EATS Philly 2013

Spring is finally here, which means Philly's schedule is starting to fill with events and festivals.  We always have our eye on the food festivals, and there is certainly no lack of those either!  Even if you have a packed weekend social schedule, you can find weekday events as well- and even better, one in particular that benefits a great charity with local roots.  EATS Philly 2013 is set for Tuesday, April 23rd from 6 to 9 PM.

EATS Philly 2013 is kind of a mix of a million things everyone loves: a fundraiser started by well-known Manayunk chef Moon Krapugthong, donations benefitting children, street eating (if there's one thing Philly does right, it's food trucks!), competition (Iron Chef "throwdown" style), a dozen of your favorite chefs, and a super trendy hot spot locale for it all to happen in.  Whew.

Here's the rundown of what to expect:

• Great chance to visit Vie, one of the best and largest new venues in the city (we've walked by and been very intrigued!)

Vie; Source

• Street food samples provided by a variety of trucks representing Philadephia Mobile Food Association, including:
• The Cow and the Curd
• Nomad Pizza
• Sammy Chon's
• Foo Truck
• and more!

Hello Battered Fried Cheese Curds, Source

• Chef Throwdown, with chefs creating street food dishes in a high-energy competition with play-by-play commentary provided by NBC10 Reporter Tom Furlong.  Chefs include:
• Aimee Olexy
• Marcie Turney
• Greg Vernick
• Richard Landau & Kate Jacoby
• Sylva Senat (Tashan)
• Tim Spinner (Calaca Feliz)

• A live auction for goods including:
• A restaurant review visit with Craig LaBan
• A week in Costa Rica
• A sport's package with tickets to all major Philly sports
• Private dinner for 16 at COOK

• All proceeds benefit kitchen renovations at:
• Children's Village: an early learning program for children in Philadelphia's Chinatown
• Wat Bodd Voraditth Orphanage in Thailand's Angthong Province

Buy tickets at the EATS Philly Eventbrite site; $75 tickets gets you a sampling of food and drinks and plenty of entertainment by the Chef Throwdown.  Splurge for the $150 VIP ticket and sample the food prepared by the chefs in the competition, as well as access to more food and drinks.  All tickets come with complimentary valet parking.  Hope to see you there!