When
William Penn decided to name the state and then this city, seemingly after
himself, he used two Greek words to lay upon his town in hopes of what it could
be. The two words he chose were “phileo” and
“adelphos” literally meaning love and
brother, thus the nickname “The City of Brotherly Love”. That is a very strong
statement especially when you have no idea how things will come to be. But now
that we have explored this city together I think it’s safe to say Penn would be
proud.
I can’t
believe our tour through “my” Philadelphia is coming to an end. But there is
good news- there will always be a reason to go back. For me it is about family,
as my cousins live there. But also it is the things I still have to see and eat
which I will list now in case you get there before me.
I am
going to start with the three places I have had in mind every time I have
previously been to Philly but never had the opportunity to go. Something always
trumped it but now they are the first places I will go next.
DiNic’s
Roast Pork
When
you are in Philadelphia you will be surrounded by the many, many places there
are to get sandwiches here. No matter if it is a hoagie like at Sarcone’s Deli
or a cheesesteak from Jim’s, they will mostly be what you eat.
The
third category includes a sandwich and restaurant that is at the core of group.
That would be DiNic’s Roast Pork and not surprisingly that he is most famous
recipe despite all of the other choices.
His hot
roast pork sandwich is made with meat that has been roasted for hours after
being basted with Italian seasoning. It is placed
on bread and then topped with provolone cheese and broccoli rabe. Both have
quit a bite on them so i am sure they are complimenting those flavors.
Anyone
who is anyone from Travel Channel and Food Network have all spent some time in
Philly and even more time with DiNic’s.
Here is Adam Richman's experience:
I must go to complete my sub trifecta.
This
restaurant has the distinction of being rated as the second best pizza in all
of Philadelphia, according to the list assembled by Visit Philadelphia. That
ranks pretty high in my book especially when I am spoiled by the pizzas I get
in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Tacconelli’s
only serves pizza and there is a three topping limit for the thin crust pies
that are supposed to be as crunchy as they are delicious. Now doesn’t that
sound good? It sure does to me. I am totally going here next time even if I
have eaten right before.
I
have heard that if you are going to the Port Richmond location you should call
ahead to reserve your dough. Yep the pizza dough! Apparently it is made daily
and once they run out for the day that is it. I feel like giving them a buzz
right now.
Reading
Market Terminal
Reading
Market Terminal is not just any old market. This place praised for how much
variety and amounts of foods they serve. In fact if you only have a few hours
of time and you want to sample the best foods in Philly you only need to come
here. DiNic’s, mentioned above, even has a stand in this market. I guarantee
that you can walk around finding things you love to eat and things you will
walk away raving about.
Reading
Market is not just filled with mini food restaurants. It is also an attraction
for locals and tourists. You can buy flowers and goodies for your home.
I have
past Reading Market many times but never been inside. I know the very NEXT time
I am close by this is my first thing to visit. This way I can bang out most of
the foods I want to taste at one time.
Besides
DiNic’s, I want to visit Bassets Ice Cream, Beilers Bakery, Dutch Eating Place, and last but not least, Termini
Brothers. If the
pictures of ice cream, pastries, and cannolis on their websites are any indication
of how good they are, I will go there wearing pants three times my size so that
my binge eating wont restriction blood flow. One food looks better than the
next. I wish they were scratch and sniff pictures. But that might get me into
some trouble when I try to lick the paper.
Philly’s
Famous Italian Ices
Sadly
this does not have a stand in the Market but that’s ok. Having been open for
over fifty years, serving Italian (water) ices with real fruit year round makes
the trip there worth it. If you are not an ice fan they also serve ice cream,
pretzels (some with cheese), and just about any other snack you could dream up.
I will go for the ices and stay for the pretzels.
Pat’s
Kings of Steaks vs., Geno’s Steaks
Ok this
is the last foodie place I will mention. When I wrote about cheesesteaks
earlier in this blog series (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2015/08/for-city-of-brotherly-love-benjamin_21.html)
I wrote about how I choose to go to Jim’s Steaks over these two iconic Philly
places. I know that they have been at “war” to see which is better than the
other and that they are both open twenty-four hours a day. They are directly
across from one another as if the competition was not serious enough already. I
hadn’t needed to visit just because of the legend but if I do I will go to
both. I figure eventually I will have eaten everything in Philadelphia and when
that day arrives this is where I will end up.
As I
reflect upon this list now I realize that all of my to do items here are food
related. Perhaps that’s a sign Philly really is a foodie city. Well that and a
big admired of the Franklins. That it what Philadelphia and I have in common.
One
last food fact before I go. Sarcone’s is so beloved, and now you know why, it
places as number seven on this list of classic Philly foods (http://philly.eater.com/maps/map-iconic-classic-foods-philadelphia).
I agree it certainly deserves to be there. Most of the items here are also on
my future itinerary as you can see for good reasons.
I also
think I have to add the last item on this list to my growing to do itinerary. I
am intrigued by the food served at Florida Pizza Pockets. I have had a pizza pot pie (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2014/05/for-wonderful-weekend-in-windy-city_17.html)
but never an inside-out pocket. The ones at Florida Pizza Pockets sound
splendid which is confusing because Florida (the state) doesn’t seem to have
good pizza, or hoagies and bread for that matter. Well there is only one way I
will be able to tell if they live up to their hype, and that is for me to hit
it up the next time I am in town. Its nice knowing there will always be a next
time.
Well
that’s all folks. When you end up in Philly, for whatever you are seeking out,
pass my regards to Benjamin Franklin. He always gets a kick of out it.
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