Binding Agents

Hear ye, hear ye! *RINGS BELL AGGRESSIVELY* It's all happening at BA this spring! 🧁4/21 - Whisk & Wisdom | An evening of pastry, purpose, and joy with the @inkindbakingproject and their special guest Elizbaeth Halen of @flyingmonkeyphilly . 📚4/25 - Indie Bookstore Day | A one-day party that takes place at indie bookstores nationwide! We'll be spinning the famous prize wheel with every purchase. 🍷4/29 - Wine Pairing for the People | The brilliant @cha_squared comes to Philly for a conversation with @monty_pithy of @santephl about how wine has a place at every table, alongside the cuisines of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and beyond. Hosted by our friends @praytellwines 🩵 🇱🇦 4/30 - The Lao Kitchen | BA welcomes @saengdouangdara for a very special evening celebrating his new book, featuring a conversation with @catzuella and light bites by @vientianebistro . If you haven't checked out Saeng's "This Is Not Larb" series, go do that—and get your ticket! 🏖️🍪5/3 - Lido & Italian Cookies | It's a panel, it's a party!! We're exploring Italy in a way you definitely haven't before: through its cookies and the food of its beach clubs. Help us welcome @domenicacooks and duo Matt Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino of @bufalina_ct . There WILL be cookies and lambrusco! 🍕5/12 - Pizza Rules | Friend of the shop @peggypaulcasella is back, this time to give us the scoop on pizza dough in celebration of her book Pizza Rules! Making pizza at home is so much easier and more fun than you think, and Peggy's dough demo will prove it. 📔5/13 - Cookbook Swap | By popular demand, we're headed back to @jetwinebar for another happy hour cookbook swap! Bring up to 3 gently used books, leave with some new ones, enjoy HH specials galore. No RSVP required. 🇮🇹 5/16 & 5/17 - The South 9th Street Italian Market Festival | You know you're gonna be here. Open regular hours through the weekend for your moment of zen. WHEW. Ok. Link in bio etc etc. Even more coming soon!

I’m thrilled to moderate a discussion with TikTok star and cookbook author @thisfellow about his new cookbook, Retro Recipes, on June 3rd, 2026 @bindingagents ! 💫Pictured here is the Family Skillet Dinner from Retro Recipes featuring one of my favorite mid-century food stuffs: ⚡️Spam⚡️. Bobby’s thoughtful adaptions of often maligned comfort foods really make these recipes shine. 🫯Join us for a rollicking and nostalgia-heavy conversation about how modern America learned to cook and eat! There will be egg creams to enjoy and plenty of discussion about various foods suspended in Jello. Dig out your most retro outfit from your vintage closet and join us for a memorable night out! Grab tickets via the link in my bio. 💫🫯⚡️🫯💫 #bobbyhicks #retrorecipes #retrocookbook #bindingagents #phillyevents 🫯⚡️💫⚡️🫯

Our most requested event (by far!) is back! We’re hosting another cookbook swap with our friends @jetwinebar : 📅 Wednesday, 5/13 | 5-7pm (rain date 5/27) 📍 The Garden at Jet Wine Bar (1525 South Street) 🍷 Happy hour specials galore 🎟️ No tickets or RSVP required! Bring a few books, take a few books. Let’s say, like, 3? In good condition, please? We’re not going to be sticklers, but if you’re worried about how you’re going to transport them...that’s too many. Any left at the end of the night will be donated. Hope to see you there!

What an incredible evening for Chef @saengdouangdara ’s cookbook release and talk in Philly! Special thanks to @bindingagents for hosting (still a few copies left, some signed so hurry and get yours), @sunnyskitchen2002 @vientianebistro for catering the yummy Lao snacks and @catzuella for moderating the talk. We’re grateful to those who got tickets & came out (we see you Chef 👀), apparently our stop on the book tour was the first to sell out! Congrats to Saeng on ALL of your success!

🍕 LOCAL AUTHOR DEMO ALERT! 🍕 The great @peggypaulcasella [OG friend of the shop, cookbook author times many, pizza expert] is coming back to Binding Agents on 5/12, this time for a PIZZA DOUGH DEMO. If you think making pizza at home is complicated, stressful, daunting, not worth it, think again. It's so much easier and more fun than you've been led to believe. Come meet Peggy, celebrate her awesome book PIZZA RULES, and troubleshoot your dough troubles. She'll chat with us about cultivating pizza prowess and show off some cool moves, you'll leave with no fear and (if you want, and you do) the coolest pizza cookbook/workbook with the cutest illustrations ever. The last slide shows me successfully slinging a pizza off the peel for the first time in my life using Peggy's one-hour dough and genius tips. The system works! Link in bio for deets.

Independent Bookstore Day is this Saturday, April 25, and THE BA PRIZE WHEEL IS OUT! We'll be spinning the wheel with every purchase, offering 10% off all "book books," loading up Francois the sale cart with even more discounted titles, raffling off some genuinely good prizes (including event tickets), and providing little treats while supplies last. We hope you'll brave the elements to party with all your favorite local indies this weekend! But if you can't make it out, it's a great time to do some shopping on @bookshop_org . They're celebrating with free shipping all weekend long.

POV: You arrive at Binding Agents looking for some cookbooks and find a “Wow, that’s a LOT of freaking cookbooks” number of cookbooks. Real statement by a real customer! Come be amazed.

UPDATE: We have a winner - congrats to @tri_sarah_thomps ! Food is better when shared! To celebrate the launch of Chef Saeng Douangdara’s debut cookbook “The Lao Kitchen: Lao Flavors and Stories Told Through Family Recipes”, we’re giving away a free copy plus entry for you and a guest to his Philadelphia book signing — a conversation hosted by Laos In The House at Binding Agents! To enter: - Make sure you’re following @laos_inthehouse & @bindingagents - Tag someone in the comments who you’d love to bring as your guest — that’s your entry! The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 30th at 10AM EST. Winner must be present to claim their book. If you want to be sure to get your hands on The Lao Kitchen, it comes out April 21, 2026 and you can pre-order through @bindingagents . But you can only get yours signed by @saengdouangdara in person! This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Instagram/Facebook. Must be 18+ to enter.

PHILLY! Come celebrate The Lao Kitchen with me at @bindingagents It’s going to be a night filled with light bites from @vientianecafe and a special conversation moderated by my dear friend and community leader @catzuella of @laos_inthehouse plus a chance to get your book signed. Binding Agents is a cookbook-focused bookstore that offers an expansive collection of contemporary and classic titles for experienced chefs, aspiring home cooks, and eager eaters. Catzie is a poet, writer, and founding member of Yellow Rage. She’s also been a longtime friend and part of my journey in Lao food. She holds it down in Philly with Laos In The House and is a community cultivator for the @seamarket_fdrpark Seats are limited, so don’t wait. Comment “Philly ticket” and I’ll send you the link to the event. See you on April 30th! #laofood #philadelphiaevent #laofoodmovement

🙏🏻 to @ericsmithrocks from @neighborhoodliterary for inviting me to the magical cookbook loving indie bookstore @bindingagents to share all my #NotSoSecretAgent insights on cookbook publishing. ☺️ Special shout out to Catie and her incredible team for all you do! 📚 You all SHOWED up with the warmest room of curiosity and creativity. We even did a pop up Offer & Ask session at the end. 💫 Thank you to my readers, our industry, and this community of humans.

Little tour of some of the signed books currently gracing our shelves! (For the anti-sticker among you: a blast with a hair dryer released them in a snap.)

PHILLY, we’re coming for you 🍨✨ We’re heading your way for the last stop on our cookbook tour, join us for an author talk + signing at @bindingagents , and an ice cream social at @malai_icecream with our limited-edition collab flavor inspired by the Spiced Date Cake with Coconut Caramel from the book. 🍦 Your details at the link in bio. 💌 Powered by @highbeamnyc , built for consumer brands