As such, George and I are hunkered down in East Falls, secluded from the bulk of the mayhem, but also unable to, you know, go anywhere. But where better to be trapped for four days, blizzard style, than in the Falls? (Except a mall. I would LOVE to be trapped in a mall. Orange Julius, baby!)
Anyway, East Falls is the best, and you should all move here or at the very least hang out here, like, all the time. Follow along to find out why! I’ll be posting all weekend, updating as I go ....
To prepare for Popeageddon, earlier in the week I loaded up on good reads—and by good reads I mean the new Richard Castle book, aka Driving Heat [oops], Boy, Snow, Bird [totally legit], and Murder City [okay, now I just seem weird]—from the library. Hey Fallsers, and would-be Fallsers, did you know that an economic impact study by the Fels Institute shows that homes near one of the city’s 54 neighborhood Free Library spots are worth about 10 grand more on average than their non-Library adjacent counterparts? Holler. (Plus, you can get Castle books there. AND OMG CASTLE DVDS! Ahem.)
My favorite flower shop in All of the Known Universe is just a few blocks away from our house. Falls Flowers has the most glorious, oddball flowers that the team there manages to combine into totally wild yet natural looking arrangements. Like the garden I always want, but have no ability to grow for myself. Not looking for a giant floral set up? They’ve got flowers for sale by the stem, my go-to. I figured if I was gonna be on lockdown in my house all weekend, it better smell fresh and look pretty. It remains to be seen whether my little bouquet of lovelies can overtake the stench of the sauerkraut George cooked up last night. Sigh. Heaven help us all. But mostly G, as I’m about three-seconds away from a full-on sauerkraut ban.
In Riva opened "on the banks of the Schuylkill" just under four years ago, and has been going like gangbusters ever since. Think fancy pizza and pasta (Vetri, Zavino, and the like) only better and less hideously overpriced. Plus, this place knows how to do a special: Be still my thrifty heart. In addition to a standard happy hour at its bar, In Riva also offers up a slew of deals throughout the week (follow them on Facebook to get the scoop), including a half-priced pizza deal every Tuesday (as well as throughout this Popealicious weekend). Like any good restaurant worth it salt, In Riva changes up its menu seasonally, but if you're lucky you'll make it there for the Spicy Ham (see pic above!) or the Soppresatta. Feed me.