Chef Tim Spinner and his business partner Brian Sirhal recently celebrated the first anniversary of their Fort Washington restaurant Cantina Feliz by opening La Calaca Feliz, or “The Happy Skeleton,” at 2321 Fairmount Avenue.

Spinner and Sirhal (both Garces alums) claim La Calaca Feliz has, “[an] edgy urban feel with a unique menu of contemporary Mexican cuisine, full bar and a whimsical, colorful décor with soon-to-open greenhouse seating.” The menu of contemporary Mexican cuisine features, “an array of tacos and nachos, tlayudas (Mexican pizzas) and alambres (skewers) including the Octopus Alambres with Poblano Peppers, Pearl Onions, and Lemon Vinaigrette that Spinner prepared at the James Beard House.” Also on board as Chef de Cuisine is Lucio Palazzo, formerly of Xochitl .

On top of the menu selections, La Calaca Feliz features more than 50 types of tequila, craft beers, hand-selected wines and a variety of freshly-made margaritas and specialty cocktails complete the drink list created by Sirhal. For more information, keep an eye on their still-developing website here.

Join in the fun! The Philly Food Chat is happening right now. Craig LaBan is back from holiday vaca, talking about his West Coast trip and local stuff too!

Entrepreneur Justin Rosenberg will be opening honeygrow at 1601 Sansom Street this spring. He describes honeygrow as an “innovative fast casual eatery that will serve premium made-to-order stir-fry bowls, chef designed salads and gourmet shakes.”

Focusing on speed and customer servnice, “touchscreen kiosks will speed guests through the menu, ask returning customers if they’d like to replicate previous orders, and allow patrons to pay by swiping their credit or debit cards. The menu features over fifty ingredients and emphasizes local purchasing, wholesome eating and customization. Prices range between $8 and $10 for entrees and $4 to $6 for shakes.”

We’ll have more information on honeygrow as it comes closer to opening.

A noodle, which seems to have a pretty high opinion of itself, popped up at Love Park today. According to The Inquirer, the sculpture is an advertisement for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, whose slogan is “You know you love it.” As the Inky says, “The Fairmount Park Commission did a promotional deal with Kraft to help offset costs associated with the artificial holiday tree, this year up where the park’s fountain used to gush, instead of near City Hall.” This year’s Christmas Village also sits in Love Park, due to the planned Dilworth Plaza construction.

So while every young couple in the area takes their Christmas Card picture under the LOVE sculpture, in front of the Christmas tree, this noodle will be creepily staring on, smiling at them with its big noodle smile.

[Photo via The Inquirer]

Send your time-tested tips for perfectly cooking the turkey, making sure everyone is able to bring some food, dealing with your weird uncles, or anything in between. We’ll compile your tips with some of our own for a Phoodie Thanksgiving Survival Guide closer to the day itself. Send your tips to phoodieinfo [at] gmail [dot] com. We look forward to hearing from you, and no matter what happens on Thanksgiving, we can all get through it together.

[Photo via igourmet.com]

The weekend schedule is as follows:

Thursday, November 10th
Marine Corp Birthday Party (12PM-12AM)
Marine Corp Birthday Cake at 10pm

Friday, November 11th
Veterans Day Party
Tribute to Veterans with DJ Eric Bartella (9PM-2AM)

Saturday, November 12th
Pancake & Beer Breakfast + Military Ball
$10 Pancake & Beer Breakfast (11AM to 2PM)
Video & Music Tribute to the U.S. Military by DJ Perry Angelozzi (9PM-2AM)

Sunday, November 13th
Military Family Day with Mom’s Brunch
$10 Military Mom’s Brunch (11AM to 1PM)

In addition, all four days include: $2 Devil Dogs (Spicy Chili Dogs), $5 Jagermeister shots, a Power Hour 7-8pm, $2 Yuengling & Yuengling Light drafts, and a voluntary $2 door charge (100% of which will be donated).

A portion of every dollar spent on these items will be donated to America 4R Marines.

The evening’s guests will enjoy complimentary bourbon tastings and appetizers including: Jim Beam-BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Corn Fritters with cheddar fondue, and Chicken and Vegetable Skewers. In addition, guests can purchase a Beam Heritage bourbon flight for $15 featuring Jim Beam, Booker’s and Basil Hayden’s. For reservations to this exclusive event, call Twisted Tail at 215-558-2471.

This Saturday, from 12PM to 5PM, at the Longview Center for Agriculture (3215 Stump Hill Road, Collegeville), Greener Partners is presenting The World’s Greatest Farmer Showdown.

The event consists of food, drink, and tons of competitions, including Pumpkin Shot Put, a Hay Bale Race, a Wheel Barrow Obstacle Course, and a good-old-fashioned Tug-o-War.

The event is sponsored by Victory Brewing, Standard Tap, and Preservation Tree Company, and is sure to be a unique, fun time for all.

We told you only a few weeks ago that Birra (1700 East Passyunk Ave.) was set to open at the end of October. Well it seems the estimate was only a few days off, as Birra will open their doors this Saturday at 5PM. From then, Birra will serve dinner only until Tuesday, November 15th, when it will begin lunch service.

Percy Street Barbecue (900 South Street) is already well-respected for their smoked meats, and this coming Monday, restaurateurs Steven Cook, Michael Solomonov and Chef-Partner Erin O’Shea will debut Percy Street’s second location: The Market & Shops at the Comcast Center.

You can take a look at the menu above and decide what you want before showing up. Percy Street will open at 10AM next monday, and is sure to be packed all day and probably all week.