{"id":1585,"date":"2014-09-20T15:58:07","date_gmt":"2014-09-20T20:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snapshotchronicles.com\/roadtrip\/?p=1585"},"modified":"2014-09-20T16:13:54","modified_gmt":"2014-09-20T21:13:54","slug":"cityscapes-philadelphia-where-to-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snapshotchronicles.com\/roadtrip\/2014\/09\/20\/cityscapes-philadelphia-where-to-eat\/","title":{"rendered":"Cityscapes Philadelphia – Where to Eat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Reading<\/a>Instead of a\u00a0week-long vacation this summer, Doug and I took long weekends. It was easier to manage with my work schedule. The only drawback was we were somewhat limited to places we could get to within a few hours, and preferably by car or train. In July, we did the YouCube Meetup<\/a> and a few of our favorite Manhattan stomping grounds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In August, we drove down to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

This was actually the first time I had been to Philadelphia as a tourist. I\u2019ve been numerous times on business, starting way back in the 90s with the court challenges to the Communications Decency Act<\/a>, and spent a fair amount of time in Montgomery and Bucks Counties for dog shows, but I\u2019ve never actually seen the city. I\u2019m glad I finally did. It was fun to discover a new place with Douglas, Even though he had been before during the 7th grade field trip, apparently they didn\u2019t get much farther than Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the hotel pool.<\/p>\n

Where we stayed:<\/strong> Hilton Garden Inn<\/a> on Arch and 11th. Inexpensive, clean rooms right next door to Reading Terminal Market and convenient to public transportation as well as the hop on\/hop off tour bus stops for Chinatown and the Market. Also right next to the convention center, so not a good choice if a major convention is in town.<\/p>\n

Where we ate:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Molly Molloy\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0in Reading Terminal Market. \u00a0Breakfast twice, lunch on our last day before checking out of the hotel. It has a really nice sit-down area of its own in the center of the market with high top tables, which we both really liked.\"DougMollyMolloys\"<\/a>\u00a0When you are as tall as Doug, little cramped spaces just don\u2019t appeal, and honestly, I like a little space too, so we both preferred it to the various (but yummy looking) food stalls in the market and the central eating spaces. Their homemade jams are very tasty, and a great accompaniment to the toast with your omelet or pancakes. For lunch, I recommend the Guac BLT. I also recommend you do not do what I did at the end of our last meal there, forget your credit card. Luckily, they had it when I called, so no funny charges are likely to turn up and the nice people at American Express immediately sent a replacement.<\/p>\n

I remembered City Tavern<\/a>\u00a0from a business trip 5-6 years ago. I was speaking at a small conference and the dinner was at a restaurant right near by (Positano Coast<\/a>). A few of us stopped in to the Tavern for a beverage before dinner. It reminded me quite a bit of Longfellow\u2019s Wayside Inn<\/a> in Sudbury, a favorite when we lived in that part of Massachusetts. When I crowd-sourced Philadelphia ideas on Facebook, a few people recommended it. Doug devoured a smoked salmon and trout appetizer, but wasn\u2019t as crazy for his NY strip steak and shrimp. The steak had a bit more fat than he is used to. I had rack of lamb, which was flavorful, but unevenly cooked. I asked for medium rare, and some ribs bordered on well and others were rare. On average, medium rare, sure, but\u2026. The desserts and breads were great, the colonial Raspberry Shrub (beverage) tasty, and the service excellent, so on balance I would recommend it, but as much\u00a0for the historical significance as\u00a0the cuisine, which is perfectly tasty just not haute.<\/p>\n

Sonny\u2019s Cheesesteaks.<\/a>\u00a0Unless you don\u2019t eat meat, you can\u2019t go to Philadelphia without at least trying a Philly cheesesteak. We had ours at Sonny\u2019s on Market Street.\u00a0\"Sonny's<\/a><\/p>\n

Another restaurant recommendation \u2014 the Continental Martini Bar<\/a>, also on Market in the Old City, Located in an old diner, the Continental offers a global tapas menu. Sounds weird I know but tasty. We had hummus, fish tacos, grilled shrimp and the cheesesteak eggroll, all of which we shared, followed by extremely tasty desserts, which we did not. I had the nutella tart with banana ice cream and Douglas had a blond brownie with malted vanilla ice cream. Highly recommend it, especially if you are already in the area for sightseeing. It is only a short walk from the Independence Hall area down Market Street.<\/p>\n

Totally by accident, we also stopped for a quick bite at High Street On Market<\/a>\u00a0one of Bon App\u00e9tit magazine\u2019s top new restaurants. Doug had an artisanal pizza and a delectable cream puff, and I had a peach tea cake \u2014 moist and not too sweet.<\/p>\n

Lastly, be sure to leave enough time (and room in your tummy) to explore the stalls at Reading Terminal Market<\/a>. In addition to the meals we ate there, we patronized the Famous 4th Street Cookie Company, Bassetts Ice Cream, Beiler\u2019s Bakery, where we purchased a shoofly pie to bring home, The Tubby Olive, where we sampled and bought some interesting olive oils and balsamic vinegars, and the Cookbook Stall where Doug purchased his first cookbook of his own, 500 Pizzas & Flatbreads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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