ONE YEAR OF COVID: HOW PHILADELPHIANS STEPPED UP

BY KATHERINE RAPIN – The Philadelphia Citizen Last March, as the Covid-19 lockdown got underway in Philadelphia, Cristina Martinez and Ben Miller of South Philly Barbacoa welcomed friend and fellow chef Aziza Young to use their kitchen at El Compadre to provide free meals for low-income and elderly Philadelphians. Collaborating with furloughed chefs, Young prepared […]

People’s Kitchen at El Compadre Featured on 6 ABC

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The restaurant industry has been struggling to survive this pandemic, but even in times of loss, we are seeing a tremendous amount of generosity and care coming out of those kitchens. A celebrated culinary couple in South Philadelphia is using their space and their skills to serve the underserved. For Ben Miller […]

Reopening restaurants is a death sentence for workers and the industry | Opinion

Alexandra Jones, For the Inquirer “Many owners are so focused on their business that they can see only two paths out of this seemingly interminable, yet entirely avoidable crisis: restaurants stay closed through the pandemic and shutter, or dining rooms reopen and everything’s fine. This dichotomy is false. We’ve seen what happened when cities nationwide resumed service […]

The People’s Kitchen at El Compadre serves free meals and social justice to those in need

COLUMN Craig LaBan | @CraigLaBan | claban@inquirer.com At 7 a.m. one recent Tuesday morning, the crew from El Compadre already had their hands in the dirt of an urban farm in Point Breeze, clearing-out fallow beds and turning the soil of their newly acquired garden plots, even gathering their lucky first harvest, a bushy green purslane left by previous […]

At South Philly Barbacoa, Guest Chefs Are Taking Over the Kitchen in a Series of Summer Pop-Ups

The celebrated Mexican restaurant doubles as a community hub, lending its space to chef friends and activists by Rachel Vigoda@RachelVigoda   Five nights a week, the kitchen sits empty at South Philly Barbacoa. Cristina Martinez and Ben Miller’s famed taqueria in the Italian Market serves only Saturday and Sunday, from 5 a.m. until the barbacoa and tortillas sell out. But why […]

South Philly Review – Barbacoa opens kitchen to support hunger drive

As business owners who live walking distance from their restaurant, Cristina Martinez and Ben Miller saw the immediate need to feed hungry neighbors. The married couple owns the South Philly Barbacoa at 1140 S. 9th St. in the Passyunk Square neighborhood and wanted to help fight food insecurity during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Their restaurant, […]