The Fork and The Road, LLC

A Slice of Philly – Tomato Pie, Cheesesteak, Pretzels .. . oh my!

Philadelphia - 3 years ago - Mary

The number one attraction on TripAdvisor.com for Philadelphia is the City Food Tours. Since I was familiar with them from a  Greenwich Village tour I did last summer, I decided to give the Philly version a go.  The Flavors of Philly tour, one of 4 that are offered, is designed with everyone – families, older folks, etc. –    in mind, so it involves minimal walking and covers the basics of local food trivia and history along with supplying tasty treats along the way.  Adventurous foodies will probably want to take this information and then go a few steps deeper into the local food scene.  Our small group (5  plus tour guide) made a  stop at Joe’s Pizza (122 S. 16th Street) for a slice of their old time tomato pie – a  foccacia-like, cheeseless  creation.

We then worked our way through hand twisted soft pretzels and Zio’s cheesesteaks (okay, not Pat’s or Geno’s, but a pretty good cheesesteak wit – google that one on your own or take the tour to get the details.)  Reading Terminal Market,  a mecca for food addicts, was our next stop.

A slice of Italian hoagie from Carmen’s, a chocolate covered pretzel from Chocolate by Mueller and a warm chocolate chip cookie from The Famous 4th Street Cookie Co. later, my stomach was philled and my mind was enriched wit local food history. Just bear with my lame sense of humor.

The carb fest left no option for getting back to my hotel except for walking. Cute shops now line the former red light district at 13th street from Market  towards Walnut and the only “red lights” here now are tempting store windows that called out  ”stop, and buy things” to me.  I get excited finding unique foodie gifts  - not just edible products, but also gadgets, linens, soaps and candles that have a food or culinary connection. OPENHOUSE, at 107 South 13th, was loaded with fun, modern, yet useful household items and gifts. Check out the great things I found there.

Across the street was the soap, candle and bath products store, duross & langel, which had tons of luscious, eco-friendly finds, but I especially liked a soap called Black Pepper (seen in photo above.) I bought it for the better half, but I’m keeping it for myself.   I got back to the hotel in time for a glass of wine at the evening wine reception.   A Phantastic Philly Day.

cityfoodtours.com

phillysoftpretzelfactory.com

readingterminalmarket.org

openhouseliving.com

durossandlangel.com