Joe Maddon is a three-time former Manager of the Year, manager of the hex-breaking 2016 Chicago Cubs, and one of the sharpest minds in baseball. He’s also a native Pennsylvanian. And he joined “Phillies Extra” to discuss the state of the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber’s evolution into a complete hitter, how to pitch Bryce Harper, and much more. Watch and listen here:
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Flight schedules will return to normal at PHL ahead of Thanksgiving and holiday travel season
Flight schedules should soon return to normal across major U.S. airports, including Philadelphia, after the FAA lifted government shutdown-related flight restrictions for airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration retracted its order at more than 40 airports on Sunday night. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy initially told airlines to eliminate 10% of their scheduled flights starting on Nov. 7 in response to “concerning data” that showed pressure on the national aviation system and on air traffic controllers who were experiencing staffing shortages amid the federal government shutdown.
Now that the federal government has passed a bill to fund the government until at least Jan. 30, federal agencies and workers, including those across the aviation system, are heading back to work.
“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the National Airspace System and allows us to return to normal operations,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement. “I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and for their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”
Air traffic at the Philadelphia International Airport on Nov. 6. American Airlines, which operates 75% of the flights in and out of Philadelphia International Airport, is ready to bounce back swiftly after flight restrictions are lifted, a spokesperson said.
“American is ready for business, and we are serving customers with a full schedule in advance of the Thanksgiving and year-end holidays,” said Bri Harper, American Airlines’ spokesperson for the Northeast region.
Recovering from the FAA-ordered flight reductions won’t be a huge task, said Mike Taylor, J.D. Power’s practice lead for travel, and will likely be resolved in a matter of days.
“A matter of two or three days is generally all it takes,” Taylor said. “So I think they want to get that ball rolling well in advance of holiday travel so that there’s less hassle when holiday travel picks up in a week and a half from now.”
PHL’s major airlines, including American, United, and Delta, don’t expect any major hiccups associated with restoring flights after the FAA-ordered flight reductions.
United CEO Scott Kirby lauded employees during the chaotic period of cancellations in a LinkedIn post. While Nov. 8 and 9 set records in staffing shortage-driven cancellations and delays at the FAA, he wrote, Kirby said United customers gave the airline their fourth- and fifth-highest satisfaction scores of the year on those days.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CBS, “The system should return to normal by the weekend.”
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John Fetterman returns to D.C. after hospitalization, speaks at conference for Jewish leaders
Sen. John Fetterman is back to work after recovering from a fall that required hospitalization.
Fetterman (D., Pa.) was hospitalized last week following a fall after he experienced a heart issue, an unnamed spokesperson announced Thursday. On Saturday, Fetterman shared a selfie after being released from the hospital with a coffee in hand.
Come Monday he was back in the public eye, appearing at an event hosted by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) in Washington. His presence sent the message that he’s back in commission.
Photos posted by attendees on social media show the senator wearing his signature hoodie and shorts.
His face is still healing from the fall after what he described in his Saturday post as “20 stitches later and a full recovery.”
“See you back in DC,” he said on X.
Fetterman’s Monday appearance was part of the JFNA’s General Assembly — which began on Sunday and will continue through Tuesday. The three-day event is described on the group’s website as a gathering for Jewish community leaders, professionals, philanthropists, and community partners to “address pressing issues, explore best practices, and cultivate innovative solutions.”
Fetterman sat on stage during a session called “Monday Morning Plenary: Protecting Our Communities Today.” It was advertised as giving attendees the opportunity to “hear from leaders on the front lines who are building stronger systems of protection and trust.”
Other guests listed alongside Fetterman for the morning program included Annie Sandler, president of the Joint Distribution Committee; the Rev. Juan Rivera, president of the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition; Zibby Owens, founder of Zibby Media; and Olivia Reingold, staff writer at the Free Press. The Free Press is a center-right outlet that Fetterman had provided an exclusive excerpt of his book to ahead of its release.
Steven Schimmel, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, said in a post on X that Fetterman shared on the JNFA stage that his wife Gisele’s free store “has been vandalized by anti-Israel activists.”
Fetterman, who is not Jewish, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and sponsored a resolution with Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) against antisemitism. Fetterman has received recognition from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him the country’s “best friend” and gifted him a silver pager inspired by Israel’s attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon that exploded pagers.
Fetterman was also given a high honor by Yeshiva University whose honoree last year was the creator of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and he received the Defender of Israel award from the Zionist Organization of America.
His unnamed spokesperson had said his fall last week was due to a ventricular fibrillation “flare-up.” Ventricular fibrillation is a life-threatening heart issue. The incident comes after the senator suffered a near-fatal stroke in 2022.
As a Democrat known for working across the aisle, Fetterman was flooded with well-wishes from Republicans last week.
The medical incident came just two days after he released his new memoir, Unfettered, in which he discusses his recovery from the stroke and his battle with depression that followed.
Last week, Fetterman was also one of eight Senate Democratic caucus members to vote for a Republican plan to end the federal government shutdown, a move that angered some Democrats because the legislation lacked the extension of federal health subsidies that the party had pushed for.
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At the new Huda Burger in Fishtown, the secret ingredient is the buns
One of the keys to the sandwiches at Huda — chef Yehuda Sichel’s acclaimed shop in Rittenhouse — is the cloudlike, house-baked milk bread.
At Huda Burger — opening Nov. 19 near Suraya and Palmer Park in Fishtown — Sichel is also building his burgers and chicken sandwiches on the luxurious, mildly sweet buns inspired by Japanese shokupan.
In fact, he built the entire place around them. “This kitchen is like half bakery, half prep kitchen just for the buns,” Sichel said. The buns at Huda Burger will be seeded, unlike those at the original shop, which serves one of The Inquirer’s favorite smash burgers — the Mott, topped with buttermilk ranch, pickled peppers, pepper Jack brie, and hot honey.
Huda Burger’s setup at 1602 Frankford Ave. Sichel is banking on the buns to separate him from the other burger makers. (New York’s 7th Street Burger has a location opening this winter down the street, further adding to the pressure.)
“Being in a saturated market really forces you to get better, and there’s nothing I like more than some competition,” said Sichel. Besides the bread, everything else is being made in-house, including pickles and sauces, and every item is prepared to order — even the chicken is butchered in the back.
Besides three kinds of crispy chicken sandwiches (coated in rice flour, cornstarch, Wondra flour, and what Sichel describes as “a whole bunch of spices”), Huda Burger’s menu includes a rotating line of five or six smash burgers. There’s a classic cheeseburger, a create-your-own option, a vegetarian burger, a pastrami fried onion burger (a cross between a pastrami burger and an Oklahoma-style smash burger), and a bread-free cheeseburger salad. The menu also includes curly fries, pickles, and shakes made with soft serve from 1-900-Ice-Cream.
Crispy chicken sandwich at Huda Burger, 1603 Frankford Ave. His partner is Dan Berkowitz, the chief executive and co-founder of 100x Hospitality, an event production company specializing in immersive and travel experiences.
The space, designed by Lance Saunders, includes a half dozen indoor counter seats and a few outdoor tables in season.
Sichel, who grew up in Elkins Park, started in the restaurant business at age 15, making sandwiches at a kosher deli in Baltimore. After culinary school in Israel, he moved home to work for chefs Georges Perrier at Brasserie Perrier and Daniel Stern at Rae, followed by a stint with chef Neal Fraser at Grace in Los Angeles.
Cheeseburger salad at Huda Burger, 1603 Frankford Ave. In 2010, he joined Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov at Zahav. He rose through the ranks — from line cook to pastry to sous chef — and played a major role in the opening of Citron & Rose (2012) in Lower Merion and Abe Fisher (2014) in Rittenhouse. Abe Fisher was named a Best New Restaurant by Travel & Leisure, and Sichel was named to Zagat’s 30 Under 30 Rock Stars Redefining the Industry. He left CookNSolo in 2020, opening Huda at 32 S. 18th St., that summer amid the pandemic.
Huda Burger, 1603 Frankford Ave. Hours: 11 a.m. till 9 p.m. daily, but there are plans to extend.
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Stolen phones sparked a fight and ongoing tension at Frankford High
Tensions are flaring at Frankford High over the school’s cell phone policy and its ability to keep students’ property safe.
After two fights — including one where a student was so badly injured that city EMTs responded and transported the student to a hospital — a few dozen students took to the school’s hallways Friday, vocally demanding their phones back.
“We just want to have a say in where our property goes, where our phones go,” said one student, who asked not to be named for fear of being targeted.
Frankford, like many schools in Philadelphia and across the country, has recently moved to get cellphones out of students’ hands during the school day.
At first, Frankford used Yondr pouches to secure students’ phones, but those were easily broken, and the costs of the pouches rose.
Last year, the school installed lockers outside the building, requiring students to deposit phones before the school day started. Students could purchase locks from the school for $5.00, or bring their own locks.
But “there’s been issues,” said one Frankford staffer, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. “The area where the lockers are floods; it’s not monitored.”
(School officials said they have alerted district officials about the drainage issue.)
Some students didn’t love the idea of the lockers, but it wasn’t until last week that significant tensions began simmering after several phones were stolen. School officials said in an email to Frankford staff that five phones were stolen, two from a locker with no lock on it.
“That caused some serious issues in the building,” the staffer said. “A lot of the students said, ‘You’re forcing us to put our phones there, but you’re not protecting them.’”
Believing they knew who stole the phones, some students targeted the alleged thief, spurring a fight inside the school. That student was assaulted — beaten so badly that EMTs transported the student to a hospital, according to multiple people with firsthand knowledge.
“It was so scary,” said the student who spoke on condition they would not be identified.
Michael Calderone, the school’s principal, addressed the issue with parents in a letter sent home Friday.
“Two wrongs do not make a right,” Calderone wrote. “This type of retaliation and violent behavior are not tolerated here at Frankford.”
Another fight happened the next day outside of school — with some students and some nonstudents — but Frankford officials say it was unconnected to the stolen cellphones. (The student and staffer, however, say the general anger at the school over the phone policy has ratcheted up student issues generally.)
A peaceful student protest planned for Friday turned into a town hall with Calderone. But some at the meeting weren’t satisfied and ultimately a few did protest, walking around the school and chanting about wanting their phones back.
“It was students screaming in the hallways,” the student said. “They were saying they felt unsafe; they were saying they were unhappy about the phone lockers.”
Calderone, in the letter sent to families Friday, vowed action.
“No member of our school community should ever have to worry about their items being taken, especially when the belongings are locked up,” Calderone wrote.
The principal told parents that the school would provide stronger locks, at no cost to students, and will increase patrols and video surveillance by school security officers. He said he has requested locking gates for either side of the phone lockers.
‘Students don’t feel safe’
The Frankford student said they and others were frustrated by a lack of protection for their phones and poor communication.
The Friday town hall, the student said, yielded little information. Some students were unruly, the student said, but many were respectful and just wanted answers from the administration. (Calderone described the meeting as productive, and not unruly.)
Calderone, according to the student, “said he wasn’t able to put the phone lockers inside the building because he didn’t have enough security and kids could just get to their phones if they were inside. That happens anyway with the phones outside.”
Frankford is a good school where students have opportunities, the student said. But it feels restless over the phone issue.
“Students don’t feel safe going outside to get their phones,” the student said. “There’s such a big buildup that if you bump into the wrong kid, he’s going to hit you. The fights are just people getting their anger out. We feel like they’re not listening to us.”
Phones are a distraction, the student said; they feel like learning has improved since phone access was removed during the school day.
“But the school district says it isn’t responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen goods, and if your mom worked for a year to get you a brand new iPhone 17 and it gets stolen, they’re not buying you a new one,” the student said.
“Philadelphia is a dangerous place — we need our phones going to school, going home.”
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Sixers’ Paul George to make season debut against the Clippers
Paul George will make his season debut Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
His return is not a surprise, as the 76ers forward looked great during post-practice drills Sunday. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder even wore a blue practice jersey, which is usually reserved for starters, when the media was permitted in the gym.
He also had the blue jersey on during Monday morning’s shootaround. George previously wore the gray jersey, which denotes a player is in the second unit or out of the rotation, despite being a full participant in practice since Oct. 19.
On Monday, he was in the starting lineup alongside Dominick Barlow, Andre Drummond, VJ Edgecombe, and Tyrese Maxey.
George’s return was delayed because doctors wanted to see substantial strength in his left quadriceps before clearing him to play. As a result, George missed all four exhibition games and the first 12 regular-season games following arthroscopic left knee surgery on July 11.
Monday’s contest against his former team will be George’s first game since March 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 35-year-old played in only 41 games last season — his first as a Sixer — while hampered by various injuries. George was ruled out for the remainder of that season on March 17, the day he received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and left knee.
He was expected to return in time for training camp. However, the nine-time All-Star’s knee surgery caused him to miss additional time.
His return comes at a good time for the Sixers, who are without Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee ligament), Joel Embiid (right knee soreness), and Adem Bona (sprained right ankle).
The hope is that George can improve upon last season’s performance.
He struggled to create separation and averaged just 16.2 points, the fourth-lowest average of his 15-year NBA career. George also finished with a three-point percentage of .358, the third-lowest of his career.
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‘Absolute garbage’ penalty call ‘robbed’ fans of epic finish, and what else they’re saying about Eagles-Lions
The Eagles picked up a big Sunday Night Football win over the Detroit Lions at Lincoln Financial Field.
The defense shut down one of the NFL’s best offenses, but the game wasn’t without a few minor controversies. Here’s what the national media is saying about the Birds after their 16-9 win …
An ‘absolute garbage’ penalty
A defensive pass interference call on Rock Ya-Sin ultimately iced the game for the Eagles, but was it fair?
On the broadcast, Cris Collinsworth immediately called it out as a “terrible” penalty, which should arguably have been on A.J. Brown, instead of Ya-Sin.
The morning was not any kinder to referee Alex Kemp, who told a pool reporter that “the official observed the receiver’s arm getting grabbed and restricting him from going up to make the catch.”
Many members of national media were not buying that justification.
“That is absolute garbage right here,” Rex Ryan said on Get Up. “You’re making it worse by coming up with that B.S. Here’s the problem, NFL. The entire country saw this, and everybody knows, except the guy that throws the flag here. I don’t know what the hell he’s thinking … You can’t cover a guy any better than this.”
Ryan wasn’t alone.
“As you see this type of game unfold, you know it’s going to come down to an epic finish,” Cam Newton said. “We were robbed of that, because, what happened to physicality and letting them play, ref? We didn’t see that. The ref made it about himself. Was it touchy-touchy? Yes, but was it that type of game? Absolutely.”
‘I don’t see [another] loss on their schedule’
After the win, the Birds now sit at 8-2, firmly in control of the NFC East, with games against the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Commanders left to play.
So do the Eagles, winners of four straight, have another loss in them with the schedule as it stands? Kay Adams doesn’t think so.
“This was not my favorite game to watch, cinematically, but who the hell cares, because a win’s a win,” Adams said. “… I don’t see anyone beating them the rest of the year. I don’t see a loss on their schedule the rest of the way. I can’t remember seeing anyone make Jared Goff look this uncomfortable.”
The Eagles ‘beat them down’
For all the hand-wringing about the offense’s struggles, Vic Fangio’s defense continues to perform at an elite level week after week. On First Take, Stephen A. Smith said the defense was far more impressive than the offense was weak.
“You’ve got the second-ranked offense in the NFL coming into the game, averaging 31 points a game,” Smith said. “You didn’t just beat them, you beat them down.”
The Birds forced what may have been the worst performance of Jared Goff’s career. Goff, who was leading the NFL in completion percentage coming into the game, completed just 14 of 37 passes, the worst completion percentage of his NFL career. The Lions went 3-for-13 on third down and were 0-for-5 on fourth down conversion attempts.
Dan Orlovsky said the Eagles’ improved pass rush — thanks to the trade deadline acquisition of Jaelan Phillips from Miami — is reestablishing the defense as the class of the NFL.
“I’m praising Howie Roseman,” Orlovsky said. “This Jaelan Phillips addition feels like it’s going to be the Von Miller addition to the Rams from several years ago. This defense is the best defense in football along with the Rams and Seattle Seahawks.”
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Lane Johnson’s absence means more ‘bleep show’ offense for Eagles; Nakobe Dean inspires
Don’t expect A.J. Brown to be happy any time soon.
Brown called the Eagles’ offense a “bleep show” on a livestream last week, prompting an unprecedented, on-field admonition at Thursday’s practice from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who reportedly told him to stop whining about the offense on social media.
The offense isn’t likely to get any better with the news that right tackle Lane Johnson will miss several weeks with a Lisfranc sprain in his right foot.
Johnson has been the team’s best player during its current Golden Era, evidenced by the club’s 15-23 record when he does not play. He missed 14 games early in his career to PED suspensions but has been remarkably durable, although ankle issues have plagued him the last few seasons and this injury reportedly will cost Johnson at least a month and maybe six weeks, if not longer. Johnson is 35, and he has long suffered chronic problems with his surgically repaired right ankle.
Johnson’s replacement, Fred Johnson, played passably well after Lane’s exit Sunday night, but Fred’s an undrafted seven-year career backup for a reason.
This means that, likely for the rest of the season, the Eagles will continue their streak of having zero consecutive games in which the first-team offensive line begins and finishes the game. Center Cam Jurgens just returned from an injury bug that also has affected left guard Landon Dickerson and, earlier in the season, Lane Johnson.
The Eagles had the No. 1 defense during their run to the Super Bowl LIX championship, but they also had the No. 1 offensive line, according to Pro Football Focus. In fact, in the span from 2013-24, the Eagles’ line was considered by most to be the best in football.
Line coach Jeff Stoutland arrived in 2013. He campaigned to draft Lane Johnson, a former high school quarterback, with the No. 4 overall pick.
To be fair, all might not be lost.
Eagles tackle Lane Johnson (center) giving a pep talk to teammates before heading out to the field prior to the game against the Lions. Even with the lack of continuity, PFF ranked the Eagles’ line No. 5 entering Sunday. But the Birds rank 25th in yards per game and, to Brown’s repeated point, they have the 28th-ranked passing offense. This, despite boasting Brown, bookend DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and Saquon Barkley, who is a home-run threat by run or pass out of the backfield.
And even without Lane Johnson, those rankings might soon rise, considering that the Eagles visit the Cowboys on Sunday, then host the Bears on Black Friday. They are two of the league’s poorer defensive teams.
Rest assured, if the Eagles offense doesn’t improve, Brown will let you know on your hellsite platform of choice.
‘Just strike somebody’
The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak that has them atop the NFC standings. They’ve allowed 14.5 points per game in that stretch and 16 total points in their last two games in prime time, at Green Bay on Monday Night Football then home against the potent Lions on Sunday Night Football.
What happened four games ago?
Nakobe Dean returned.
Dean was the play-caller for the Eagles’ top-ranked defense that eventually won Super Bowl LIX, although he missed the end of the playoff run and the first five games of the 2025 season with a knee injury. He was limited in his first three games but has been unleashed in the last two. Sunday night, he was everywhere.
Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean leaves the field after his standout effort against Detroit. On the Lions’ interception, Dean covered the back out of the backfield, Jared Goff’s first read. On Jaelan Phillips’ sack, Dean covered the receiver who chipped Phillips at the line, again taking away Goff’s first read.
Early in the third quarter, Dean blitzed and forced an incompletion. Late in the fourth quarter, Dean covered speedy running back Jahmyr Gibbs, then, on consecutive plays, he blanketed Jameson Williams, the fastest active receiver in the league. Finally, Dean bulled over 230-pound running back David Montgomery and sacked Goff. Dean weighs 231. It was brutal.
Said NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, before the replay: “Don’t look if you’re squeamish.”
There have been other developments on the Eagles defense, chief among them the addition of edge rusher Phillips, but he has played only the last two games. It has been Dean’s kamikaze play and his indomitable spirit that have injected the Birds with some midseason juice.
He’s sharing time with first-round rookie Jihaad Campbell, and he’s still a bit lost in zone coverages, but Dean has once again become the soul of the defense.
His philosophy and his advice:
“If all else fails, just strike somebody. Strike somebody. Be physical. Put hands on somebody.”
It’s been working.
Extra points
If the playoffs began Monday, neither the 5-5 Chiefs, who have made it for 10 straight years and played in four of the last five Super Bowls, nor the 6-4 Lions, who were cofavorites with the Packers at some sportsbooks to win the NFC, would even qualify. However, most analytics sites still give each a better than 50% chance to reach the postseason. … Bengals superstar wideout Ja’Marr Chase has been suspended next Sunday against the visiting Patriots after very nastily spitting a huge loogie on cornerback Jalen Ramsey in Pittsburgh on Sunday. The league’s emphasis on sportsmanship led to the one-game (sort of) suspension of Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter after he spat on Dak Prescott in the NFL season opener. Chase may appeal.
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Percy rebrands to all-day diner after mixed reviews
Breakfast for dinner? Groundbreaking, at least in Philly.
Just six months after opening, Percy — the swanky cafe-brunch-listening lounge-dinner joint hybrid from the team behind Forín — is now a permanent all-day diner, according to co-owner and general manager Seth Kligerman.
The transition became official Thursday when the restaurant revealed a new (and cheaper) menu on Instagram that includes a 12-item all-day menu of revamped diner classics served from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., plus pared-down lists of breakfast and dinner-only options.
The change embraces Percy’s “true identity,” Kligerman said, and comes after a spate of mixed reviews that called out how the restaurant’s brunch program outshone a dinner menu of $30-plus entrees that included a Thai curry, a lamb shank, and a Cooper Sharp-topped burger.
Percy opened under the El at 1700 N. Front St. in May as the ground-floor anchor to Urby, a 200-unit luxury apartment complex. The restaurant earned fans and haters fast: Percy’s ¾-pound ricotta pancakes and babka French toast found an immediate following in Fishtown’s crowded brunch scene. And yet, Philly Mag food critic Jason Sheehan bestowed the title of “Philly’s most disappointing new restaurant” upon Percy in September, arguing the restaurant was “all vibe, with little else worth saying.”
The reviews came with a silver lining, according to Kligerman. Percy was able to raise $4,000 for the Fishtown Community Library through a limited-run sale of shirts screen-printed with Sheehan’s headline.
Plus, a bit of constructive criticism didn’t hurt.
“I’m really grateful that we were able to spin something negative into something so positive,” Kligerman said. “We don’t have the runway that [larger restaurateurs] have, where they can collect a lot of data and open with a perfect concept … Now that we have the data from reviews, from the public, from our sales reports, we get to hit our stride.”
Percy’s all-day menu leans heavily on what worked from its brunch. The cinnamon-crusted ricotta pancakes are still there, but customers can now order them until 9 p.m. along with other favorites such as the espresso-dulce de leche beignets, a roast pork croque monsieur, and a new mortadella club sandwich smeared with burrata and pistachio pesto.
The biggest changes came for the breakfast and dinner menus, which will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. respectively. Breakfast’s star is the $11 Philly Grand Slam, a play on the standard diner breakfast with two eggs and home fries plus bacon, duck sausage, and a ricotta pancake for an additional charge.
The $11 Philly Grand Slam from Percy has two eggs, toast, and homefries, with bacon, duck sausage, or a ricotta pancake for an additional charge. Dinner, too, got a makeover, swapping the Thai curry and lamb shank for a fried chicken Reuben and an elevated meatloaf served with a red wine jus, whipped potatoes, and purple cauliflower.
The new menu nods to Tuckerton, N.J’s Dynasty Diner, where South Jersey-bred Kligerman grew up splitting disco fries and pancakes with his friends until their parents chastised them for running up against curfew. It also fills a hole in Philly’s breakfast-for-dinner scene, as the city’s diners continue to dwindle, with owners putting them up for sale or preparing for demolition.
“When I think about Dynasty, I get that warm family feeling,” said Kligerman, 37, who now lives in Fishtown. “I want Percy to offer that.”
The $26 pork cheek bourguignon at Percy, now served TV-dinner style on three compartment trays as part of the restaurant’s diner rebrand. TV dinner trays and cheap(er) eats
Percy’s revamp also comes with a significant decrease in prices.
Initially, all but the burger on Percy’s dinner menu cost between $30 and $40 per entree. Now the entire menu — save for the $31 half chicken with polenta — clocks in below $28. Most dishes had $4 to $6 shaved off, Kligerman said. The croque monsieur, for example, dropped from $24 to $17, while the burger had $3 knocked off, to now sit at $18.
“We wanted to make sure the pricing allowed people to come back multiple times a week. And I think our opening pricing … definitely positioned us to be that one-day-a-week or special occasion-type restaurant,” said Kligerman. “Good diners are for everyone.”
The plate-sized ricotta pancakes from Percy, which will now be available from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. as the restaurant transitions to an all-day diner. Good diners also have a look, he said: hard plastic cups that get constant refills, salt and pepper shakers on the table, and stacks of paper napkins. All of those elements have now been wrapped into Percy’s mid-century modern decor.
Percy’s plating also reflects the change. All five dishes on the dinner menu will be served TV-dinner style, in compartmentalized trays with spaces for the protein, side, and a single bread roll.
“It’s kind of playful,” Kligerman said. ”Everything is.”
Percy, 1700 N. Front St., 215-975-0020, percyphl.com. Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday; 9 a.m. to midnight Thursday to Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
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Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman are coming to the Met Philly
Katie Crutchfield and MJ Lenderman have struck up a fruitful collaboration as leading lights of the indie Americana music scene. And now, the two singer-guitarists are joining forces for a tour that will bring them to the Met Philly on April 18.
Crutchfield, who records as Waxahatchee, a sobriquet taken from the name of a creek near where she grew up in Alabama, released one of the most acclaimed albums of 2024 in Tigers Blood.
That album heavily featured Lenderman, the North Carolina songwriter whose solo outing Manning Fireworks landed on as many 2024 best-of lists as Tigers Blood.
For most of the 2010s, Waxahatchee lived in West Philly. She moved here from Brooklyn along with her identical twin Allison, with whom she formed the band P.S. Eliot when they were teenagers growing up in Birmingham, Ala.
On Halloween, the Crutchfield sisters surprise released a new album under the band name Snocaps, a super group of sorts that also includes Lenderman and producer, multi-instrumentalist Brad Cook.
Next month, Snocaps is doing a brief tour with shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but no plans to play Philadelphia.
Which makes this Waxahatchee-Lenderman date at the Met the next best — or maybe even a better — thing than a Snocaps tour. It will include Waxahatchee and Lenderman solo sets, and also feature them playing together.
That most likely will include collabs like Tigers Blood’s “Right Back to It” and well as tracks from the top-flight Snocaps album, which moves Crutchfield back into more of a rock and roll direction than her more recent country-flavored songs.
Earlier this month, Crutchfield went semi-viral when she covered Taylor Swift’s “The Life Of A Showgirl” at Ted Lasso creator Jason Sudeikis’ Thundergong! benefit show in Kansas City, where Crutchfield now lives with her partner Kevin Morby.
Lenderman also had a recent moment of social media virality when he brought then New York City mayoral candidate and music nerd Zohran Mamdani on stage at Brooklyn Steel.
Via PLUS1.org, $1 from each ticket sold for the Waxahatchee-Lenderman show at the Met will go to support community-driven nonprofits that work to increase access to nutritious food and housing resources.
Tickets will go on sale Friday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. via waxahatchee.com/shows.