Our mother ship posted about the wave of change our city has ridden since the birth of Philebrity, and what the future holds for a town that had no real identity besides softball Rocky jokes and Cheesesteaks.

Beyond a new local political era, arts explosion, entrepreneurial endeavors, and pride in our first sports winner since 1983 came a wave of legitimate foodpride. No longer a punchline, Philadelphia is the hottest place to be for eats.

In 2004, would you have believed we would be home to the fastest rising star in the chef world, the launching point for one of the world’s most successful restaurateurs, home to some of the country’s finest microbrews, artisan bakeries, a frequent name on Conde Nast’s ‘Best Of’ Lists, Wine Spectator articles, Bon Appetit Magazine, and an Eric Ripert outpost? More of our cheese shops made ‘Top 10′ lists than the other 5 boroughs. You live in the place to be.

The BYOB cultural phenomenon is not Philly-only anymore, but we started it. Created from challenges presented by local government, we did it the right way: ingenuity, hard work, all born out of necessity. It’s our job to keep this progressive thinking and bootstrap mentality going strong. Get out there and vote tomorrow. Change is good for food, for the Phils, and all of us.