the list
VALLEY
CITY
Kuali is Malay for wok, a cooking bowl that welcomes high heat and spicy stir fries. Jenny’s Kuali is a communal melting pot, a family restaurant for all sorts of families, the beating heart of South Bethlehem’s culinary United Nations. Jenny and Roy Kim, who grew up in Butterworth, Malaysia, serve feisty, fragrant, fine food: Chinese eggplant; mango shrimp; pineapple fried rice; noodle soup with Chinese greens and chili sauce; huge, hearty pork dumplings that satisfy to the marrow. The staffers, which have included the Kims’ children Ka Seng and Mei Yi, make me feel at home whether I’m eating solo, duo or in a birthday-party sextet. My late English mother loved the place, partly because Jenny treated her like a queen. When Mom was hospitalized with the flu, my sister and I ordered Jenny’s takeout to cheer and charge her up. We knew she was on the road to recovery when she laughed, in spite of herself, at a fortune cookie insisting “It’s not the end yet. Let’s stay with it.” (102 E. 4th St., Bethlehem; 610-758-8088; jennyskuali.com; BYOB)
Because February is both Black History Month and Valentine’s Month, I would not dare be so bold as to tell you how to serve and how to love, be it communally or personally. All I can ask you to do is make certain that you do.
The Valley’s liveliest facade has long belonged to the Roxy Theatre’s marquee. More than 700 colored bulbs flash, chase and create a grinning glow that makes the crappiest weather happy. Behind the marquee, which somehow resembles a Native American headdress, is a century-old venue slowly and carefully restored to Art Deco glory. Second-run films come with first-rate prices ($3 tickets; $3.50 large popcorn) and effects (a synchronized light-and-curtain show; a Wurlitzer organ that entertained roller skaters). Owner/operator Richard C. Wolfe is an expert on historic atmospherics; as a teen he worked at the Boyd Theater in Easton, a long-demolished plaster palace with a twinkling constellation on the ceiling and a Mediterranean village on the side walls. At the Roxy he’s preserved the sparkling spark of a house that presented vaudeville, Wild West shows and concerts by the likes of John Belushi and KISS. Billy Joel credits exuberant Roxy fans with boosting his stagnant career. During a 1973 gig they refused to let him leave the stage until he had played his catalog plus tunes by Elton John, his future touring mate. Sixteen years later my father and I bonded over “Field of Dreams,” tearing up and squeezing hands as a quixotic farmer played catch with his ghost dad. (2004 Main St., Northampton; 610-262-7699; roxynorthampton.com) Neighbored by a chain pizza joint, the Compact Disc Center offers plenty of pies and toppings. A cornerstone since 1989, the store sells a
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—GEOFF GEHMAN 8
ICON | FEBRUARY 2022 | ICONDV.COM
Now through March Deconstructing Bowie: Freedom in Eccentricity National Liberty Museum. A truncated-due-to-Omicron Philly Bowie Week cleverly shifted its activities with the pandemic variant’s rush, but left us with this literally and figuratively dazzling art and fashion exhibition focusing on Philadelphia favorite David Bowie’s iconic role as “social disruptor and rebel, through work inspired by his music, art and fashion.” Not only is the look-see worth your time—all of its star-dusted creations on display will be for sale, benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. February 5–May 1 Tattoo: Identity Through Ink American Swedish Historical Museum. The last time I was in the wilds of South Philadelphia’s “lakes,” it was for the outdoor, grassy knollish Philadelphia Flower Show. It was then that I realized how gorgeous the American Swedish Historical Museum was, so that alone makes this trip into tattoos and modern-day tribalism fascinating. “From indigenous cultures to today’s athletes and celebrities,” the identity exhibition looks at the last 150 years of tattooing in the U.S while additionally celebrating Swedes’ skills: artists like Norwegian Johan Frederik Knudsen and Norwegian-American Amund Dietzel and the question of whether or not Vikings had tattoos. I don’t recall asking, but I’ll bite. Plus, this starts right before the Philadelphia Tattoo Festival, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (February 22-27) where Philly, Jersey and nationally renowned tattoo artists hang for a weekend of inking and like-minded entertainment. Plenty of sideshow acts and burlesque, too. February 9—22 Hadestown Academy of Music. Pop-edged folkie Anais Mitchell had been working the usual record-tour cycle when she came upon the idea of Hell on Earth with a Dylan-Joni-esque kink. Voila. Hadestown. Broadway. A rustic elec-
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—A.D. AMOROSI
