M com spring2014

MANAYUNK LIVE|SHOP|DINE|PLAY

.COM

SPRING 2014

His Fantasy Comes True

Dragon Boat Racing Catches Fire on the Schuykill River

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Plan your wedding without leaving Manayunk Venice Island in Full Bloom At Long Last A House Coffee with a Shot of Camaraderie 3/3/14 7:39 AM

Artist: JUSTIN Y New Exhibition:

PAINTING THE COLORS OF THE WORLD IN ALL IT’S GLORY First solo exhibition in the US.

Part of the collection is called “Everlastin9” made up of 9 paintings. The 9 pieces of artwork showcases the continuous evolution of life - which is made up of the 5 elements of life and 4 seasons.

WATER, FIRE, EARTH & Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Water Medium : Acrylic on Canvas Size : 105cm x 75cm x 4cm Year : 2013, 1/1 (Original Artwork)

4339 Main Street • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19127 855.809.7494 • www.thebazemoregallery.com

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Spring 2014 | manayunk.com

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MANAYUNK.COM COPING WITH COMFORT FOOD We’re well aware that bathing suit season is finally within sight, but we’re craving comfort food. Coping with this brutal winter may have stirred our insatiable appetite, but we keep coming back for more because there’s plenty more to be had.

Greg’s Kitchen (4460 Main Street) opened between snowstorms in December. It’s the kind of humble breakfast and lunch joint that immediately evokes loyalty. At first glance of the menu, you’re already picking out potential favorites. Of course, you’ll need to work your way through the entire lineup of hugs for your tongue first— strawberry pound cake French toast, an open-face chili burger, housemade chocolate chip whoopee pies with Nutella. And those are just the specials. That’s how easy it is to be distracted there.

Still, we resolved to eat healthier in 2014. Or, at least, fast between breakfasts and lunches at Greg’s. But we kicked that to the curb as fast as we could unthink it when Insomnia Cookies (4319 Main St.) opened three weeks later. Like we needed an incentive— delivery!—to be eating warm, just-baked cookies at 2 a.m. At this point, dieting means not ordering the deluxe.

Not that we spent any less time grazing at Gaily’s Crazy Cow Café (4414 Main St.), but the hearty, deli-style menu proved to be only part of the lure there. The BYOB comedy club that’s open Fridays and Saturdays is an easy night out when you want to hangout with some friends, but you’re straining to find the motivation to entertain them. And, afterward, cookies!

All that indulgence comes at a cost, naturally. Which is why we’re warmed to find Art + Science (4259 Main St.) not only thriving but evolving after 10 years. A facial and an Elemental Nature massage are failsafe repairs for the harsh toll exacted by too much shoveling (and our own piling on). Added bonus: They also work up a raging appetite. —Scott Edwards

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MarchMay 2014

Mark Your Calendar A busy spring begins with a smörgåsbord on Main Street

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Sneak A Peek This winter wasn’t all bad. See for yourself

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Cover Profile Mike Blundetto Sr. has brought dragon boat racing to the cusp of exploding. And he’s done it, mostly, from a Manayunk dock

LIVE.

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Around Town At Volo, camaraderie’s as much of the lure as the coffee

SHOP.

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Business Savvy A Euro-inspired, meticulously-edited gourmet shop is the next step in the unpredictable maturation of Sarah Holmes

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Glitz and Glam How to plan a picture-perfect wedding without ever leaving Manayunk

DINE.

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Conversation with the Chef Buying local is what Sean Coyle always did. It never occurred to him that his restaurant would be any different. Until it did

PLAY.

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Along the Trail Three decades in the making, a park is finally about to bloom

COVER Mike Blundetto Sr. photographed by

SUSAN BEARD (pictured) / SUSAN BEARD DESIGN (www.susanbearddesign.com). Assisted by Erika Smith. See “Captain of the Schuylkill,” page18.

Manayunk.com Magazine is published quarterly by the Manayunk Development Corp.

Manayunk Development Corporation 4312 Main Street Philadelphia, PA 19127 215.482.9565 | info@manayunk.org 4

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Get Physical For these elite athletes, Manayunk is the ultimate training ground

Editorial + Production Editor

Scott Edwards

Design

Cantor Design

Sales

M7 Media 610.417.9261 bauerjim7@gmail.com

PHOTOS BY SUSAN BEARD (WWW.SUSANBEARDDESIGN.COM) / ASSISTED BY ERIKA SMITH

NOW OPEN

LIVE SHOP DINE PLAY

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

MARCH THROUGH MAY StrEAT Food Festival + Restaurant Week

april 12-25

may10 Philly Flea Markets Comes to Manayunk Thanks to HGTV, most of us believe we could easily find a credenza at a flea market and refurbish it to look like it was just delivered by Crate & Barrel, even though we’ve never actually correctly assembled a single thing we ever bought from Ikea. Nonetheless, the real thrill is in the hunt, and the hunting will get a lot easier when the roaming Philadelphia Flea Markets returns to Main Street May 10. Expect a well-edited selection of antiques and vintage wares.

(Read: Come early, before the seasoned pickers descend and start laying claim.) www.philafleamarkets.org

mar7 apr4 may2 jun6 6

Philly’s best food trucks are back to line Main Street for the fourth time during the Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival. We’re talking cheap, handcrafted food, passed directly from proud chef to salivating customer, as far as the eye can see when the next edition lines Main Street April 12. All of it complementing Manayunk’s standing treasures, which will be serving their own pedestrian-friendly menus for the occasion. This is a marathon, not a sprint—though it’s never good to mix eating and running metaphors—so plan your breaks around the farmers markets and local, gourmet vendors that will be set up in two Main Street parking lots. Then, take the night and digest, because this is just the beginning. The spring restaurant week, featuring $15-, $25- and $35-three-course menus at most of Manayunk’s restaurants, opens the next day, April 13, and runs through April 25.

june7

june21-22

PLAY Manayunk

Arts Festival

Few Manayunk residents realize that a five-minute hike along the Schuylkill River Trail leads to a total immersion in nature. Not a token pocket park, but lush, dense woods. It’s a secret that’s bound to spread like pollen once all eyes are directed toward Venice Island (yup, there’s an island, too), which is exactly what’ll happen on this June when the newly-planted park and monumental performance center are officially unveiled.

(For more, check out page 26.) Hint, hint, there may be a big name musician helping to kick it off. PLAY Manayunk taking place on June 7th will be an event filled with outdoor fitness classes, outdoor recreation events and live performances.

There will also be fun adventures like kayaking and boating trips, bike rides and more meant to peel back the foliage and expose how the insiders really live—when they’re not dining, shopping, indulging in spa days or rocking out. Take it in slowly. There’s plenty to go around.

The Manayunk Arts Festival is the largest of its kind in the tri-state region. What does that mean, exactly? Last year’s featured more than 300 artists and craftsmen from 23 states along 10 blocks of Main Street. And those are the ones who made it through the jury. It feels cliché to say there’s something for everyone, but with a sampling this size, no matter how obscure your taste—fiber art, anyone?—you’re going to find at least a booth of it when the 25th Annual Festival sets up camp June 21 and 22. Aside from the scope, the setting is what distinguishes the Manayunk version from its peers. This isn’t a city of tents erected in some remote lot. This is a city of tents erected in the middle of a dynamic downtown, with all of its restaurants and shops still very much at your disposal. And you better believe something special’s in the works for the milestone chapter.

First Friday With the intimate shops and galleries along Main Street, and the ones just off the beaten path, along Shurs and Green lanes and some of the other quaint side streets, Manayunk is the kind of downtown that’s begging to be discovered during a casual stroll, display window by display window, especially during an occasion like First Friday, when vibrant restaurants beckon at regular intervals for a quick cocktail and a nosh. Four hours can fly by rapidly. Follow the flags March 7, April 4, May 2 and June 6, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Event details can be found at MANAYUNK.COM.

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Leave it to Manayunk to usher in the Holidays in a big way. More than 50 shops doled out deals on Small Business Saturday. Santa arrived on Main Street the next weekend and posed for selfies aboard a sleigh carved out of ice. A Mummers all-star troupe stoked 11th-hour shoppers.

And on the eve of the Winter Solstice, a drum circle and bonfire in Canal View Park warmed the way for winter.

After administering a naughty-or-nice evaluation, Santa posed for pics in front of our Manayunk.com sign.

Did you make the cut?

Winter Solstice photos courtesy of Albert Yee Photography.

SNEAK A PEEK

A December Full of Festivities

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L I V E . A SRNOEUANKDAT O P EWE N K

&

Caffeine Camaraderie

J

ust like every bar aspires to be that everybody-knowsyour-name atmosphere, every coffeehouse wants to be Central Perk, whether they’ll ever admit it or not.

The critical difference is that coffee drinkers, addicts that we are, tend to be much more particular about what they drink, contrary to the sitcom version. So it’s not enough to staff baristas who can plow through an endless stream of idiosyncratic orders first thing in the morning and banter intelligently, sarcastically. Or to have an interior mapped out for prime people watching. No, the beans will always come 10

first. At Volo Coffeehouse, bands of locals come day in and day out for the La Colombe and stay for long stretches for any part of and all of the aforementioned. “I come here every day for at least two hours a day,” says Randy Rapoport, who picked up the habit while living in Italy. Volo, he says, is the purest translation of an Italian café he’s found since he returned stateside.

Every community has one, even in this isolating digital age—a place where neighbors come to feel like they’re still a part of something. In Manayunk, it’s Volo. Here, a few of the figures who make it the hive that it is.

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Jeff Lorenz

The regulars, pictured, at left, from the left: Michael Ostrow Why Volo I golf with the owner [Akos Racz], so I know him well. I come twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The pastries are great.

The brioche sprinkled with sugar is my favorite. And the Caprese sandwich and soups are excellent.

Drink of choice Latte.

Annie Scott

Why Volo All of us have been friends for a long time. I come every single morning, and have for the last 10 years. I come now as a social thing. It’s a half-hour respite before work.

Drink of choice Cappuccino.

Co-owner, Tiny Terra Ferma Why Volo It’s the best coffee.

I’ve been coming here for five years. I’ve also known Akos for a while.

Drink of choice A house coffee with cream, sugar and cinnamon. (The cinnamon balances your blood sugar.)

Marty Maaskant

Randy Rapoport

Freelance artist Why Volo I like to do my artwork here because it’s a healthy distraction. I feel like when there are people around, you’re focused on what you’re doing. It also helps when people see my work at the café. I just sold two pieces. [Maaskant’s planning another exhibit at Volo at an asyet-to-be-determined date, but it’ll be soon.]

Drink of choice A small house coffee with milk and honey.

Composer (Not pictured) Why Volo I’ve been coming here for three years, since moving back from Milan. There are about 20 or so of us that meet here in the mornings, and it rotates. There are even more of us on the weekends. It’s a very liberal crowd, but the conversation varies. The older guys talk about cars and the younger guys talk about women.

Drink of choice I lived a lot of years in Italy, and this is the only place to get a real cappuccino.

Steve Brown

PHOTOS BY SUSAN BEARD (WWW.SUSANBEARDDESIGN.COM) / ASSISTED BY ERIKA SMITH

Co-owner, Tiny Terra Ferma Why Volo My wife worked here when we first moved to Manayunk. I used to get everything for free. I got addicted. And now I’m a paying customer. I get a cheese Danish every day. The Danishes remind me of ones I used to get in Montreal, where we used to live.

Drink of choice Café au lait.

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When her career threatened to suffocate her, Sarah Holmes got creative. Which led her back to law. But a twist would make it far more sustainable this time around.

I like to say that I started my first business on a BoltBus winding its way out of Manhattan. At the time, I had a five-month-old baby and I was six years into a career as an attorney that left me stifled, personally and creatively. Feeling alternately inspired and panicked by my weekend away, I developed my first ideas for what would become Gritty City Philadelphia.

For six months, I made skincare products and soy candles in my kitchen when I came home from work. On weekends, I rented a booth or a table at local craft fairs to market and sell them. Eventually, the candles outsold everything else by a huge margin, and Gritty City became a hand-poured candle company.

I worked my tail off through the next couple of years, exhibiting at New York and Atlanta trade shows, and twice at the Manayunk Arts Festival. By the end of 2012, Gritty City candles were sold in about 100 stores across the country.

Along the way, I began to cross paths with other small business owners who started in their kitchens, garages and basements. Before long, they were asking if I could refer them to a lawyer who specialized in small business issues. Then it finally hit me: I could be that person.

I outsourced my candle production, shut down my Kensington studio and start12

ed searching for an office in Manayunk.

Almost immediately, I found a spot on Cotton Street that was perfectly suited for my new practice—and for fulfilling a secret dream. It was multiple levels, but it was small. Just the kind of space I envisioned for an intimate, European-style gourmet shop.

My husband, a culinary school grad, and I occasionally fantasized out loud about opening a little gourmet/kitchen shop together. Imagine his surprise when I got home that night and reported my news.

Petit Gourmand opened late last summer. In one of my first official acts as a shop owner, I started filling out our inventory with wares from the local business owners I met during my candle days—Volta Organics soap, Girls Can Tell tea towels, dop dop designs potholders and aprons, No Bull Beauty cleansers and tonics. I reached out to Rival Bros. Coffee, too, and asked to sell their Philly-roasted beans.

I discovered Rock the Roll barbecue sauce at a local craft market and got wind of Saint Lucifer Spice, which, it turned out, launched in Manayunk.

Local chocolate was, of course, a must.

We source ours from John & Kira’s, here in Philly, and Éclat, in West Chester. I’m always scouting more artisans to represent, one way or the other. And this is just the start.

Sarah Holmes owns Petit Gourmand (103 Cotton Street; www.petitgourmandphila.com) with her husband Dan. She’s also an attorney who specializes in small business law (www.phillysmallbusinesslawyer.com).

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETIT GOURMAND / (PORTRAIT) LINDY POWERS

S H O P . B U S I N E S S S AV V Y

A Lawyer in Practice, an Artisan at Heart

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SHOP.GLITZ AND GLAM

All you need is love‌

and a little help from Manayunk

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I

t’s safe to say the trend toward vintage-inspired, increasingly casual weddings has reversed course.

Brides-in-waiting are gravitating to a warm palette of radiant orchid, soft blush and bracing gold to redraw the timeless lines and sophisticated air of old Hollywood.

That’s the effortless phase of planning a wedding, of course.

The grunt work begins with spinning fantasy into reality and coordinating the dozen or so moving parts that it entails. Imagine, though, if even that part could be made easier by, say, discovering a near-one-stop-shopping scene, where your every desire (even the over-the-top ones) is met, right down to the pitch-perfect venue, within the radius of a few blocks. Wel-

Plan Your Wedding In Manayunk Nicole Miller Pictured: Nicole Miller Dakota Dress ($1,035), Sash ($400) & Veil ($350) www.nicolemiller.com Gary Mann Jewelers Pictured: Earrings & Necklace www.garymannjewelry.com Salon L’Etoile & Spa Pictured: Groom’s Hair by Michael O’Connor manayunk.salonletoile.com Starshine Salon Pictured: Bride’s Hair by Su-Shan Lai & Bride’s Make-Up

by Erica Nichole Bou starshinephilly.com

PHOTOS BY SUSAN BEARD (WWW.SUSANBEARDDESIGN.COM) / ASSISTED BY ERIKA SMITH

Chrissy’s Flowers Pictured: Bride’s Bouquet & Groom’s Boutonniere www.manayunkflowers.com Sweet Elizabeth’s Cakes Pictured: 5-Tiered Cake With Floral Design www.sweetelizabethscakes.com John Kevin Gallagher Floral & Event Designer Pictured: Cake Table & Vases www.jkgfloral.com CTO Music Artists Pictured: CTO DJ www.ctoartists.com Artesano Iron Works Wedding & Event Venue www.artesanoironworks.com Beat Street Station Wedding & Event Venue www.beatstreetstation.com Bourbon Blue Wedding & Event Venue www.bourbonblue.com Manayunk Brewing Company Wedding & Event Venue www.manayunkbrewery.com Photography By Susan Beard Design Wedding Photographer www.sweetelizabethscakes.com

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come to Manayunk.

Every article featured here, from the cake and flowers to the DJ, the gown and jewelry to the hair and makeup, even the photographer who shot these images, was pulled from along and around Main Street. Not pictured: the bevy of settings, ranging from the artistic Artesano Iron Works to the party-toend-all-parties-ready Beat Street Station and The Manayunk Brewery to the intimate Bourbon Blue.

If you’re the kind who prefers to skip straight from the before frame to the after—and who isn’t, really?—there’s even a resident event designer, John Kevin Gallagher, who helped stage this shoot. —SE

!

For this article we set out to find a bride and groom to feature, and who better than a recently engaged Manayunk couple. Brittany Russo and Sean Darras were the perfect fit. Brittany is a spin instructor at The Wall Cycling Studio where Sean often joins in on classes, but that’s not where their story began.

Act one began when they first saw each other across a classroom at the University of Delaware where both were studying mechanical engineering. Over the next year, the outspoken girl from Central Jersey and the shy guy from Lancaster sifted through the other students, until it was down to just them.

Through a sitcom-like coincidence, after graduating, act two moved them into separate houses within shouting distance of each other on Gay Street in Manayunk. But it proved to be a brief intermission before act three, when they bought their first home together a few blocks away.

Then last March after years of dating, Sean climbed down on one knee at dinner surrounded by both of their parents and officially put a ring on Brittany’s finger. The story continues at their September 6 wedding – so this photo shoot is kind of a dress rehearsal for them – in an outdoor ceremony in Lancaster.

Brittany said, Manayunk will always remind them of the beginning of their lives together and they’re looking forward to living in their cozy row home and enjoying all the energy, vibrancy, and character Manayunk provides for years to come.

"

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COVER PROFILE

Captain of the Schuylkill

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Mike Blundetto Sr. is pulling dragon boat racing from total obscurity to a sport on the cusp of exploding. And he’s done the bulk of it from a bank of the Schuylkill River, in Manayunk.

PHOTO BY SUSAN BEARD (WWW.SUSANBEARDDESIGN.COM) / ASSISTED BY ERIKA SMITH

By Scott Edwards

It was a series of abrupt turns—a severe neck injury that ended the ascension of a promising Drexel wrestler, an open call posted in a 7-11—that landed Mike Blundetto Sr. in an entirely unfamiliar place at the formative age of 19.

And yet, instantly, the inside of a dragon boat—what would be the first to be manned by an all-American team—felt like it was exactly where he belonged.

Over the last three decades, if Blundetto wasn’t in one paddling along the Schuylkill or racing in a regatta somewhere around the world, he was encouraging growing legions of the curious and thrill seekers to pick up a paddle. The tipping point finally came in 2008, when USA Canoe/Kayak, the national governing body for paddle sports, invited Blundetto, who resides in Glen Mills, to launch a dragon boat arm. All of that patient, passionate nurturing came rushing to fruition as his national dragon boat teams went on to collect the most world medals of any of the USA Canoe/Kayak disciplines over the next five years.

But Blundetto, of course, was making waves long before he earned his weight in gold. Riding the swell of interest that followed the 2001 dragon boat world championships in Philadelphia, he formed, in 2004, the Manayunk Dragon Boat Racing Team, an amateur squad that’s proven to be fertile ground for the national team.

The Venice Island dock from which both train should be teeming this summer, as Blundetto aims his national racers, including himself, at the next ICF Dragon Boat World Championships in Poland in August. It’ll be hard to top the last installment, in 2012. Blundetto is a world champion several times over. But it was then, standing atop the medals podium in Milan, waiting for bronze medals to be hanged from his neck and his nine teammates’, that he realized that this trumped everything else. Because among his teammates were his oldest son, Mike Jr., and his three oldest daughters, Ashley, Brittany and Melina. Closing in on 50, they are what drive him now.

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COVER PROFILE

Facing a spring loaded with potential—national team trials all over the country and the start of his fourth decade of racing— Blundetto considers how far his sport’s come and what shapes its mainstreaming could take from here.

What did the early days of dragon boat racing look like around here?

It was nonexistent. The Hong Kong Tourist Association shipped a boat over to the folks on Boathouse Row to introduce them to the sport.

There was no place to go, no place to compete. We just kind of did it and tried to figure it out as we went along.

How would you describe its state now?

I think it’s growing in popularity with recreational athletes, which is great. And I mean that in a positive way. Every sport has to have its base.

It’s a really big deal, too, that people with physical handicaps are getting into these boats for therapy. The boats are pretty stable. So you can get people who have relatively little experience into them, teach them the concept of teamwork, and they can have a wonderful experience right out of the gate.

The weekend warrior may be your best-represented demographic, but there seems to be a concerted effort by Dragon Boat USA to identify potential racers at earlier ages.

We had a five-year game plan to get us to this point. Our future’s in the hands of youngsters that have not necessarily been introduced to this

sport yet. We do stuff with North Light [Community Center] where we put the kids in boats. They have an opportunity to see what it’s like, see the city from the river. It’s a whole different perspective.

How intense is the run up to a race like the world championships?

Very. What I want to do first and foremost is teach them what it is that we’re expecting on race day, take them through a couple race-day scenarios. Once we teach them what works and what doesn’t work, and give them the best tools to be as successful as possible, we’ll then put that paddle back in their hands for a formal assessment. That’s how we select our team.

It sounds like there’s a lot of projection when it comes to scouting talent.

Absolutely. You gotta be an athlete. If your hand-eye coordination is there, and you’re in sync with everybody else, you’re going to be pretty powerful in this.

Out of my own stupid curiosity, the drum, is that purely for aesthetics or does it have an actual purpose?

It’s there to keep the roots of the sport. We’re more tuned into watching, feeling the people around us and listening to the commands than we are to listening to the drum. Though she’s got to physically drum, we don’t train to home in on the drum.

For more, visit www.dragonboatusa.com.

We Know the Neighborhood.

We’re proud to serve the people who call Manayunk home. Whether you live here, work here or both, we’ve got your banking needs covered. Call us today at (267) 295-6420 or drop in and see us to learn more about our full line of personal banking and business banking services.

Neighborhood Banking.

Wherever You Go. Mobile + Online Banking

With our suite of online and mobile banking services, a network of 50,000 Allpoint® ATMs, free interbank fund transfers and even a courier service for business accounts, you can bank conveniently and securely, wherever you go.

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D I N E . C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H T H E C H E F

Local First and Foremost Sean Coyle lived according to a heightened awareness.

But it wasn’t until he plotted his latest restaurant, The Goat’s Beard, that he truly began to grasp his impact.

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A LOCAL AWARENESS TRANSLATES TO ONE OF THE DEEPEST WHISKEY RESERVES IN THE STATE AND HEARTY DISHES LIKE THE VEGETABLE NAPOLEAN (LEFT) AND CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (RIGHT).

and the impotent agencies that allow it to occur is criminal. For the longest time, it was its own reward to know the people who fed me, whether it was an apple or dinner. And then I grasped all that that trust entailed. Without the chain of faceless middlemen dividing us, the farmers and the distributors are directly accountable, and with that kind of intimacy among us, it’s impossible for them not to aspire to be better.

The same could be said of our relationship with our diners. And it’s why, in spite of the challenging variables, we’re conscientious in every decision made

about the ingredients that we cook with and motivated to be more grounded in Manayunk by the day.

The craftsmanship in our kitchen and behind the bar is one half of the responsibility. We also compost our oil waste and recycle everything we can. The smaller the circle, the more you appreciate your impact on those within it.

I came across a quote by restaurateur Hugh Acheson when I was working on the blueprints for The Goat’s Beard that resonated with me. For the first time, I really got how the various ways I live my life contribute to a greater good. It’s all in the name of the community, because it’s the one thing we share. And like any organism, it thrives with care.

“My mantra is: local first, sustainable second, organic third. Local has impact and impact produces change. Change is the process of making the farming sustainable, and once sustainable, the next step is certified-organically grown … I am not a fanatic, just a believer. I believe in the place we live and in finding ways to make it great everyday. I am endlessly enamored of my local sphere, my community.”

For a taste of how we tailor our menus

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE GOAT’S BEARD

Buying local was just something I just did without giving a whole lot of thought to it. It was ingrained in me, so there was nothing exceptional or trendy about it.

Growing up, my family owned different kinds of small businesses, from video stores to restaurants, and it was always important to them to foster relationships, especially with those who outwardly shared their pride in the surrounding community. At home, they reciprocated the loyalty. Instead of hitting Acme, they tried to buy the bulk of their groceries from farmers markets and local produce purveyors.

Eventually, I adopted their way as my own, and it influences every aspect of my life, both in the restaurant and away from it, as it did theirs. I buy my coffee on Main Street at family-owned shops because I want to spend my hard-earned money somewhere where sacrifices were made and a dream’s on the line. That’s the circle at its tightest: a neighbor looking out for a neighbor.

When I was planning The Goat’s Beard, another reason entered the equation: health. What our food’s become in the hands of behemoth corporations manayunk.com | Spring 2014

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Authentic Indian Cuisine

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to Manayunk, I’m including the recipe for one of our staples, on the following page, courtesy of our head chef, Joel Romano.

“My mantra is: local first, sustainable second, organic third. and impact produces change. Change is the process of making the farming sustainable, and once sustainable, the next step is certified-organically grown … I am not a fanatic, just a believer.

I believe in the place we live and in finding ways to make it great everyday. I am endlessly enamored of my local sphere, my community.”

Hugh Acheson Chef and restaurateur

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Beer-Battered Fish and Chips with Kimchi Remoulade Makes six servings.

3 pounds fresh fish of choice (We use fluke.)

Canola oil 6 Idaho potatoes BEER BATTER 1 tbsp. baking soda 1 tbsp. salt 1 cup flour 1 cup corn starch 1 12-ounce bottle Miller High Life KIMCHI REMOULADE ¾ cup kimchi cabbage, chopped 1¼ cups mayo (homemade, preferably) 1 3 / cup shallots, minced ½ cup cornichons, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 tbsp. ginger, finely minced 1 tbsp. horseradish 1 lemon, for zest and juice 1 orange, for zest 1 lime, for zest 2 tbsps. Sriracha sauce 1 tbsp. flat-leaf parsley, chopped ¼ cup capers 2 tsps. whole-grain mustard 1 tbsp. ketchup 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce ¾ tsp. smoked paprika ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper Salt and pepper to taste

For the chips: Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips. Then, blanch them at 260 degrees until they’re partially cooked. Drain and refrigerate.

For the beer batter: Crack the eggs into a bowl. Next, add the beer, reserving a few splashes in case you need to thin the batter.

With a whisk, slowly add and combine the dry ingredients until the batter’s smooth in consistency and coats the back of a spoon. Then, refrigerate.

For the kimchi remoulade: Prepare an hour in advance of serving.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.

For the fish: Heat the canola oil to 350 degrees. Dredge the fish in the cold batter and then slowly place it in the oil. Cook until it turns golden brown. At that point, remove it from the oil and drain it on paper towels. Season.

Once you’re done with the fish, add the blanched potatoes and cook them until they turn golden brown as well. Then, drain them on paper towels and season.

Serve the fish and chips over a heaping pile of the kimchi remoulade.

Photo courtesy of The Goat’s Beard

Local has impact

manayunk.com | Spring 2014

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PLAY.ALONG THE TRAIL

A Green Retreat Within an Urban Landscape Lower Venice Island’s about to become Philly’s showpiece for eco-savvy development.

And it was only three decades in the making.

By Scott Edwards

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W

hen lower Venice Island opens in mostly-full-bloom this spring, it’ll launch the start of a new era in Manayunk. But few will appreciate how long the journey was like Kay Sykora will.

“A friend of mine, about a year ago, sent me a letter that I had sent out in the mid-eighties,” Sykora says. Its purpose was to draw attention to the island and gauge the neighborhood’s interest in developing it into a park, complete with a performance center. Which means the seed was planted almost 30 years ago. SSykora was a volunteer at the time, but now works as the director of Destination Schuylkill River, an arm of the Manayunk Development Corporation (MDC) that’s dedicated to improving Manyaunk’s public infrastructure.

Sykora and MDC have overseen every phase of the park’s disjointed evolution, from the feasibility studies that went nowhere in the nineties to the daunting news in the early 2000s that the Philadelphia Water Department planned to build a four million-gallon, underground, stormwater basin on the island. And because her faith was tested so often, it’s difficult for even her to grasp that its completion is near.

“I think when you do public projects, you begin to wonder if you’ll ever see the end of them,” Sykora says. “And it’s not just this project, but all projects of this scale. They take a long time. And when you’re along the river, they get complicated by the type of stuff that goes with it.”

Ironically, it was the pressing need for the basin that finally jolted the plans for the park forward, when it appeared as though nothing else would. The water department’s initial rendering proposed building the basin and an accompanying three-story pump house. All that would remain of the aging playground and rec center that was there—and any hope for a full-fledged park in the future—was a basic path that would wind through the space in between.

“We all just felt, there’s so much investment in this area, and this could be so much more,” Sykora says.

The Manayunk Development Corporation responded by reaching out to Andropogon Associates, a Manayunk landscape architecture firm that specializes in ecological design, which developed a concept that harmoniously incorporated the park into the water department’s plans, or vice versa, depending on the perspective. (Destination Schuylkill River wasn’t yet founded at that point. It came into existence in 2006.

Prior to then, Sykora was the founding executive director of the MDC.) Not long after, the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversaw the Venice Island rec center, approached MDC with the idea of rekindling the perfor-

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“We all just felt, there’s so much investment in this area, and this could be more.”

mance center. The structure would enable the parks and rec department to shift some programming away from the overcrowded Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in University City. Impossibly, the seed was beginning to sprout roots, 20 years later. Just as remarkably, the catalyst was a sophisticated compromise among three very separate and strong-minded factions, the water and parks and rec departments and MDC. Construction on the basin and pump house began in 2011 and are now completed and functioning.

The 250-seat performance center is the obvious centerpiece.

It’s designed to function as both an indoor and outdoor theater. But the natural elements A 250-SEAT, INDOOR/ that will surround it—and likely OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE go largely unnoticed—are what CENTER WILL BE THE will transform the island into a PARK’S CENTERPIECE. showpiece for the entire city.

The pump house is sheltered beneath a green roof. Rain gardens are installed throughout the park to channel runoff from the stretches of permeable paving. And all of the plantings—all $1.2 million worth of them—are native and self-sustaining. The vegetation also lines the steep river banks, along with walls of caged rocks, acting as a barrier against flooding and erosion.

Coupled with the housing that’s being constructed adjacent to the lower end of the island, Sykora envisions a shift in Manayunk’s landscape, with the canal eventually becoming the focal point, instead of an afterthought.

“It has the opportunity to be a great public space,” she says.

“We envision it basically as a watered street.”

Studies are being conducted to determine how exactly it would work. The plan hinges on the Lock Street bridge, which needs to be rebuilt, and will, in turn, keep the park, at the easternmost tip of the island, from being completed for the time being. (Though the park and the performance center will open officially in June.) Construction, Sykora says, is expected to start sometime in the spring and last between six months to a year. Once it’s done, it’ll broaden the entrance to the park and make it much more visible to people walking nearby, Sykora says. In the meantime, Destination Schuylkill River’s exploring options for distinguishing the other two ways onto the lower end of the island in an effort to blend more seamlessly the urban and natural worlds that locals have long coexisted in and coveted.

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PLAY.GET PHYSICAL

How the Elite Train in Manayunk For these four elite athletes, all of Manayunk is fair game for testing (and rewarding) themselves day in and day out.

JOLTIN’ JOEY DEMALAVEZ Owner, Joltin’ Jabs Boxing Fitness; former pro boxer; trainer to the stars

MIKE BLUNDETTO SR.

Hours spent training weekly I’m always moving. Aside from the nine classes and private sessions a day I instruct, I workout twice a day, early in the morning and in the afternoon, for three hours total every day. No days off!

Head Coach, Dragon Boat USA; world champion racer Crowning achievement Winning bronze at the 2012 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships with my son, Mike Jr., and daughters, Ashley, Brittany and Melina.

What makes Manayunk the ideal training ground I always called Manayunk the “Polish Poconos,” with all the hills. Nothing better than a hard hill workout finished off with running the public stairways.

There are a lot of flights around the neighborhood. I don’t listen to music when I run. I like to meditate, and the towpath’s good for that.

Hours spent training weekly About 10. Plus another 15 coaching.

What makes Manayunk the ideal training ground The river, of course. But the whole environment is conducive, from the concentration of top-shelf gyms, like SWEAT Fitness, to a supportive community that starts with the businesses and continues right on through the construction crews on Venice Island.

Where you head for a punishing workout Out on the Schuylkill, for back-to-back sprint intervals at 118 strokes per minute.

Next major goal The world championships in Poland in August.

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Where you head for a punishing workout The Philadelphia Museum of Art. I don’t lift weights. I do a lot of animal movements instead. So, I’ll run the three-and-a-half miles to the museum, do all my movements on the steps, then run back. Try gorilla-walking up the steps and bear-crawling down. Sick workout.

Next major goal To expand Joltin’ Jabs. I’m opening another in Center City soon, and one in Ardmore after that. I left a union job to open Joltin’ Jabs 15 years ago. Today, Charles Barkley trains with me, along with Stephen A. Smith, the Flyers and a bunch of local TV and radio personalities.

PHOTOS BY SUSAN BEARD (WWW.SUSANBEARDDESIGN.COM) / ASSISTED BY ERIKA SMITH

Crowning achievement Turning professional at 38 and then scoring a televised, first-round knockout at the Spectrum at 39 against an undefeated up-and-comer.

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PHOTOS: (BRIAN WALTON) COURTESY OF WALTON ENDURANCE; (DANA WALTON) BY SUSAN BEARD (WWW.SUSANBEARDDESIGN.COM) / ASSISTED BY ERIKA SMITH

BRIAN WALTON

DANA WALTON

Owner and coach, Walton Endurance; former Olympic and pro cyclist

Owner and coach, Walton Endurance; masters track cycling world champion

Crowning achievement Winning silver at the 1996 Olympics [in the track points race]. Before then, I never finished higher than fifth in the race. I also had knee surgery less than two months before. But I gained a new appreciation of cycling when I was injured, and that fed my drive to get through three workouts a day.

Crowning achievement Winning the 2K individual pursuit at the 2011 UCI Masters Track World Championships, my fifth title in five races. That was pretty emotional for me because, ironically, I kept thinking how imperfect my training was, shortening workouts and substituting them altogether, squeezing them in in lieu of sleep.

Hours spent training weekly During my racing career, 25 to 30-plus, which translated to 500 to 600-plus miles. Now, it’s probably six to eight, and it’s not really training; I’d call it riding—hard group rides and commuting to Manayunk.

Hours spent training weekly Eight.

What makes Manayunk the ideal training ground Having so many rewards available after the workout: grabbing coffee or some great food, slipping into a salon, shopping.

What makes Manayunk the ideal training ground Since the eighties, it’s always been a center for cycling. There’s the legendary Wall, but it’s also the close proximity to trails. Recovering at any number of restaurants—my favorite’s Winnie’s LeBus—helps too.

Where you head for a punishing workout Walton Endurance Training Studio at Human Zoom.

Where you head for a punishing workout Walton Endurance Training Studio at Human Zoom, of course.

Next major goal Capturing the world record in the 200-meter time trial. I was .16 of a second off last year. And I’d like to repeat my five-gold medal-performance at this year’s masters world track championships in October.

Next major goal After 17 years of racing, 12 as a professional, my personal goals are accomplished. It’s time now to share my experience and knowledge with my athletes and help them achieve theirs.

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Manayunk Garden Apartments Magnificent hillside setting...unique apartments are nestled in the popular hills of Manayunk.

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