Philadelphia Weekly

Marc Vetri

For a table at Marc Vetri's eponymous restaurant, praised by Mario Batali as "possibly the best Italian restaurant on the East Coast," you'll need a reservation at least a month in advance. North Broad Street's Osteria, his second restaurant, is both easier to get into and less expensive, but that doesn't mean that a meal won't leave you feeling like there's a hole in your pocket. (The pizzas are worth it, though.) For a way to get the Vetri experience without holding a reservation or spending an arm or a leg, head to the Free Library on Tuesday. Vetri, a South Philly native who trained in Bergamo, Italy, will be talking about his new cookbook, Il Viaggio di Vetri. Find out about the rigors of running two top restaurants and what he cooks at home. Just don't ask him if he can get you into Vetri on a Saturday night.

Temple Grandin

Author Temple Grandin may be autistic, but that hasn't stopped her from earning her Ph.D. and advocating for animal rights. Her latest book, Animals Make Us Human, addresses proper care for our furry friends. On Thursday Grandin will discuss the ethics of animal care. Miss it and you'll have to wait for her upcoming biopic.

Free Wine at DuJour

7:30pm. Through February. DuJour at the Symphony House, 440 S. Broad St. 215.735.8010. www.dujourmarket.com

With the economy in the shitter, here's the silver lining of a recession: free stuff. For a month and a half, Du Jour at the Symphony House offers a free bottle of wine with the purchase of two entrees. Choose between cabernet or chardonnay, both from Stone Cellars by Beringer, a California-based winery.

Eschenbach Returns

Like a prodigal son with a conductor's baton, German pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach returns to guest conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra with celebrated violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg to perform Max Bruch's luminous first concerto. After Eschenbach's beleaguered tenure as the orchestra's music director ended, he moved on to greener pastures. During his time in Philly, the Maestro's style had been described as everything from "cosmopolitan" to "corrosive" and reports of unrest within the company were commonplace. His return engagement starts with the orchestra's debut performance of Osiris by eccentric German composer Matthias Pintscher and is topped off with Sergei Prokofiev's energetic Fifth Symphony. Come for the music but keep a keen eye on the chemistry between Eschenbach and the orchestra. There may be fireworks. Who doesn't love a good dramatic musical?

What on Earth Is Happening, Part 1

Hey, are you worried about "the forces of the Dark Occultism at work in our lives?" Then get yourself down to "What on Earth Is Happening"--a presentation by Philly guru Mark Passio, who's spent 12 years "investigating the nature of our shared reality." What exactly is a "shared reality"? Is there an unshared reality or a shared unreality to which we might compare it? A clue to Passio's particular shtick might be that he's addressed the Philly 9/11 meetup group on "the occult symbolism and esoteric agenda behind the 9/11 attacks." And that he puts the word "scientific" in quotation marks. But why should you care? Because, as his website states, "it is not an accident" that you are reading this. You are reading it "for a reason." "All is Love. Fear is Illusion. All beings are Free. Truth can never be destroyed." I am the walrus. Peace the fuck out.