Philadelphia has a rich history as a chocolate town and it continues to this day with the likes of Marcie Turney’s Marcie Blaine chocolates made at Verde on South 13th Street. Italian transplant Fabio Scarpelli’s Golosa is turning out Italian chocolates in Bella Vista. Former Le Bec-Fin pastry chef Antoine Amrani has his own chocolate factory in East Norriton. Even Max Brenner has come to town with his Chocolate by the Bald Man.

Chocolate City [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Midtown Village is kicking off a special Wednesday night promotion where retailers, restaurants, bars and galleries are offering special discounts and will be stay open late.

Check out some of the food related deals after the jump.

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Joe Sixpack’s article today is chock full of beery goodness. He profiles the recently opened Brauhaus Schmitz, gives props to Varga Bar, updates us on the New Jersey Turnpike and Flying Fish saga and tips us off to BeerMenus.com. And then he really gets us wanting with a link to a Yards Brawler cycling jersey and rundown of a sixpack of chocolate truffles made with local beers at Verde.

Among the new stops: Brauhaus Schmitz on South St. [Philadelphia Daily News]

We here at the Foobooz World Headquarters think “succulent” is a great word. So we were excited to see the following subject line in our inbox this morning, “New Succulents at Verde Philadelphia.” We eagerly clicked with thoughts of chocolate delights dancing through our heads. So we were dissapointed that the succulents being discussed were plants not some food based juiciness.

But a quick spin of the mouse wheel and our spirits were buoyed by the following paragraph:

NEW from Marcie Blaine Artisinal Chocolates!

Fresh strawberry’s from Lancaster County are the inspiration for the newest addition to Marcie Blaine Artisinal Chocolates. White chocolate ganache enrobed in 64% dark chocolate completes this mouth watering combination that is a must try.

Succulent.

Verde Philadelphia [Official Site]

Early Feedback from the Piazza

Living on the Vedge tells us about a promising margherita pizza and a salad at Vino that will hopefully be “figged out” next time. [Living on the Vedge]

The Beer Lass was there for the Swift Half’s soft opening and tries out a whole slew of dishes. [Beer Lass]

Phoodie has the lowdown on the Swift one’s Green Tomato Bloody Mary. [Phoodie.info]

Elsewhere In New

It was practically a stampede on opening day at Sweet Ending. “Solid, but not knee-buckling” is the verdict from Living on the Vedge [Living on the Vedge]

We only provided crappy nightime iPhone pictures of Silk City’s beer garden. Luckily Silk City has published their own. [Silk City]

Living on the Vedge also makes it to Verde and Varga Bar to see how the Turney siblings are doing. [Living on the Vedge]

Why Twitter Doesn’t Suck

Honest Tom’s is serving up fish tacos at Clark Park tonight at 5. [Twitter]

Why Marketing Works

Wawa may have abandoned much of Center City but we love their Hoagiefest ads so much we’ll probably seek them out anyway. [Wawa]

Valeri Safran and Marcie Turney, owners of Lolita, Bindi, Grocery and Open House open Verde today. A new flower and artisanal chocolate shop on 13th Street. Look for truffles, caramels and toffees oh my!

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Audrey Taichman is looking to open a second branch of her Audrey Claire at the corner of 13th and Sansom. Next door Marcie Turney and Valeri Safran are looking to expand their 13th Street empire with Verde, a flower and chocolate shop where Robins Books used to be. Also in the works is another restaurant next door at 110 S 13th Street. This spot will be Mediterranean and will feature a wood burning stove as well as the couple’s first liquor license.

What makes this all the more fun is that Turney used to work for Taichman at the original Audrey Claire.

Inqlings: This summer, it’ll be geckos galore [Philadelphia Inquirer]
More food in Wash West [The Insider]

UPDATE: The Audrey Claire deal is off.