PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Alicia Vitarelli and Maggie Kent check out Cavanaugh's new spot, Puerto Rican eats at Boricua 2.0 and Forever Changes Records.
Boricua #2, Cavanaugh's Rittenhouse are new to Philly's dining scene
Boricua is Spanish for Puerto Rican and the restaurant's motto is 'Yo Soy Boricua Que Tu Lo Sepa', or 'I am proud to be Puerto Rican.'
That pride is in every detail of the décor from the moment you walk in the door.
There's a bilingual menu with island trivia. Puerto Rico's iconic frog, the coqui, is everywhere you look.
The owners and siblings, Hector and Jasmine Serrano also added a wall of their mother's sayings. Their mom's pining for the flavors of her childhood, Hector says, is why Boricua exists.
Weekend specials include dishes like the steak and onions and fried pork chops, and the everyday menu is filled with Puerto Rican favorites like red beans, sweet plantains, mofongo, and pastelillos.
The roast pork is the restaurant's top seller. There's boneless chicken served with a red sauce gravy and a seafood salad also available in the grab-and-go case. The restaurants sells hundreds of tres leche a week.
While waiting for your food, you can pick up Puerto Rican souvenirs, like Puerto Rican buttons for your crocs and Puerto Rican flags for your rear-view mirror. There's also a wall of merchandise with everything from the Puerto Rican flag dresses and umbrellas to Puerto Rico Monopoly.
There's a Puerto Rican flag planted on every plate, and a saying at every seat, 'buen provecho,' which means 'enjoy your meal.'
3843 Aramingo Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 19137 (inside Aramingo Shopping Center)
For sports lovers, the nearly century-old Cavanaugh's has a brand new location in Rittenhouse dubbed Cav's Ritt.
The new location is only a block west of the old one but double the size. There's a bar on the first and the second level bar, 24 big screen TVs and an 11x6' video wall, enabling the restaurant to put on 12 different games at the same time.
They also put in a pizza oven that can cook a 10-inch pie in four minutes.
There's a Mediterranean salad with homemade falafel fried to order and a menu filled with shareable options.
The place is carb-heavy says GM Mike Anderson, who calls it a gluttonous, cheat day kind of place.
The award-winning wings are, by far, the best seller. You can choose from a half dozen sauces but the whiskey-based Cav sauce is the fan favorite.
There are 40 beers and no-frills cocktails like the Eagles Game Day Punch with tequila, pineapple juice and blue curaao to make it turn green.
There's a blue drink is called the bottoms up-named, Mike says, "because it goes down too easy." It's a mix of regular and coconut rum and coconut-flavored Red Bull, a good pick-me-up for those days you want to watch sports all day long.
1921 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103
New suburban dining: Fiori Rosso, Bierhaul, Fire Nashville Hot Chicken
Three new spots from newcomers and established names of the dining scene bring very different offerings to the Philly suburbs.
In Bryn Mawr, James Beard veteran Marc Vetri opened his first Italian steakhouse with Fiori Rosso.
Steaks as large as 40 ounces are on the menu with vegetables and sides meant to be shared.
At Bierhaul, a stone house from the 1700s has been converted into a European-styled beer hall and garden.
The owners hail from Ireland and France and wanted to create what they were used to and have done that at this sprawling space in Thornton which includes a patio and outdoor space for family fun.
Fire Nashville Hot Chicken is a newcomer to West Chester, offering authentic hot chicken sandwiches and more, using techniques and ingredients learned by the owners after repeated trips to Nashville.
All items are cooked to order, including spice levels to personal taste.
Dom and Mia's is a tribute to couple's hometown, young lives lost
The names chosen for this new Springfield restaurant come from a sad story, but the family also takes joy in honoring the remembrance of the namesakes, and the awareness their story can bring.
Dom & Mia's is named in memory of Domenico James and Mia Isabella, both lost to complications from premature birth.
Husband and wife owners Steve and Jenna DeVito now strive to raise awareness around the heartwrenching experience that many other parents also go through.
The couple has two young children, aged 1 and 4, and they have embraced the March of Dimes charity -- donating a percentage of proceeds to the charity, as well as to the doctors and nurses at the Lankenau NICU where all their children were born.
Their restaurant serves elevated comfort food and is located in Delaware County, where the couple, the chef, and most of the staff hail from.
New Phoenixville vinyl record shop continues family legacy
Forever Changes Music and Gifts opened last fall bringing the vinyl resurgence to Phoenixville's Main Street.
Owner Shawn Cephas, 51, has been collecting since he was 13 years old.
The shop stocks just about every genre imaginable. Shawn puts funk, soul, and hip hop front and center of the search because, he says, "in most places it's in the back."
Nothing is alphabetized, putting the focus on crate-digging exploration and discovery.
There's a treasure hunt bin where everything is $1 and a crate filled with music for hope and healing, a nod to the past couple of years.
Along with the records there's a collection of gifts, from notebooks carrying old album covers to earrings and tie clips cut from old 45s.
Everything is made by local artists and most live within walking distance of the store
Shawn grew up working in his father's iconic King James Record Shops in Philadelphia.
His father was a musician and as a boy, Shawn met stars like Michael Jackson, Grover Washington, Jr. and Babyface.
But it was decades before he decided to turn his lifelong love into a career.
The store is named after a 1967 album by a group called Love, with a Black lead singer named Arthur Lee.
The name is also a metaphor for Shawn's creation of a modern record store that still continues his father's legacy .
Something Different by Eric is an outlet for those with disabilities
Something Different by Eric is more than a store.
It's a place where people with disabilities can learn, work, find independence and grow.
The space opened in 2015, when Bernadette Wheeler and her husband decided to create something their son Eric could call his own.
Eric was born with Down Syndrome, now 30-years-old he is the inspiration behind Something Different By Eric.
Inside you will find unique gift ideas featuring everything from sports memorabilia to items for dog and cat lovers.
They try to find women-owned businesses and items that will inspire the next generation.
Eric works at the store as a greeter, stocker and ambassador for the business.
They are hoping to expand the business to include others with disabilities working at the store and are programming to support and advocate for families with disabled members.
Philadelphia Ballet opens new season with 'Cinderella'
The Philadelphia Ballet is dancing the fairytale favorite 'Cinderella' to open their new season.
It's the Ballet's first production with its newly expanded company of 50 dancers.
This version of 'Cinderella' was choreographed by Ben Stevenson.
It animates the enchanting story of Cinderella falling in love with the handsome prince, triumphing over her wicked step-family, and finding the lost slipper that leads to happily ever after.
The ballet also has some physical humor.
"You can see the humor in the mannerisms of especially the stepsisters. They're the most comical part of the ballet," says Jack Thomas, Principal Dancer.
It's set to Sergei Prokofiev's timeless score, which is played live by the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra.
"Everyone in the audience, their hearts start to beat in the same rhythm. To share that experience with so many people at the same time is a very unique moment," says Angel Corella, Artistic Director.
With seven different casts, every performance will offer something unique.
"It's really great to see the different points of view from the dancer and how they perceive the role of Cinderella," says Corella.
The Philadelphia Ballet is breaking ground for a new five-story dance center designed to be a cultural hub on North Broad Street.
"We're building a wellness center and we can do a lot of community education and bring ballet and the arts to our community," says Corella.
'Cinderella' runs from October 13th through October 23rd at the Academy of Music.
SHOW EXTRAS
Garces Trading Company is back after a pandemic pause.
The shop has settled into a new home inside the Cira Center, where the Garces-run JG Domestic used to be, tapping into the commuter crowd.
You can grab to-go coffee, baked goods, sandwiches and even a bottle of wine.
There's also a retail section with curated items from the Iron Chef.
The 214th season at the Walnut Street Theater launches with 'Rocky, the Musical.'
The famous Philadelphia story has been converted from screen to stage featuring underdog Rocky's rise from smalltime thug to bigtime boxing glory.
The show opens Oct. 4 at the Walnut Street Theater and runs through Nov. 6.
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