Ordinarily, we would give these two western Center City neighborhoods their own blog posts for a survey like this. But with only one of Philadelphia magazine’s “50 Best Places to Eat Right Now” – the Fountain Restaurant – located in Logan Square, it makes just as much sense to include it in the roundup for Logan Square’s tonier neighbor to the south.

Mural at Butcher and Singer

Butcher and Singer, 1500 Walnut Street, 215-732-4444. Step through the doors of this former brokerage – Stephen Starr dusted off its name – and you’re transported back in time to Hollywood in the 1930s, when plush luxe was the order of the day. Steaks and chops are the things to order now – they’re decadent, as are the sides on the a la carte menu.

Fountain Restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel, One Logan Square, 215-963-1500. Along with Le Bec-Fin and Vetri, the Fountain Restaurant sets the standard for true fine dining in Philadelphia. It also proudly resists the trend towards the casual – you still have to dress up to dine here. You’ll be glad you did, for both the food and the service are memorable – the stuff of which special occasions are made even when there aren’t any.

Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, 210 West Rittenhouse Square, 215-790-2533. Another Philly fine dining superstar, Lacroix distinguishes itself on two fronts: its inventive global menu (“progressive international cuisine,” they call it) and its Lucullan feast of a prix fixe Sunday brunch. Another draw: the chef’s table, available Monday through Thursday evenings.

Le Bec-Fin, 1523 Walnut Street, 215-567-1000. Whether this doyenne of ne plus ultra dining will regain its faded luster once its new owner takes over is a question only time can answer – the restaurant is currently closed and will reopen in May.

Matyson, 37 South 19th Street, 215-564-2925. This pioneering office-canyon BYOB has changed chefs but is still in top form when it comes to serving up creative, globally inspired American-fusion cuisine. Like those that followed in its wake, Matyson emphasizes fresh, seasonal, local ingredients on its constantly-changing menu. The $45 tasting menu is a world tour in itself.

Mémé,  2201 Spruce Street, 215-735-4900. Chef David Katz wanted to create a restaurant where dining out feels like dining at home, and the result is this rustic, casual space near Fitler Square. Your family, however, probably didn’t think to pair swordfish with zucchini cakes, fava beans and tzatziki sauce for dinner. Creative combinations of familiar and ethnic ingredients distinguish the fare at Mémé.

Oyster House, 1516 Sansom Street, 215-567-7683. The Mink family – longtime owners of legendary Philly fish house Kelly’s of Mole Street – gave this old-school seafood standby an extreme makeover three years ago after buying it back from a previous owner. The rejeuvenated restaurant is nothing less than fantastic, boasting the best lobster roll in Philly (we’ll put it up against anything you can find in New England) and a great buck-a-shuck oyster special at the bar at happy hour, with the shuckers themselves as the featured performers.

Parc

Parc, 227 South 18th Street, 215-545-2262. Stephen Starr’s French bistro-brasserie is oh, so authentic, oh, so loud, and oh, so good. Tied with neighbor Rouge as the best place to people-watch on Rittenhouse Square aside from the square itself, Parc boasts a large a la carte menu loaded with traditional French bistro fare, with a few “foreign” objets thrown in for the Francophobes in your party. The pastries especially are first-rate. In good weather, get a seat on the 18th Street sidewalk, both to take in the scenery and spare your eardrums.

Pub & Kitchen, 1946 Lombard Street, 215-545-0350. This neighborhood gastropub wins raves for its burgers – in particular, the Churchill burger, which some diners on Yelp rate the best in town. The classic tavern-fare menu offers much beyond burgers, but those who have a beef with eating animals will likely be disappointed with the choices. For everyone else, though, this place has few peers for its combination of ambience, affordability and quality of food.

Pumpkin, 1713 South Street, 215-545-4448. What’s on the menu? We wish you could tell you, but chef Ian Moroney probably doesn’t know either until he’s bought the ingredients. Really fresh, really local, and constantly changing are the hallmarks of the New American fare at this casually romantic South Street BYOB. In addition to wine, be sure to bring cash – Pumpkin doesn’t take credit or debit cards. If you’d rather do Pumpkin at your place, their next-door market offers sandwiches, soups, chili and breakfast all day to go.

Square 1682, Hotel Palomar, 121 South 17th Street, 215-563-5008. One problem with hotel restaruants is that the food often doesn’t live up to the decor. Square 1682 is a notable exception to this rule. Chef Guillermo Tellez presides over a kitchen as inventive as the contemporary decor at this bi-level New American hotspot. Tellez mixes things up with a palette of international spices, and there’s something for everyone – even vegans – available. Notable aside: the restaruant points with pride to its LEED certification, making it Philly’s first truly green restaurant.

Tinto, 114 South 20th Street, 215-665-9150. After putting tapas on Philly’s culinary map with his first establishment, Amada, chef Jose Garces refined and improved on the idea with this, the second restaurant in his still-expanding portfolio. Only these aren’t tapas, strictly speaking – they’re pintxos, their Basque cousin, prepared with the customary Garces flair. The menu also includes more substantial offerings as well as charcuterie and cheese plates. The PhillyMag editors recommend the chestnut soup.

–By Sandy Smith for PhillyLiving.com

Photo of Butcher and Singer by Frank Roche, photo of Parc by shaggyshoo, both used used under a Creative Commons license

Mercato

The next stop on our quick review of Philadelphia Magazine’s current crop of “50 Best Places to Eat Right Now” is Washington Square West. While the density of eateries is not as high as in Old City, the variety and quality are just as high. Folks living in Washington Square West have access to many great places to eat within a short walk of their Wash West home. The only question, then, is: In which direction does one start walking? “Towards 13th Street” looks like the best answer, for six of the eight “50 Best” eateries in Wash West are either on or within half a block of that street:

Amis, 412 South 13th Street, 216-732-2647. All three of Marc Vetri’s Italian restaurants made the “50 Best” list, including both of his Wash West outposts (see Vetri, below); this casual trattoria off Pine Street is his most affordable establishment, with most menu items under $20. It’s also his most convivial eatery; the PhillyMag editors recommend you score one of the six seats at the counter overlooking the open kitchen if you can. Small plates dominate the menu, so bring friends and mix and match.

Barbuzzo, 110 South 13th Street, 215-732-2647. Actually, we were wrong with that density comment: three of the eight “50 Best” restaurants in Wash West can be found almost in a row on the short half-block of South 13th between Drury and Sansom streets. This one comes to you from chef Marcie Turney and her life partner Valerie Safran, the couple whose six establishments put Midtown Village on the map as a dining and shopping destination. Wood-fired pizza and Mediterranean dishes are the house specialties at this affordable, fun, rustic restaurant. (More from these two below as well.)

Chifa, 707 Chestnut Street, 215-925-5555. Comidas latinas with a twist: José Garces looked to Peru, where Spain, China and Japan cross paths (recall President Alberto Fujimori?), for the inspiration for his Latin-Asian fusion restaurant on the Chestnut Street restaurant row. Pho and chicarrones (with pickled ginger and Napa cabbage), tempura and crab empanadas all happily coexist on the extensive menu, where most items are under $20; tasting menus and wine flights also available.

Kanella, 1001 Spruce Street, 215-922-1773. Chef Konstantinos Pitsillides turned a neighborhood diner into a tribute to the cuisine of his native Cyprus in 2008. “Kanella” is Greek for “cinnamon,” and the influence of that and other Mediterranean spices runs strong in the Greek Cypriot fare Pitsillides serves at this popular BYOB.

Lolita, 106 South 13th Street, 215-546-7100. The second of Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran’s three restaurants (the third, Jamonera, opened after this list was compiled, replacing another “50 Best” establishment of theirs, Bindi), this distinctive little BYOT (that’s “T” for “tequila”; they’ll provide the mixers) fuses Mexican and Continental culinary traditions and has won plenty of other critical raves. Vegetarians will be delighted to know that several of the entrees on the menu can be made vegetarian by switching main ingredients.

Mercato, 1216 Spruce Street, 215-985-2962. From the people behind neighbor Valanni comes this “Italian-inspired” BYOB where fresh seasonal ingredients are prepared with a combination of Old World care and American experimentation. The a la carte menu changes at least weekly and offers both old- and new-school Italian-American favorites. Reservations accepted only for pre-theater dining and special events.

Morimoto, 723 Chestnut Street, 215-413-9070. Iron Chef Morimoto teamed up with dining impresario Stephen Starr to produce this high-concept, high-price, high-quality Japanese restaurant where – as with so many other Starr restaurants – the decor is as much of a star as the food on the plate. Unless, that is, you order the chef’s sumptuous omakase (tasting menu).

Vetri, 1312 Spruce Street. With Le Bec-Fin changing hands, Marc Vetri’s eponymous first restaurant is now the place in Philadelphia where one can count on a consistently and truly elegant fine dining experience. The $135 prix fixe tasting menu is the only option available, but with so many sumptuous, impeccably sourced and prepared items to choose from on it, what else would one need?  If you’re thinking of going here for a weekend special occasion, book your reservations now and you might get a table a few months down the road.

Zavino, 112 South 13th Street, 215-732-2400. Elbow room is at a premium in this busy little pizzeria and wine bar, but the pies and the wines are both worth working your way through the crowds. Choose a pie from their menu, or if you’re feeling adventurous, suggest a variation on a theme. Not in the mood for pizza? There are also small plates, meat, cheese and veggie plates to choose from.

–By Sandy Smith for PhillyLiving.com

Photo of Mercato from Wikimedia Commons, used under a Creative Commons license

Fork

Living in Philadelphia gives you access to a wealth of great places to eat, from greasy spoons to gastropubs to gourmet Nirvanas. Entire industries exist to weigh through the dazzling array of dining options available to Philly folk and recommend that they eat here, not there, and eager diners hang on the words of either top reviewers like the Inquirer’s Craig LaBan or the crowds whose collective wisdom gets distilled into Zagat Guide blurbs.

We’re sure some of you reading this may quibble with these choices, but the food editors and restaurant reviewers at Philadelphia magazine  decided to settle a bunch of arguments once and for all – for now – when they picked their just-about-annual “50 Best Places to Eat Right Now” last summer. Their chief criterion: The restaurants lived up to their promise. As most of the 50 are within the city limits, and most of those in Center City, we’re offering you a handy guide to these places by neighborhood. If you own a home in Old City – or are one of the many visitors to the neighborhood – these places are definitely worth heading out for.

Amada, 217 Chestnut Street, 215-625-2450. The restaurant that introduced superstar chef Jose Garces to Philadelphia still turns out the best tapas in the city. PhillyMag recommends the octopus, the pernil asada, and the assortment of Spanish cheeses from the many menu items. If you go, book your table well ahead of time, as it’s still next to impossible to get one at the traditional dinner hours.

Bistro 7, 7 North Third Street, 215-931-1560. Homestyle food doesn’t get more stylish than this, says the mag in its praise of this BYOB. But even though the dishes may be familiar, the execution and ingredient combinations aren’t: beef short ribs braised in Burgundy, garlic and rosemary are just one of the items that showcase this small restaurant’s new American flair.

Fork, 306 Market Street, 215-627-0666. Ellen Yin’s upscale bistro is the most praised restaurant in Old City; critics both in the city and beyond recommend it as a place to go for everything from a casual lunch to a special occasion. Its menu, which emphasizes fresh, local ingredients, changes daily to reflect what’s currently in season.

Han Dynasty, 108 Chestnut Street, 215-922-1888. Better than anything Chinatown has to offer. Han Chiang’s dynasty has spread from Exton to encompass four locations; this is his in-city outpost. Patrons rave about his fiery fare, in particular the Dan Dan noodles, often served with a generous side of equally fiery chatter from the proprietor.

La Famiglia

La Famiglia, 8 South Front Street, 215-922-2803. The name is accurate – this Old World Italian standby is truly a family affair, run by the Sena family since 1976. It has set the standard for fine Italian dining in the city ever since, with outstanding food and top-notch service. Its wine list of more than 13,000 bottles is equally renowned.

Zahav, 237 St. James Place (Society Hill Towers Shopping Center), 215-625-8800. Michael Solomonov’s critically acclaimed restaurant has changed the way we think about Middle Eastern cuisine. His continual experimentation with Israeli fare draws diners back again and again to his restaurant, which was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Esquire magazine when it opened in 2008. It’s also affordable, with entrees under $15 and a generous $38 tasting menu.

–By Sandy Smith for PhillyLiving.com

All photographs by the author

If you’re moving to a new home in Philadelphia, and it’s a bit smaller than your current digs, you may have a storage space problem. Not to fear! There are plenty of ways to efficiently downsize without feeling like you’re cramming too much into too little. Here are a few steps to take when it comes to finding the right spot for all of your belongings.

• Sell, sell, sell

Got too much of a good thing? Sell it before you move, says Stembridge.

You know that 3^rd TV set at the bottom of your coat closet? What about that extra bicycle that’s missing a tire, so you never use it? And certainly there are a couple of boxes worth of clothes that you never have any intention of wearing again. If you don’t have the time or the patience to sell these things on eBay or craigslist, and you’re not in a position to have a good old fashioned garage sale either, then you have 2 options: 1) hire someone else to sell everything, or 2) give it away. The point is that you’re not going to waste resources on moving it to your new place or waste space on continuing to house it.

• Storage Unit

Storage units are great for holiday decorations and other seasonal items like summer backyard toys, winter coats, old baby furniture that might get used again or heirlooms. Rent one that isn’t too far away from your new place of residence and make sure it’s secure, so that you don’t have to worry about a thing. Climate controlled units are better than storing things in your hot attic or dank basement anyway.

• 3-Dimensional Space

Self-storage facilities are great places to put things you still need but don't need to keep close at hand.

We often forget that we can free up a lot of room when we hang things from the ceiling or on a wall rack. Pots and pans, produce basket, towel rack and basket, kitchen knife rack, plate rack, spice rack, book shelves, toy hammocks, yard tools, bicycles and many more items can all fit perfectly well in your home without taking up an inch of floor or cabinet space.

You may have to get a little creative, but that’s part of the charm of decorating. Just remember that you don’t have to suffer in clutter! You can organize, sell and store your way into a comfortable and tidy living space.

–By Garret Stembridge, special to PhillyLiving.com

Working with self storage users all over the United States, Garret Stembridge helps customers store their stuff in places like a Philadelphia self storage facility and a York self storage unit. Garret is an avid outdoorsman who hunts and fishes, and a beekeeper with established beehives.

Buying a home is the most important financial decision that most people will ever make. Therefore, it is vital to consider carefully the pros and cons of a prospective home before you buy. Price, square footage, age and many other factors must be taken into account as you think about putting in a bid on a home.

Yet it is also essential that you consider things that are not necessarily tied to the home itself but reflect the quality of the area in which the home is located. If you are looking into buying a home, here are some of the easily neglected factors that you must take into account before you make an offer to a seller:

Property Taxes
A home that otherwise seems affordable might actually stretch your budget if the local property tax rate is high. Even if the property tax rate is currently affordable, it could go up substantially over time, depending on how local services are funded. Should most of the funding for local schools come from property taxes, for example, the tax rate is all but certain to increase over time, especially if the local student population is growing. Get a history of the tax bills paid on the home you are considering, and talk to your realtor about the likelihood of tax increases before you decide to buy.

Utilities
The cost to own a home consists not only of the mortgage bill. You must also factor in local utility expenses for such things as water, electricity, Internet, telephone and other services. That home you are thinking about might be beautiful, but its design may have hidden costs in that it might take a lot of money to cool or heat your living space. It is important to have a good understanding of local utility rates before buying a home. You should also ask the seller for the average cost to supply the home with water, electricity and so on.

Neighborhood Quality
The all-important factor of neighborhood quality includes such things as schools, safety, public services and so on. Are the schools good, or is the local school district less than desirable because of he quality of the education it offers? Are people fleeing the neighborhood, or is it hard to find homes for sale because people love to live there? Are the parks and libraries in great condition, or are budget cuts causing many of these amenities to close? Is there a sufficient police presence to keep the neighborhood safe? Do potential neighbors keep up their homes and yards, or are things falling into a state of disrepair?

Your Neighbors
Recent studies indicate that less than half of all Americans know their neighbors. This is a shame because having good neighbors can be the single most important factor separating a home you will love from one you will want to flee only a few years after purchasing. Talk to potential neighbors before you buy, and check with local police as to whether you have convicted felons and sex offenders living nearby.

–By Ashleigh Denton, special to PhillyLiving.com

Ashleigh Denton’s passion for people and art has lead her to pursue a career in writing. At this time, Ashleigh is working as a part-time writer, specializing in
insurance quotes online.

Center City’s longest running art party just got artsier.

Starting this First Friday, March 2, the Arden Theatre Company is adding performances to the mix of activities during the monthly Old City gallery crawl. The Arden will invite a different performing arts group each month to present current work in its Independence Foundation Studio and Lobby, and as an added bonus, will throw in free beer for the audience.

Judging from the lineup for the first three months as posted on Uwishunu, the event should be even more fun than the street performances and vendors that grace Second Street outside the Arden. The lineup is heavy with comedy and storytelling from now through May. In April, a lucky audience member may even become part of the act.

And if you’re lucky, you may run into your blogger in the audience.

The Arden Theatre Company is located at 40 North Second Street in Old City, next to Christ Church and just steps from 2d Street station on the Market-Frankford Line. Performances will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. each First Friday. Admission free.

–By Sandy Smith

Philadelphia real estate bargain hunters, rejoice: you can save a bundle if you buy a bank-owned property in this region. Assuming you find one you like, that is.

According to the foreclosure site RealtyTrac, bank owned homes in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden real estate market sell at an average of 52.5 percent below current market values as of the fourth quarter of 2011. That’s good enough to rank Philly second among all U.S. metros in the size of the discount a foreclosure buyer can expect. Only Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis., where foreclosures sold at an average 57.9% discount, offered bigger housing bargains.

Those bargains, however, will be a little harder to find than in real estate foreclosure hot spots like California, Nevada and Florida. In the last quarter of 2011, foreclosed properties accounted for 7 percent of all real estate sales in the Philadelphia metropolitan region, according to RealtyTrac. That share of the Philadelphia real estate market is up about 8 percent from the preceding quarter, but it’s also half as large as foreclosures’ share of all sales nationwide.

For the year as a whole, sales of foreclosed properties accounted for just over 6 percent of all greater Philadelphia real estate sales transactions, a drop in market share of 10 percent from the previous year. Nationwide, foreclosures accounted for about one in every four home sales in 2011, RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Inquirer, changes in bank policies designed to get foreclosed homes into the hands of buyers faster explain most of the rise in sales activity in the last quarter.

But even though the foreclosure bargains are quite good indeed, the fact that there are so few of them relative to the market as a whole indicates that the greater Philadelphia real estate market remains in better shape than most across the country.

–By Sandy Smith

Even though the real estate market has been tumultuous for many recently, Philadelphia somehow seems to be doing much better compared to most other parts of the country. The local market has some activity, as in housing is being purchased and seeing increases. Additionally, construction of new single-family homes continues to go up, especially in the suburbs.

One point of prosperity in the Philly real estate market lies in the increase in existing home sales into December. December 2011 took in about five more percent of existing sales than December 2010 did. Sales from the end of last year thus far have been positive. This is something the housing market needs momentously. Thus far in 2012, there hasn’t been a significant increase in homes purchased but there is certainly a growing interest in property expected to take place. 

On the seller’s side, there is hope that rising apartment rental rates could drive some potential buyers back into the fold in 2012. The average rental rate for all Philadelphia apartments has gone up nearly eight percent in the last year alone. This equals an increase of nearly $80 in the past year alone. The thought is that those individuals or couples on the fence about renting and buying could take a more serious look at buying, especially with today’s mortgage rates.

Reports have shown that mortgage rates have been hitting record lows throughout the country, as well as here in Philadelphia, which is certainly inviting for potential buyers. Right now, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is coming with 4.007 APR. With mortgage rates being this low and rentals continuing to increase in price, there is hope that some buyers will begin to see the benefits of buying in early 2012.

Right now, Philadelphia’s top selling areas have remained the northwestern and western areas of Center City. However, other parts of Philadelphia have retained their value attracting buyers and keeping the market going.

Right now, the big issue the city faces is sale prices, specifically for sellers. It is important to note that even though sales prices have dropped in this area, they have not plummeted as much as other cities across the country.

Rittenhouse Square, in western Center City, continues to show strength

In the coming months, there is reason to be optimistic that these prices can get a small pickup. Median prices were down about six percent in December from the previous year, but this could have been expected. The months of November and December are generally regarded as slow months for real estate anyway, but the numbers shouldn’t have too heavy an impact on the rest of the first quarter of 2012.

A glance at the early trends in 2012 Philadelphia real estate is truly a mixed bag right now. Coming off the month of December is usually not pretty for any market; however, the Philly market has looked rather stable in the early part of the year. Regardless, it should remain to be seen if factors such as mortgage rates, rising rental rates and an increase in existing home sales can positively influence the market for both buyers and sellers throughout the first half of 2012. 

–By Emma Crawford, special to PhillyLiving.com

With the School District of Philadelphia looking to close yet another yawning budget deficit, parents have begun to take matters into their own hands in order to preserve the quality of educational programs at their neighborhood schools.

The School District has cut funding for programs considered non-essential such as studio arts, performing arts and foreign languages. One group of Center City parents has taken advantage of a state tax credit program to keep art alive at their school.

That school is Albert M. Greenfield Elementary, near Fitler Square. The school’s active Home and School Association has raised private funds to paint, landscape, and improve the school’s interior and exterior spaces, so it didn’t take much to get it involved in the business of saving cherished enrichment programs.

The HSA took advantage of a state tax credit known as the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) to do this. By establishing itself as an Educational Improvement Organization (EIO), the Greenfield HSA can receive direct donations from private companies to support programs cut by the School District outside the core curriculum. Companies can deduct the donations from their state tax bills.

The HSA did not clear the bureaucratic hurdles in time to save Greenfield’s art program this year but will be able to do so for the coming school year.

Read more about this development in the Weekly Press.

–Sandy Smith

Besides brunch, that is.

There’s never a lack of good things to do on a weekend in Philadelphia. This weekend, of course, one of them is First Friday, the monthly gallery-hop/street fair that takes place all over Old City. But we’ve written about that before as well. So assuming that as Item One, here are four other events you might want to check out:

2. and 3. Get your groove on. Make tonight an all-night dance party! Start with this month’s Art After 5 event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, featuring homeboy DJ Cosmo Baker. He may live in Brooklyn now, but he remains true to his Philly roots, spinning a mix of hip-hop, disco, funk, R&B and reggae. And when you need to take a break, there’s cocktails, light snacks and supper, and a stupendous collection of art all around you. Then head down to South Street for Sex Dwarf, Robert Drake’s long-running dance party featuring those choice New Wave hits that got you through the ’80s in one piece. (Missed that decade? All the more reason you should go.)
Art After 5: 5 to 8:45 p.m. at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Free with Museum admission.
Sex Dwarf:  9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Fluid, 613 South 4th Street. Free before 10 p.m., $5 after 10.

4. C’mon over to the dark side. Bikinis, bikers and blackness are all on the bill of this month’s Secret Cinema program, which celebrates the outlaw biker ethos of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Opening the night is “Trailer Trash,” a collection of carefully selected trailers for some of the classics of the genre: “Wild In the Streets,” “Devil’s Angels,” “Mondo Teeno,” “You Only Live Twice” – wait, isn’t that James Bond? – and more. These set the stage for the evening’s feature, “The Black Angels” – Laurence Merrick’s 1970 mashup of the biker flick and the blaxploitation picture in which rival biker gangs make turf war and race war one and the same.
Secret Cinema: Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. at International House, 3701 Chestnut Street. Tickets $9, students/seniors $7, International House members free.

5. Go for Baroque with Maniaci. Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia’s baroque orchestra, goes cross-cultural this weekend with “Italians in Vienna,” a concert featuring works written by Italian composers imported to Vienna by the Hapsburg court. Joining the chamber players once again is tenor Michael Maniaci, hailed by the Toronto Globe and Mail as “one of the greatest singers of his generation,” who last performed with Tempesta di Mare in 2006. Pre-concert talks by Wendy Heller of Princeton University fill you in on the cultural ferment that made Vienna such a happening place in the Baroque era.
Tempesta di Mare: Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. (talk at 7 p.m.) at Arch Street Friends Meeting, 320 Arch Street, and Sunday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m. (talk at 3 p.m.) at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue. Tickets $25 and $35, seniors $20, students $10, school-age children (grades 3-12) free. 

–Sandy Smith