>>>Amada (217-219 Chestnut Street) is offering a four-course prix fixe menu for $60 or $75 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Offerings include Dry-Aged Strip Steak with chard and smoked bacon demi, Lobster with sea beans and blood orange; and Pastel de Chocolate with alpaco-cardamom mousse, almond dacquoise, canella ice cream and orange. Wine pairings are also available.

>>>The Valentine’s menu at Barbuzzo (110 South 13th Street) features La Quercia Prosciutto Rossa with smoked tomato tapenade, burrata from Puligia, arugula and saba; Lancaster Beet “Love Letters” with red beet ravioli, sheep’s milk ricotta filling, roasted butternut squash, beet greens, hazelnut brown butter and balsamic; and Marcie Blaine Chocolate Fondue with espellete chile and cinnamon infused 70% single origin dark chocolate, toasted almond pound cake, fresh strawberry, espresso brownie, vanilla bean marshmallow and pineapple. The four-course prixe fixe meal is $65 per person.

>>>Cuba Libre (10 South 2nd Street), from February 11th to the 14th, will be offering a three-course tasting menu for $78 per couple. Selections include Ostras Julio Lobos (baked oysters with spinach, goat cheese, scallions and aguardiente sauce), Filete de Res (pan roasted filet mignon with tortilla de planto maduro and culantro béarnaise), and Langosta Thermidor (lobster tails gratin with butter, cream, gruyere cheese, mushrooms, “forbidden rice” and lobster sauce).

>>>On top of their regular offerings and an a la carte menu, City Tap House (3925 Walnut Street) will be serving an amazing sounding Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Float, made with vanilla ice cream, Timmerman’s Strawberry Lambic and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.

>>>Fork (306 Market Street) will offer guests a $70 three-course menu, including: House-cured Duck Prosciutto , Roasted Paradise Shrimp, Butter-poached Lobster, and Crispy Skin Wild Striped Bass. An optional wine pairing will also be available for $20 per person.

>>> Del Frisco’s Steakhouse (1426 Chestnut Street) is offering, from February 10th to February 14th, an 8oz. Filet Mignon and an 8oz. Lobster Tail for only $79, in memory of the first Valentines, surf and turf.

>>>Square 1682 (121 South 17th Street) is offering a six-course, $65 per-person dinner (minus tax and gratuity). The dinner is $100 with wine pairings.

>>>10 Arts Bistro & Lounge is offering (from February 10-14) an, “indulgent six-course tasting that concludes with a progressive chocolate tasting.” The courses are $195 per couple, or $275 with a Moet & Chandon champagne pairing.

>>>The Gypsy Saloon in West Conshohocken is offering their aphrodisiac menu (hey now!) from, once again, the 10th to the 14th, including Parmesan Crusted Striped Bass, Goat Cheese Ravioli, and Crab Cake.

>>>And finally (and weirdly) local Qdoba restaurants are offering a Buy One Get One Free deal for an entree if you, “share a kiss with a significant other, friend, family member or even an understanding stranger (emphasis ours) at the cash register.”

Earlier this week we met with Gerri Trooskin, director of the Philadelphia Science Festival, to talk about some of the fun and interesting things that are happening for the fest this Spring. Phoodie might make an appearance in the line up, so stay tuned! For now, we wanted to bring your attention to their, now annual, naming of the official Science Festival Beer. They’re really trying to ramp up the intrigue amongst people like you who undoubtedly pay little attention to science in the city. So, what better way to do it than with beer, honestly. The Science Festival will once again include several drink-related events. Brewing is indeed the best biochemistry their is! Last year, Yards Brewing created a special beer for the fest, a Belgian strong ale called E=MC Beered. There was a vote last year to name this beer… but obviously lots of you didn’t know. That name is pretty pitiful. I think we can do better this year.

Yards is taking part again this year and will be brewing a larger batch of their special edition Sci Fest brew. This year, they’ll come in bottles too, with a fun custom label design. You only have until February 9th to vote for the 2012 Philadelphia Science Festival Beer, so get on it! Below are your 6 options. I wish we had had in on this earlier. We would’ve loved to create a “write in your recommendation” line and collect the responses. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section!

Heisenberg’s Drunken Principle
Avogadro’s Numbeer
Bucky Ball Bock
German String Beer-y
Science FestivALE
Atom Blonde

Once again, you only have until 10am on February 9th to VOTE!

(Images via Philly.com and Philasciencefestival.org)

On a beautiful day like today, you may not think we need Punxsutawney Phil very much at all (especially with his paltry 39% accuracy rate). But nevertheless, Groundhog Day is exactly the kind of tradition that makes Pennsylvania so hilarious and weird, so why not join in on the celebration?

According to the people over at Drink Philly, the Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford Ave.) is holdng their traditional Groundhog Day Hawaiian Shirt Beer Breakfast tomorrow.

“Starting at 7 AM, proprietor Mike “Scoats” Scotese invites fans of rodent prognostication and great brew alike to assemble at the Northeast Pub to watch the 7:20 AM broadcast of Phil emerging from hibernation. In order to promote the warm weather vibe, bead necklaces and tropical shirts are the attire of choice, and in order to promote the warming of our insides, special beers will be on tap (some of which have been squirreled away for almost a year in anticipation of this event).

The Grey Lodge will also be hosting an 8AM Hawaiian shirt contest, a 9AM hula hoop contest, and more. The whole party rages on until 1PM, and it cash-only. Beers that have been pulled together for the event include: Founders Breakfast Stout, Flying Fish Exit 8, Ommegang Aphrodite, Russian River Temptation and Supplication, Sly Fox Coffee Porter, and Yards Old Bart.

So set that alarm for early, and take in a few brews waiting for Phil. After all, you won’t have another reason to drink some morning beers for a whole month.

>>>Revolution House (200 Market Street) will offer $4 drafts, $2.50 domestic craft beers, and mussels, tater tots, chili, homemade funions, and calamari for $5.00 each. They will also be serving half-price Neapolitan margherita pizzas.

>>>Percy Street Barbecue (900 South Street) will offer 20% off take-out and catering, and don’t forget their new craft beer take-out.

>>>All nine locations of Iron Hill Brewery will be offering any two pizzas and one growler of house beer for just $25.

>>>Distrito (3945 Chestnut Street) is offering endless tacos and enchiladas (with refried beans, black beans and rice, and Chilago chopped salad) from 6PM to 9PM for $25. Dos Equis Lager and Dos Equis Amber will also be offered for $2 each on draught.

>>>London Grill (2301 Fairmount Avenue) is hosting an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ party. For $20 per person, guests can enjoy some great Koren BBQ and a “Citywide Special,” a shot of Powers Irish whiskey and a PBR pounder.

>>>City Tap House (3925 Walnut Street) The beers on tap will represent the New England Patriots’ and New York Giants’ home breweries, “including Harpoon, Brooklyn and Sixpoint, all for $4.” For take-out, City Tap is also offering two party-sized pizzas, 25 wings, and two growlers of beer for $75.

Next Friday, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant Chestnut Hill (8400 Germantown Avenue) will debut their newest beer, and one of our favorite brew names of all time: Oompa Loompa Stout.

It will be Iron Hill Chestnut Hill’s first ever beer event, and employees will be dressed as Oompa Loompas (orange skin, green hair and all) offering guests complimentary truffles and tastes of the new beer. 16oz mugs off Oompa Loompa Stout will also be available for purchase. Iron Hill describes the beer as, “a medium-bodied chocolate stout aged for two weeks on Madagascar vanilla beans and cocoa nibs and served on nitro for a silky texture that compliments its flavor.”

We’re on board, as long as the employee’s don’t walk around sing-chanting creepy rhymes. That’s a dealbreaker.

Cantina Dos Segundos (931 North 2nd Street) is turning three! Happy Birthday Cantina Dos Segundos! To celebrate, the Cantina is throwing a fiesta to celebrate all things three.

On February 1st, from 11AM to 2AM, three types of $3 tacos specially crafted by Sous Chef Neal Mayton will be available throughout the day, featuring:

Pork Belly Tacos, dry-rubbed and marinated in Dos Equis beer
Vegetarian Mini Black Bean Tacos topped with queso fresco, lettuce, and pico de gallo
Spicy Seitan Tacos with a Thai-inspired, coconut milk-chili arbol sauce, garnished with fresh jalapeños

In addition, Dos Equis drafts will be $3, along with $3 shots of Sauza Silver and Sauza Gold, and $3 Sauza Silver margaritas. Tunes will be spun by, you guessed it, 3 DJs: DJ DEL, DJ Dirty, and DJ Billy W. So head on over, get some good drinks and good food on the cheap, and don’t forget to wish the good people at Cantina Dos Segundos feliz cumpleaños.

Chef Mitch Prensky is preparing some of New England and New York’s most famous dishes, and for $42, you can decide for yourself which town is better while the game is going on. Some buffet items include:

Pizzas
Brooklyn style sausage with peppers and onions vs. New Haven white clam with garlic

Wings
Pastrami fried chicken wings (pictured) vs. Cranberry chili wings with nutmeg salt

Clam Chowder
Manhattan with rye croutons vs. New England with biscuit croutons

Sandwiches
Coney Island Style housemade mini Supper Dogs vs. Cape Cod Clambake Rolls

Dessert
Boston Cream Pie vs. New York Cheesecake

To reserve your spot, contact Lemon Hill at 215-232-2270. And you know, we really hate to say it, but it looks like New York may have the edge here.

Mark MacInnis, the director of Urban Roots, a film about urban farming in Detroit, will be hosting a screening of the documentary at Bossone Research Center (3140 Market Street) on February 7th.

After the film is screened, MacInnis and members of Philly’s urban farming community will discuss, “Philadelphia urban farming, how food grown locally in community gardens and urban farms is starting to make a positive impact for families faced with food challenges even here in Philadelphia, and how to get involved.”

Before the doc is shown, there will be a screening of a documentary short by Drexel alum Clay Hereth called West Philly Grown. Hereth’s film focuses on the Mill Creek Farm, an urban farm at 49th & Brown Streets in West Philadelphia, that grows a variety of organic vegetables, herbs, and fruits in addition to providing educational programs on urban farming.

More information is available here.

As one of the tent-poles of the Slow Foods mission, Ark of Taste, “travels the world collecting small-scale quality productions threatened by industrial agriculture, environmental degradation and homogenization. The Ark of Taste searches out, catalogues and protects these products some at risk of extinction from all around the planet.”

The Ark of Taste event on DiBruno Bros’ second floor will feature multiple food stations, featuring indigenous foods sourced from around the world along with a wine station. There will also be a presentation with a guest speaker to discuss this great and necessary project which has brought us other programs including “A Thousand Gardens in Africa”.

Advance tickets are $35 and can be purchased here.