Ford Focus feature and maybe you’ll be noshing on some of the best food this weekend! I have a Ford Fusion and love it. Syncs up with my phone for driving directions, emails, calling mom. It's great.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT - Davio's Cheesecake Wars & a Few Cheeky Gals & What did they Eat?

I decided to start yet another segment of PhillyChitChat called About Last Night. As you know I like to troll the bars and restaurants to see who what and where everyone is. I can go out and in a couple hours I have interesting pixs and stories of what happened the night before. Occasionally I might write about what happened during the day too, like today's entry...
Yesterday I met Marilyn D'Angelo for lunch at Davio's. Marilyn recently left Philly2Night where she did editorial work, and is now on her own as a freelance writer as well as writer & editor for her own blog called Know it All Philly which is a cross between uwishunu and original opinions on subjects. (She's also available to write for your publication.) Above with Executive Chef David Boyle who made us a delicious lunch including the best gazpacho soup with mozzarella & curry, crab salad and Panco encrusted fluke, which I tweeted was the best dish I've had. http://lockerz.com/s/123874517Also From Tuesday, July 26^th, 2011 to Thursday, July 28th, 2011, guests that order the ‘Cheesecake War Dessert’ will be served 1/2 portions of both the Philly-favorite and ‘CESCA’s (The Northern Italian Steakhouse is known for their highly acclaimed “Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote,” created by Pastry Chef Thomas Heck.) acclaimed New York dessert on a plate along with a comment cards. With the honor system at work, each restaurant will tally their numbers and announce the winner live on each other’s Twitter and Facebook pages along with a photograph of the losing restaurants general manager wearing the other cities baseball jersey and eating a little humble pie.
Ruby Tuesday's with Mike's family. His mom, uncle in law Barry, Aunt Harriet and Mike. Have you tried their white bean chili, delicious.
I have a flag fetish and Freeman's auction house has a great one in the window.
Then I took a stroll along Rittenhouse Row Restaurants. If you call out my name and PhillyChitChat.com I'll take your pix and put it here. Unfortunately I didn't have a notebook for names. I do recognize the girl on the right but can't recall her name. The girls had mussels and they looked delicious.
I was on my way to check out my friend Anne Nikolaus' Stella & Dot jewelery show.
Tina Lamsback, Anne Nikolaus and hostess of the party Becca Greller. I'm trying to convince Anne that we should take our Philly biz licenses, find a corner and set up shop on the weekend. I have some photo note cards I want to sell. Would that be tacky? What's on the Menu? Delicious Rice Krispy Treats - Gluten Free, great tortilla chips & fruit. Afterwards though a few of them headed for Lil' Pete's cause they love the club sandwich.
Then I headed to Serafina to see who's who was there. Passing a.kitchen which has a few diners inside, and a packed sidewalk made for another great place to sit back and people watch. Serafina also had a healthy outside presence at 9PM, and it was even more packed inside.
I checked in with Serafina Restaurant executive Chef Carlos Jeronimo who was checking the dishes before they left the kitchen. He tells me everything is going well and is glad the guests are enjoying Serafina as it's busy from the time the doors open til they close.
I saw a few familar faces in the main dining room including Erin Elmore, Steve Rockman and Lesley Kozloff Goldstein. Erin just returned from Croatia and told me it is the most beautiful country, with gorgeous beaches. (What did they eat? Drinks at the bar.)I found this pix on her FB from the trip and well there were a lot of beautiful things in Croatia last week.
Finally I had a nite cap, Dinner for them was a tasting of the menu, then coffee for a nite cap, with Laura Burkhardt, Kelly Boyd and food writer Beth D'Addono. Also spotted was former congressman Patrick Murphy, a bevy of Cashman & Assoc alumni Ellie, Holly, Christa & current Ashley. and G Lounge hostess Samantha Marzullo.