Day 2 (Saturday): First investigation of the Reading Terminal Market. Faithful readers may recall my descriptions of Westside Market in Cleveland. Reading Terminal Market is like that, but bigger. Lots of vendors of fresh food, cheese, meats, produce, and fish alongside stalls proffering food prepared from local sources. It was amazing. There is a large corner of Pennsylvania Dutch vendors selling crafts, baked goods, and everything that can be pickled. Nice!
The transition to Eastern time wasn’t kind, and it was mid-morning there before I made it over for breakfast. This is offered to help explain why I selected a Reuben sandwich from Herschel’s Eastside Deli for my brunch. The meat was sliced in front of me, approximately ¼ inch thick slices that were barely held together by remaining connective tissue. It glistened with gelatinous juice. I ordered it with everything which included Russian dressing. Usually I prefer my sandwiches without the dressing, but I wanted to experience this in its original form. My chosen rye bread (choice of pumpernickel or rye) was spread with the dressing and then layered with swiss cheese, the meat, and sauerkraut, and then put into a sandwich press griddle. The press didn’t flatten it out much, and it was hard to eat. It was the kind of sandwich that you can’t put down and then pick up again successfully. Best Reuben I have ever had. This may spoil me for other Reubens for a long time.
We also visited the Flying Monkey Bakery. They offered many varieties of brownies, too many choices in fact. But, luck was on my side. They offered a variety pack of brownie edge bites for $2. That’s a great value because I could taste several different brownies, and I really like edges. I didn’t actually eat any at that moment, but into the bag they went for later.
After that I didn’t need to eat again until dinner, and I wanted some vegetables, so I visited Nanee’s Kitchen. Nanee is from the Peshawar region of Pakistan and serves freshly-made Indian and Pakistani food. I tried the spinach paneer with nan and dal and felt like I had balanced out the meat-fest of brunch. The food was well-flavored, spiced but not hot, and the nan was fresh and crusty and chewy. I used to think that I didn’t like Indian food, but I am learning that I just needed more experience with good food and a greater variety.
Day 3: Back to the market, but it is Sunday morning, so not all of the vendors were open. We wound up back at the Down Home Diner with a lot of local Philadelphians. I had a breakfast burrito and shared a side of bacon. Good stuff, all. Very friendly server, Zach, provided local tips and color, but wasn’t really attentive about refilling coffee. That night we visited Delilah’s Southern Comfort. We had heard that the mac and cheese was something to talk about. I had a chicken platter – fried chicken, cornbread, and mac and cheese. I can report that it was good, but I can make it just as well. The cornbread, however, was exceptional. Slightly sweet and creamy, not dry at all.
Day 4 (Monday): With the giant APHA Conference across the street, breakfast was tough at the market. There were lots of people. I wound up getting an egg bagel from Spataro’s. It was fine, but nothing special. Coffee was from Old City Coffee, and I didn’t actually like it much. I had café au lait, and it was too hot to drink for about 20 minutes and the coffee itself was very bitter. I won’t go there again. Lunch a the market made breakfast look empty. My only chance to get food in a short time was to head back to Nanee’s Kitchen where I had a lamb kebab in nan. The meat was tender and well-cooked. There were two sauces, one was yogurt-based, and the other was a little sweet and garlicky. It was a good sandwich especially for $6. Monday evening we had our Utah social at McGillin’s Olde Ale House. It’s the oldest continuously operated tavern in Philadelphia. Our food was nothing too special, except for the meatballs in gravy (red sauce) were really good. The best thing that I tried was actually Original Sin Hard Cider. It was fruity and smooth, not sharp at all, but not cloyingly sweet either.
Day 5 (Tuesday): We slept in a bit and then went on a cheesesteak quest. This is a food item which engenders much passion in Philadelphia. Many outlets purport to be the home of ‘original’ or ‘best’ cheesesteaks, but it seems to come down to three contenders: Pat’s, Geno’s, and Jim’s. I’m proud to say that Scarlett and I stepped up to the plate and tried them all. It was a lot of walking but totally worth it. First stop was Jim’s Steaks in the 400 block of South Street (1.3 miles from our starting point). We split one that they helpfully cut in two for us and then set off to the south and Pat's King of Steaks. Pat's is famous, and supposedly the place where the sandwich was invented. There is a memorial of where part of Rocky was filmed. They were less polite, and not interested in helping the customer unless the order was properly given. Whatever. It wasn't all that. At Pat's we also enjoyed a birch beer which tastes like root beer, smells a bit of cream soda, and is more red than brown. For anyone counting, it is 0.8 miles from Jim's to Pat's. Geno's is literally across a weird intersection from Pat's. At Geno's we split our third cheesesteak of the day and then walked back to the convention center (1.6 miles -- fyi google maps estimates 36 minutes, and we did it in about that even with a diaper changing stop).
The verdict? We liked Jim's best - onions were in large, recognizable pieces, and the bread was chewy but not hard. Also, the politeness and indoor seating went a long way in our book. Oh, and we walked almost 4 miles.
No need for much dinner that night -- salad with felafel from a middle eastern vendor back at the market.
Day 6 (Wednesday): The Pennsylvania Dutch were back at the market, and I enjoyed an apple dumpling for breakfast (along with a bite of Scarlett's pickle and cinnamon roll, but not at the same time). Lunch was a tuna melt which was good with fries which were not at another Amish vendor. Quinn wasn't too impressed.
3 comments:
How fun. We just tried Moochies cheesesteaks in SLC.. Have you ever tried them? Supposedly, its the real thing, but I've never actually had the the real thing. Just wondering if it compares.
I have had Moochies, but it has been too long to compare accurately. Will have to go back!
I'm so glad that you recounted our culinary experience in Philly. By far, the best part of the trip. And how do you remember places, names, streets, etc?
By the way, just 3 words for that last picture:
alligator snapping turtle!
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