What's Cooking

The Week in Eats

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

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If you've ever dipped a salty fist into a foil bag of Herr's chips, get up the turnpike and find out how the goodies are made on this free factory tour. Learn the secrets of water gun potato cutting! Marvel at endless rivers of frying oil and glorious robots that spit heaps of hot cheese curls! Finish off your outing with a drive through the holiday light display and be dazzled by 200,000 twinklers strung amid the empire that snacks built. Herr's Snack Factory, 20 Herr Drive, Nottingham, 800-637-6225, herrs.com.

Join BiUnity for its annual New Year's Day sugar fest, where members sell homemade chocolate brownies, cupcakes, candies and more. The bake sale raises loot to keep BiUnity's support network for bisexual people and their family and friends rolling. There'll be open-mic time for the musically inclined with breaks for attendees to chat and socialize. Stick around till the end and you'll be rewarded with a hypoglycemic auction of whatever goodies remain, ensuring you'll leave with an open mind and a "closed due to crowding" belly. The A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave., 215-727-0882, the-aspace.org.

Faith Beckford, founder of Love Your Fruits & Veggies (LYFVE, but say "life"), wants kids to eat their you-know-whats. Well-aware of vegetables' green and icky rep, she tarts up the fresh stuff into art projects kids can play with and then consume. Fruity French toast, edible Grinch faces and ornaments you can snack on are all on deck to convince the little monsters that cantaloupe is more fun than cookies. Various locations,, 610-795-7434, lyfve.com.

One thing Philadelphia's scene sorely lacks is cozy and decadent lounges. Rittenhouse rookie Vango has filled the void with a designer interior complete with a color-changing fiber-optic chandelier, king-size beds for reclined imbibing and a patio with fireplace and star views. DJs are in-house every day spinning new wave, electro, reggaeton and house; there's a Japanese Continental selection of sushi and sashimi, Kobe beef and Ishiyaki eel with seasoned fish eggs and more. Could Vango knock longtime champ Denim off as the lounge of choice for Amex Black flashers and the gold-diggers who love them? Vango, 116 S. 18th St., 215-568-1020, vangoloungeandskybar.com.