Chima Steakhouse in Philadelphia

We went to Chima Steakhouse for the 2009 restaurant week in Philadelphia. Having visited Fogo de Chao last year, we were intentional about not eating a heavy lunch before going to Chima and I must say that this was a wise decision. The Chima Steakhouse is named after chimarrao, a traditional drink of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that symbolizes hospitality and friendship. Legend has it, in South Brazil traditional gauchos (cowboys) would consume a diet that consisted almost entirely of beef. The meat was seasoned (rodizio), placed on skewers, and slow cooked over a wood burning flame. Historically, gauchos were known for their generosity and hospitality (Source: Chima Steakhouse)

This generosity and hospitality was clearly emphasized throughout the evening. From the salad bar, which had an extensive offering of soups, breads, cheeses, sea food and the regular stay away from green vegetables, to the side dishes to the meants. When you are done with your salad, you turn over your coaster from the red side to the orange side and various Gaúcho chefs come to your table to serve the highlight of the evening – meat. The meats are on skewers and are cut at your table and they’ll continue to come to your table as long as they see the orange coaster. With constants servings of sweet plantain and yucca, refills on Guarana Antarctica, we didn’t even attempt to find room for dessert. Overall, we had a great evening and Chima Steakhouse is definitely a Brazilian steakhouse that we’d recommend.

Sampling of the meats that were offered during our evening:

Chima

The Simple Way

On June 20th, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of their neighbors’ homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. See how you can help at The Simple Way.

University of Pennsylvania Selects Windows Live Mail over GMail?

WOW! I just came across this news release from the Office of University Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. Below is a quick excerpt:

The University of Pennsylvania has partnered with Microsoft to enhance the communications platform it offers to many of its students.

Beginning in the fall semester, students in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School will have the option of using a customized version of Windows Live called Penn Live to access e-mail and a full suite of online communications services.

Penn Live will host student e-mail accounts, including support for both mobile and offline access. The arrangement with Microsoft will provide students with 2 gigabytes of storage space. Other features include calendaring and contact management; Windows Live Messenger instant messaging and file sharing; Windows Live Spaces for personal web publishing, blogging and photo sharing; and FolderShare, a private peer-to-peer network that allows users to synchronize files between multiple devices and share files with other student users.

Obviously I’m adding spice to the news release, but what immediately jumps to mind is did UPenn just select Windows Live Mail over Gmail when Google has just been pushing out features and improvements to their existing offering. Google Docs will soon have a presentation component, the integration of Google Talk within the mail interface and having POP access to all your mail are just some small but very nice features. One can’t even start to sing praises of the use of labels for organization of mail and the excellent calendar component. Yet with all these features, a committee of students and administration selected Windows Live Mail over Gmail. Impressive! Good job Microsoft and especially with the Ivy League win.

The other part of the press release also gives you some insight on what to expect from Microsoft in the next few months – the relaunch of FolderShare or Windows Live Drive?

SEPTA Train Status

Go SEPTA! They’ve just launched SEPTA Train View - a page that shows the status report for all Regional Rail trains on the system. There are a number of limitations and using the train number can be rather confusing, but this is definitely a great step in the right direction of improving SEPTA online services.

SEPTA Pass Perks

It looks like SEPTA is trying to encourage more travelers to purchase weekly or monthly passes. They’ve recently introduced a site called SEPTA Pass Perks and according to the marketing message:

With a weekly or monthly SEPTA Pass, you’ll receive discounts and other goodies to some of the best destinations in the region. Just have a look around the website to see all the places that accept Pass Perks. Then head out on the town, on us.

ING Philadelphia

I signed up for an ING account a few months back and haven’t had any regrets with the nice 4.5% interest or not having to deal with bank tellers or various paper forms. Everything you need can be done online and makes you wish that other banks offered similar services.

Living in Philadelphia is a double perk as having an  ING account means you get to visit one of the select few ING Cafes. They even throw in extras like buying your first coffee or giving you a cup of coffee for every deposit that you make at the cafe, the free wireless Internet can come in real handy when you’re downtown and have a sudden urge to get online.  The cafe is located on the corner of 17th and Walnut Streets and open Monday – Friday 7AM to 7PM, Saturday 10AM to 7PM and Sunday 10AM to 5PM.

If you’re interested in their free $25 credit for opening a new account and need a referral link drop me a line.

Why Philadelphia?

Ever since I returned from my vacation to Miami it seems like I’ve landed in an advertising campaign for Philadelphia. Every in flight magazine I read had an article about Philadelphia and now thanks to the Select Greater Philadelphia group it’s very easy to see why Philadelphia is gaining so much popularity. Definitely stop by their awesome website, but for a quick summary check out some of these statistics:

1. National Geographic Traveler magazines named Greater Philadelphia “America’s Next Great City”
2. Greater Philadelphia is the 4th largest metropolitan region in the United States in population with the 6th highest gross metro product, 4th largest personal income and 4th largest media market
3. Total employment in 2005 within 200 miles was 15.7 % of the United States total
4. Philadelphia International Airport is the fastest growing airport in the country for passenger traffic and the second fastest growing airport in the world
5. Greater Philadelphia region has 83 colleges and universities. Yes, Temple University is one of these 83 and is recognized for the highest total enrollment and one of the top regional universities for research and development
6. Cost of living in Greater Philadelphia is lower than in most other major U.S metro areas
7. Listed as one of the top walking cities and big city arts destination
8. A top region for venture capital financing
9. Life Sciences, Chemicals, Financial Services and Information Technology are 4 key industries in the region
10. Greater Philadelphia has the 11th largest foreign-born population in the United States

Philly Wireless is Go

Mayor Street, signed a project that will make Philadelphia the nation’s largest WiFi hotspot with supposedly no cost to the taxpayer. If I’m not mistaken, Temple’s Fox School of Business and the eBusiness Institute worked with the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Information Services (MOIS) to assist the city with the wireless Philadelphia initiative.

According to the press release from from the Philadelphia Government site:

Mayor John F. Street announced today that four agreements have been signed allowing EarthLink and Wireless Philadelphia to bring wireless Internet service to every City neighborhood. When fully implemented, the initiative will turn Philadelphia into the nation’s largest WiFi hotspot and help to improve education, bridge the digital divide, enhance neighborhood development, and reduce the costs of government.

“When I first announced the plan to bring wireless Internet to every neighborhood, I said we would do so because we must prepare our citizens and businesses to face the challenges of the 21 st Century,” Mayor Street said. “Just as roads and transportation were keys to our past, wireless technology and digital infrastructure are keys to our future. With these agreements signed today, our original vision will be realized and every Philadelphian will benefit. This is a tremendous step forward for our City and our citizens.”

“EarthLink is excited to work with the City and Wireless Philadelphia to begin building the largest municipal wireless broadband network in the United States,” said Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink and president of its’ municipal networks unit. “This partnership is an important step in shrinking the digital divide and bringing low-cost, high-speed Internet service to the visitors, businesses and residents of Philadelphia.”

Under the agreements, EarthLink will build, manage and maintain a wireless network over the City’s 135 square miles at no cost to taxpayers. EarthLink will install transmittal devices on approximately 4,000 of the City’s street lamp pole arms for which it will pay the City. In addition, EarthLink will provide City residents and visitors with free hotspots in 22 locations around Philadelphia, and provide the City with 3,000 free or discounted WiFi accounts and 700 discounted T-1 accounts to be used at the City’s option.

Related Links:

The Wireless Philadelphia Initiative [PDF Document]