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Hear Philly: Local Cuisine Meets Museum At New Festival

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Dozens of your favorite local restaurants will be serving some delicious dishes under one roof later this month.

Ray Sheehan is one of the organizers of the brand new event coming to the Academy of Natural Sciences on March 31st.

"The Philadelphia Restaurant Festival is an opportunity for consumers to come out and get intimate with some of the amazing restaurants that make up this awesome city of ours," he says.

There will be around 40 local restaurants participating that, according to Sheehan, will appeal to everyone:

"You have your hardcore foodie, which there will be something for that consumer, and then you have something for just your introductory foodie consumer, and it's really A-Z...you have dessert, you have Italian cuisine, you have the burgers, you have seafood, you have some very eclectic mixes there."

The location: the Academy of Natural Sciences, which Sheehan says will make for an experience like you've never seen before:

"The idea was to have them go on this journey, but not only have it be a food journey, but also take this journey throughout the museum, so we just thought this would be the absolute perfect backdrop for our food festival."

 

Academy of Natural Sciences
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Credit: Will Klein)

 

He says at one moment you'll be sampling dishes with T-Rex and another you'll be sipping cocktails in front of actual live butterflies:

"This venue really lends itself to an amazing event."

Sheehan says you won't just be tasting food:

"There's going to be a wide range of craft beer, craft cocktails, and some non-alcoholic beverages. In addition to that, you can come out and have a good time while doing good."

The festival supports several local charities, including The Food Trust, Philabundance, St. Christopher's Hospital, Farm to City and Coalition Against Hunger.

"There's obviously some food related issues in the city," Sheehan says, "so this is a celebration of food, but we also want to give back to some of these amazing charities."

The event begins at 6 p.m., unless you're a VIP, then your evening starts at 5 p.m.

For tickets and more information go to www.restaurantfestival.com.

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