Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHL’s shutdown shuffle — F Philadelphia International can’t catch a break. Thanks to the ongoing federal shutdown and FAA staffing shortages, the airport cut 10% of flights — meaning the already-grim travel experience at PHL just got a little closer to purgatory. American Airlines, which runs three-quarters of flights here, swears “most customers won’t notice.” Sure, and TSA swears those lines move fast. The FAA says it’s about safety, not politics, but tell that to the stranded families and business travelers buying $30 Auntie Anne’s pretzel buckets to mask their rage. Frontier’s CEO even told people to book a backup flight … which feels a lot like SEPTA telling you to find a backup bus. Even when D.C. reopens, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy admits delays will linger. So go ahead, Philly, complain about the Linc parking lot all you want, but at least there you can honk your way out. Google review shakedown hits Philly restaurants — D (Google), A (Philly) A scammer calling himself “Alexander” tanked the ratings of some of Philly’s top restaurants — Provenance, Ambra, Her Place, Kissho House, Mish Mish, Palizzi, and others — with dozens of fake one-star reviews overnight. Then came the ransom: pay $250 via WhatsApp to make them disappear. The reviews were ridiculous (“cold delivery” at a tasting-menu spot, “burnt tacos” at a Mediterranean restaurant), but they still dragged years of good reputation down in hours. Google finally stepped in after The Inquirer reported the story, scrubbing the fakes and restoring scores, but there’s little to stop it from happening again. The scam is part of a growing overseas cottage industry that preys on businesses dependent on online ratings — and Google’s system makes it nearly impossible to get a real human to fix it. Philly, though, did what Philly does best: regulars rallied, flooded the pages with real five-star reviews, and brought the scores back up. Google gets a D for letting small businesses twist in the algorithmic wind. Philly gets an A for reminding everyone that our dining scene doesn’t need bots to vouch for it — we’ll do it ourselves. You whine, we shove. That’s football, baby. — A+ The Packers hate the Tush Push almost as much as Philly loves it. Which is why Monday’s going to be fun. Green Bay spent the offseason whining that the Eagles’ signature move “isn’t real football,” writing an entire rule to get it banned — and still lost the vote. Now, poetic justice: they’ve got to face it head-on in prime time. Coach Matt LaFleur says the best way to stop it is “not to let it happen.” Adorable. The Eagles have run this play through the Chiefs, the Giants, and half the league, and they’ll happily add Lambeau’s finest to the list. Jason Kelce even came out of retirement (in spirit) to defend it. Jalen Hurts keeps converting it. And the rest of the NFL keeps crying about “player safety” while the Birds keep moving chains. Green Bay can keep its nostalgia for the Ice Bowl — Philly’s got the Brotherly Shove. You don’t ban Philly toughness. You just get flattened by it. Voters actually showed up — A It’s a Philly miracle: people remembered there was an election. Turnout hit its highest off-year levels in decades — 35% of registered voters in the city and nearly half the voters in the suburbs. Montgomery County even broke records. Usually, these odd-year elections are quieter than Reading Terminal on a Tuesday morning, but this time lines actually existed. Maybe people were fired up about Krasner, or maybe they just wanted to let Trump have it. So, congrats, democracy — for one brief moment, Philly voters cared enough to make our Founding Fathers a little less ashamed. Charles Barkley’s steak house (and his well-done phase) — B- Ordering a well-done steak in Philly is basically the culinary equivalent of saying you don’t like cheesesteaks — and Charles Barkley has done both. The former Sixer admits he used to eat his steaks cooked to oblivion and still refuses to touch a beef cheesesteak (“wet bread,” he says). Bold move for a man opening a steak house in King of Prussia. Still, we have to give Chuck some credit. The place sounds promising: cigars, key lime pie, maybe even a crab cocktail if you’re lucky. And no ketchup on steaks — his words, not ours — which should save him from total exile. So, yeah, the menu might redeem him. But if you’re going to name something after yourself in the Philly suburbs, you better serve that rib eye medium-rare and keep your cheesesteak opinions to yourself. A tribute to Pierre Robert’s Minerva — A+ Some people’s cars are just cars. Pierre Robert’s van was family. When Philly’s most beloved DJ lost his VW bus decades ago — ticketed, towed, and scrapped like any other jalopy on the wrong block — it felt like the city lost a piece of him, too. But a group of local mechanics and an airbrush artist didn’t let that story end there. They brought Minerva back to life in 2013, covered her in tie-dye swirls and ghosts of rock legends, and handed her back to a man who made every Philadelphian feel like a friend. Now, after Pierre’s death, those same people want to paint him onto the van, alongside Jimi, Janis, and Jerry, so that his face rolls through the city he loved one more time. It’s the kind of story that reminds you why this place matters: people see something worth saving, and they just do it. In a town where potholes outlive politicians, Pierre’s Minerva getting a second act feels like a small miracle. And the idea that she’ll carry his peace sign through Philly traffic forever? That’s about as rock and roll — and as Philly — as it gets.
