City of Brotherly Foodz

Saturday's trip to Philadelphia was a win. We dropped our friends off at the airport around 9:30 and took off for Center City and Reading Terminal Market. What we did all day was mostly eat and people-watch, although a fair amount of time was spent driving in circles downtown (dang construction and one-way streets!)

Downtown was crowded. People bounced off each other like pinballs, but surprisingly, every person who bumped one of us apologized even if it wasn't their fault. I don't know if it was because my husband is 11 feet tall or if people really *are* that polite in Philly.

We had a nice chat with an elderly man about fedoras and the train mural in the Metro station. We saw avoided a street demonstration (I still don't know what happened August 8, 1978, because I didn't ask any of the sign-carriers.) Several times, we drove past a huge building with an elaborate Pennsylvania Horticultural Society mural painted on the side; when we were finally able to get back, it turned out to be a Salvation Army. I was mildly disappointed.

On to the food. First stop was Beck's cajun grill in Reading Terminal Market (RTM, henceforth.) I had a bowl of crawfish and shrimp etouffee over white rice. Hubby had to have Gator on a Stick (gator sausage) and seafood salad. Good stuff. I'm a fan.

Moving on, I hit up my must-stop, Flying Monkey Patisserie, which has deliciousness everywhere you look. They're mostly known for their gourmet cupcakes. One went home with me along with a MonkeyBar for the husband.

I kept passing a southern-food diner, drooling over blackeyed peas, cabbage, collards, some beautiful golden fried chicken, and cornbread, but after reading the prices I said to hell with that. 13 bucks? I don't THINK so. I'll wait till we're down south in a few months. Crazy Yankees anyway, thinking Southern food is high gourmet... maybe it is up here in the Land of Scrapple but not where I'm from, Paula Deen aside. (There was, in fact, a man giving out scrapple samples on toothpicks.)

We finished our noshing with ice cream (hubby) and a vanilla malt (me) at the original Bassett's ice cream stand, the oldest business at RTM. Quite a feat, considering RTM is the oldest farmer's market in the country, having opened officially in 1892. We got a few packs of gourmet chicken sausage at Martin's (looking forward to the artichoke and mushroom flavor.) Then we did our produce shopping at Iovine's, picking up plums as big as apples and some taters before lugging our bags and ourselves back to the car 3 blocks away.

Afterward we attempted to get lost in the city. Wound up driving through West Philly (cue DJ Jazzy Jeff) and then up through the north side. Didn't get lost, but we did find a Checkers (Rally burger elsewhere) so I begged hubby to stop for me. That pushed my gastrointestinal limits, and hub had already learned that gator sausage bites him back, so we called it a day and headed home.

Next Saturday we get to do it again, though the friends we're picking up have requested cheesesteaks from Pat's in the Italian district.

Chilled buttercream cupcakes rock. That is all.