Eating Our Way Through Philadelphia

Philadelphia is known for a lot of food -- soft pretzels, Tastykakes and cheesesteaks, among many others. But we were in Philadelphia for only two meals, so we had some choices to make.

First, breakfast. Philadelphia isn't particularly known for its donuts, but Federal Donuts does get raves. We started our morning at the downtown location, where specialty "fancy" cake donuts in flavors like cookies and cream and strawberry lemonade are $2 apiece and those covered in flavored sugars are $1.25.

We got a half dozen of the sugared variety ($6) in three flavors, cooked to order so that they're still warm when you first sink your teeth into one. I don't recall the exact flavors, except one was cinnamon sugar. In reality, they all tasted like cinnamon sugar to us. No complaints. Just delicious.

Reading Terminal Market was the site of our lunch. Good choice. It's home to dozens of food stalls, bakeries and grocers -- an even more upscale North Market, to use a familiar Columbus site as a comparison.

My lunch entree was no Philadelphia staple. I'd feel bad about that except that my slab of rosemary-and-onion focaccia was so delicious.

From what I've read, the dessert I chose from Flying Monkey Bakery does have Philadelphia roots: butter cake. My piece of chocolate chip butter cake was so rich and delectable that I spent a good half hour this week unsuccessfully trying to find a recipe to recreate it. This seemed to have a brownie-type base (recipes I found did not) and an ooey, gooey buttery top. I found myself daydreaming about it on Monday.

Paul and I planned to get a cheesesteak from one of Philadelphia's well-known institutions on the way home, but traffic and parking was horrendous when we drove south of downtown. We opted to go home instead. Luckily Paul ordered a cheesesteak at the market -- no photo since I thought I'd get one later. But you probably know what meat on a hoagie bun looks like. Just picture it with Cheez Whiz on top!

Not a cheesesteak and probably not a Philadelphia staple:
Chocolate-covered onions at Reading Terminal Market's
Chocolate by Mueller

A Day Trip to Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the closest of the cities that Paul and I have wanted to visit since moving to New York six years ago, so of course it's one of the last to get marked off the list.

At less than two hours away, Philadelphia is an easy distance from Brooklyn. That's why we kept putting it off -- we can go anytime, we thought. We just didn't.

Actually, I did. I visited Philadelphia for a weekend last summer in a reunion with two of my college roommates. But not only was it about a million degrees, but I was 4 1/2 months pregnant. We didn't do much wandering around or sightseeing, instead blessedly sticking to air-conditioned buildings and buses. I had also been to the city 13 years ago with my family, but only for a single afternoon.

I was barely in Philadelphia longer this time around -- 13 hours, including the car ride there and back. And since this past Sunday was Paul's first visit there, we concentrated on his interests. Namely, history.

One of the top spots on Paul's list was a trip to Independence Hall. According to the National Park Service:

It was in the Assembly Room of this building that George Washington was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. In the same room the design of the American flag was agreed upon in 1777, the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, and the U. S. Constitution was drafted in 1787. 

Visitors need free timed tickets to visit, and my friend Sarah who lives in Philadelphia (and the same friend I visited there last year), was kind enough to pick them up for us that morning. The tour was both thorough and interesting ... according to Paul. As one of the rangers joked to me as I took a fussy Edith out of the Assembly Room, Edith just doesn't care for history yet.

Independence Hall

Copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are in an adjacent building. we walked right in-- no wait. The stop was worth it if only for this anecdote told by the ranger on duty:

Only about two dozen copies of the Declaration of Independence are known to exist. One of the most recent to be found was actually at a Pennsylvania flea market. A buyer there didn't care for a portrait he saw but liked the frame. He purchased it for $4. He removed the portrait, and I'm sure you can guess what was underneath. He later sold his copy of the Declaration for $2.5 million.

I should go to more flea markets.

The next stop was half a block away: the Liberty Bell. Then, a few blocks away, the Betsy Ross House, where Sarah took a nice family portrait, though we didn't go inside.

Liberty Bell, with Independence Hall in the background

After lunch at Reading Terminal Market (more about the food of Philadelphia on Friday), we said goodbye to Sarah. Paul, Edith and I then walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We didn't want to go inside -- it was late in the afternoon and besides, I had already visited last summer -- but Paul wanted to see the Rocky statue.

Edith and me outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art

And besides, it was a pleasant stroll. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Just warm enough for long sleeves or a light jacket, but not both. Nary a cloud in the sky. I had seen Philadelphia's weather forecast early the week before, and that's when Paul and I decided to visit. We planned the trip in about four days.

We parked midway between the art museum and the historic district, underneath JFK Plaza, probably better known as the home of the Love sculpture. Or as I think of it, the Love thingy that used to be on a stamp. I had taken photos of it that morning before meeting Sarah.

The trip was certainly a whirlwind, but we had a great time seeing the sights, visiting with Sarah and proving to ourselves that maybe it's not too difficult taking a baby on a vacation -- or at least a mini one. And if I know Paul at all, I know it won't be too long before he tries his hardest to interest Edith in all of those historic sites, too.

48 Hours in Philadelphia

This past weekend in Philadelphia was hot. Very, very hot. So hot as to be almost unbearable. But it wasn't unbearable, because Allison, Sarah and I stayed mostly inside.

That doesn't mean we hung out in Sarah's apartment the whole weekend, although we did a fair share of that, too. We saw a few sites, had some good food and generally enjoyed any place that was air conditioned.

On Saturday, we stayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art until it closed at 5 p.m. We dawdled among the Asian and contemporary art inside, although I have a feeling that many tourists don't make it that far. Although it was about 100 degrees outside, there was still a line to take a photo next to the Rocky statue, and people still ran up the famous stairs like he did in the movie. Or so I hear -- I've actually never seen the film.

Had it been a pleasant spring day, it would have been a lovely walk to and from the museum, but instead we took a bus, a trolley and the subway. But no matter -- Sarah still introduced us to some good food along the public transportation routes, or within walking distance of her apartment. I had Thai food (yum), gelato (double yum) and even some delectable blueberry cornmeal pancakes for brunch. But the best stop foodwise was probably a stop for drinks and desserts at The Continental.

Drinks, of course, were out for me, but the tapas-style desserts tamped down any disappointment I might have felt at having to forego such brightly colored martinis! My favorite dessert was one we got after the photo below was taken -- a warm blondie brownie topped with ice cream and whipped cream. Amazing.

But the highlight of the trip wasn't what we saw or ate, but simply hanging out with friends I haven't seen for months separately, and years together. So much talking in 48 hours! When baby's born I think we need a repeat reunion -- after all, father and daughter need to bond, and mama needs her own neon martini!

A Philadelphia Reunion

A kind stranger took our photo (with a bit of her own finger in the corner) at the art museum.

In fall 1999, my first quarter of college, I was paired with three roommates at random. One I rarely saw throughout the year, and never again once the school year was over. The other two and I not only became good friends, but also lived together until graduation tore us apart. Besides my sister and Paul's sister, they were the only other bridesmaids I had at my wedding.

Sarah, Allison and I moved to various cities and states after leaving Ohio State, but for the last two years we've all been within a few hours of each other on the East Coast -- Sarah in Philadelphia, Allison in Annapolis and me in Brooklyn. Although we've seen each other individually since becoming right-coasters, all three of us haven't been in the same room since the mid-2000s.

Finally, we all coordinated schedules and met in the middle for a weekend in Philadelphia. It was my first time there since a single afternoon in the city in the summer of 2000. So I was eager to see the sites, but I was more eager to see my friends.

This was a girls' weekend only, so Paul stayed behind and I caught a Greyhound after work for the two-hour ride. Roundtrip was only $30 -- probably cheaper than driving, considering the toll roads and bridge fees. After realizing how easy the whole trip really was, I spent the weekend chastising myself for not making it sooner, and more often.

I was gone for only 48 hours on the dot, and of course the weekend passed by much too quickly. On Friday I'll share photos and a bit of what we did: indoor activities, taking into account the nearly three-digit temperatures!