What's Cooking

July 4 Edition

by Lauren Fleming

[ the week in eats: july 4 edition ]

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During this holiday weekend, febrile Philadelphians can visit Penn's Landing for a $5 all-you-can-eat ice cream celebration. More than 20 ice cream and water ice vendors will dish out their icy products, including treats from freezer staples like Hagen-Dazs and local favorites like Philadelphia Water Ice. A part of the Sunoco Welcome America! festival, the 11th annual event benefits the Joshua Kahan Fund, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric leukemia. Penn's Landing, 121 N. Columbus Blvd., 215-683-2200, welcomeamerica.com.

Patriotic vegans rejoice! The Vegan Bus (theveganbus.com), a crew of animal rights activists and artists hailing from Northampton, Mass., are puttering down here in a vegetable-oil-powered school bus to celebrate Independence Day with a two-part extra"vegan"za. The first portion will take place in West Philly's Clark Park with a vegan barbecue with the local org Public Eye: Artists for Animals' Kid's Club, where the crew will dish out veggie dogs and burgers and organize lawn games, art projects and kids activities. (Families are encouraged to bring their own drink and salad accompaniments.) In the evening, the Vegan Bus gang will meet up with Vegan Drinks Philly at New Harmony for a vegan dim sum BYO feast. Clark Park, 4300 Baltimore Ave., 215-620-2130 (R.S.V.P. requested); New Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant, 135 N. Ninth St., 856-803-3816 (R.S.V.P. requested); theveganbus.com.

Chaddsford Winery is inviting Philadelphians to avoid the urban holiday hustle and relax at the winery for a weekend of music, barbecue and wine tastings. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, you can chill outdoors with your own picnic or with barbecue provided by Nick's Chicks (ribs, pulled pork, etc.) while listening to free live music from Townsend and Kresge, or Hake & Jarema. On Friday and Saturday, the winery will host two evening concerts with the Red Alert and Roger Girke bands, respectively, and priced at $22 per show. Throughout the weekend guests can tour the winery's facilities and join one of many wine-tasting tours. Chaddsford Winery, 632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, 610-388-6221, chaddsford.com.

This special July 4 Philadelphia Food Tour is hitting up some of the city's best restaurants and cafés to present a tasting of red wines, blue cheese and white chocolates. (Clever, right?) The tour will kick off at Solefood Restaurant, where the participants will nosh on American-made blue cheeses while learning about how these quesos are crafted. The next stop will be Tavern 17, located in the historic Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel, for a California red wine tasting. The tour ends at Naked Chocolate Café, with a sampling of house-made white chocolates and information on how they're produced. Find out more by calling 215-360-1996 or visiting cityfoodtours.com.