Dinner

IT WOULD HAVE been an expense-account report to make my editors and the new millionaire owners (how you doing, guys?) very happy. I wanted to take U.S. Rep. Bob Brady out to dinner Wednesday night after his return from Washington, and it wouldn't cost a cent for him. Brady would not eat because he's on the weeklong Greater Philadelphia Food Stamp Challenge, organized by the Coalition Against Hunger and the Jewish Federation. The gimmick: Enlist celebrities to help illustrate how hard it is for the poor (including children, elders, the disabled)

You can see the smile creep into actress Patricia Kalember's pretty face as her eyes widen in the role of a married woman named Jacqueline. She has just picked up the phone to hear the voice of Robert, an old friend and the best man at her wedding, and from that smile and those eyes, you know something's going on. That little something turns out to be one of, oh, maybe 15 causes for deception in "Don't Dress for Dinner," a wholly amusing farce...

This classic pairing of asparagus and poached egg is such a lovely weeknight dinner, especially as a herald to spring. It's not something I would make on a weeknight for the kids, I will confess, too challenging to poach all those eggs. But it is perfect supper for one or two. Though it is a few steps, the results are well worth the effort. This recipe, from Jane Hornby's newest offering, Fresh & Easy: What to Cook & How to Cook It, adds a sauce of balsamic vinegar and butter to the asparagus, for a spot-on finishing touch.

DOMENIC Angeline Sr. last saw the youngest of his three children, Valerie Marie Angeline, on Friday night for his 59th birthday dinner at the Red Lobster on Baltimore Pike in Springfield. After the family returned to their Bryn Mawr home, Valerie drove back to her West Philly apartment at about 9:30 p.m., he said. Within the next 24 hours, she would be dead - with multiple stab wounds to her chest and neck. "She was a beautiful girl," her father said Sunday. "She didn't have any enemies.

Walnut Street Supper Club is the most nostalgic of the bunch, but it isn't the only place where you can enjoy dinner and a show. Here are a few others: Live From Loew's: A monthly performance series at the Solefood Restaurant and Lounge inside Loew's Hotel. March 19, features "rockjazz" pianist and Camden native ELEW (a/k/a Eric Lewis); April 26 showcases singer-songwriter Sarah Miles. No cover or minimum. 12th and Market streets, 215-627-1200, www.loewshotels.com/Philadelphia-Hotel . Eddie Bruce & Friends: The veteran Philly crooner does four sets every Friday at SugarHouse Casino backed by the Tom Adams Trio and featuring a changing roster of guest performers.

Craig LaBan: I've been away, brewing up a storm in Belgium with a crew from Philly Beer Week ( http://is.gd/hLn9d2 ). Reader: I'm planning a surprise gathering for my husband's birthday and struggling to come up with a decent, and reasonably priced, option for nine people. I want to be able to make a reservation. Been back to Le Viet? We frequent Nam Phuong, but I need something nicer. Thoughts? C.L.: Yes, I've been back to Le Viet many times since the review - it's become something of a family favorite.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Too often it is after the fact that teachers discover their students worry less about math and reading and more about where the next meal comes from. So Doug White, principal of Garfield Elementary School in inner-city Kansas City, was relieved when his school, like many across the country, began offering dinner to students enrolled in after-school child-care or tutoring programs. With breakfast and lunch already provided for poor students, many children now get all their meals at school.

SAVING LIVES. That's the mission. And the reason Villanova's longtime football coach is so passionate about his Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, whose goal is to continue adding potential donors to the national "Be the Match" registry. The more people who become part of the pool means that many more victims of blood-related diseases have a chance of getting help. It's that simple. In just the last year, through testings at Villanova and the other 34 schools Talley works with, 35 football players donated marrow.

Still scrambling for that perfect Valentine's Day date - flowers, dinner and a move? Well, six couples planed to outdo that. They got hitched. At noon, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart married the love birds in consecutive ceremonies at the Reading Terminal Market in Center City. The weddings were celebrated with music performed by violinist Elizabeth Cary and will be followed by a free dessert reception. The ceremonies were held in the center court seating area at the historic market at 12th and Arch Streets.

THE WORD "dignified" isn't often used to describe how the homeless sate their hunger in Philly. There is nothing dignified about fishing food scraps from the trash. Or begging outside Wawa for a sandwich. Or lining up with others on Logan Circle hoping that the soup being ladled by Good Samaritans won't run out before everyone's bowl is filled. The search for food is demoralizing and terrifying, as the homeless deal with the fallout of lives in which they belong nowhere and, often, to no one. So it's miraculous that, at least twice a week, hundreds of homeless men and women enjoy a dignified dining experience on South Broad Street, within steps of the gleaming Suzanne Roberts Theatre and the equally shiny Kimmel Center.