We take a break from our New England travels to bring you breaking news — Tom Henneman, man-about-town, charismatic tour de force behind Bodhi Coffee and Federal Donuts, is getting married today! In celebration of this special day, here’s a glimpse behind the curtain at one of the leading men in Philly’s restaurant scene.
J.HILBURN AT HYLO BOUTIQUES
Tom has chosen the quintessential suit for the occasion, and we’ve had the honor of fitting him in our own studio. Our in-house J.Hil girl, Tina DeVita, gives us the rundown before Tom debuts his suit on wedding day.
Tom followed the rules by wearing a suit and tie, but he’s giving it his own spin, as you might expect. The Navy End-on-End is a great crossover color — not linen, not solid. Choosing navy over black makes the classic elements sing. Lavender adds an unexpected element of softness:
Instead of dressing head-to-toe in J.Hilburn, Tom incorporated items that spoke to him, with individual touches like these shoes, which his fiancée picked out. The ensemble really lets his personality come through.
With his suit in hand and fitting like a glove, Tom is ready for anything. Knowing Tom, we know what that means … taco time! It’s the perfect occasion to roll up our sleeves and take him out to his establishment of choice, the much-lauded Honest Tom’s — taco truck turned West Philly taco outpost. Tom gives us the scoop on his favorite spot to chow down.
AN HONEST TOM VISITS HONEST TOM’S
Honest Tom opened his truck in April of ’09. Someone told me about it. Probably Drew Lazor – he was a big fan. Drew’s always been solid. I trust him. That’s my homeboy.
Chicken tacos were the first thing I ate from the truck. I was sold. Because it’s not just about the tacos. It’s about talking shit with Tom in the kitchen, you know what I mean? I just thought it was badass that he was in a truck selling tacos. Nobody was doing that. That was before food trucks really blew up.
He’s an OG. Look at that fucking long wavy hair. How could you not love that dude? No flannels on today. He doesn’t know how to act..
My daughter loves it here. We have our little Friday date nights. Normally we’ll have bets. I’ll be like, how many do you think, honey? She’ll be like three. We’ll come in and he’ll have four fucking flannels on.
He doesn’t own a coat. He just owns different size flannels. He’ll start with medium, large, 2X, and that’s his coat. It’s a function of starting out with the food truck.
One of the reasons I love coming here is for this right here. You can eat anywhere, but being a small business owner and knowing how much of a struggle it can be, how much you have to grind, you know how much that personal interaction means.
Tom just wants to come here, sell some tacos, and go about his day. He’s got a great squad working here. That’s another thing that you can tell. They always seem happy. You can walk into a spot and feel it if they’re not happy. You can tell that immediately. Absolute energy.
My favorite item? Shrimp tacos and guac. They’re delicious. Guac is made fresh. You’ve got the queen of guac back there.
Ricky, Super Mario brother, makes the shrimp tacos. They’re out of this world. I’ll ask in advance and tweet at them to draw it out. (Shrimp tacos are made only on occasion, most often on weekends. But Tom has pull):
Who is the more honest Tom?
Him! He’s the OG. I want to be Honest Tom. Or Hairy Tom. I guess I can be that. He’s got the little JV beard though — I got him there. He’s got me on the locks but I can grow a grown-ass man beard.
Is there a correlation between beard size and honesty?
Well, it should be Honest Abe, right? He really set it off. Lincoln? He had the long beard. He was the OG of OGs. I don’t know, he seems like a steak and yucca kind of guy.
Hey, listen. You come in and Tom’s got the flannel going, the long ginger hair, ginger beard. He’s always got some just straight up rock ‘n’ roll.
If you had to say what is modern rock ‘n’ roll, I’d be like, Honest Tom.
And what does the original Honest Tom have to say of this very honest Tom?
He’s my mentor.
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Honest Tom’s Taco Shop | 261 S 44th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
J.Hilburn at HyLo Boutiques | By Appointment | shelby@hyloboutiques.com
