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Philadelphia - Part 2
Eating our Way through Philadelphia
Written by: Janet Pope
As we ate our way through Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love proved to be a wonderful and tasty smorgasbord of history, culture, fine dining, and creative entertainment -- only a hop, skip, jump, and a 2 ½-hour ride from New York City.
Day 2
Our hotel, The Philadelphia Marriott is a 1,410-room, 4-star hotel featuring two restaurants, a large lobby area, a sports bar, indoor pool, and a health club. Among its amenities is a Starbucks on its main floor. There, Don and I grabbed a quick breakfast before meeting our tour guide for the day, Jackie Bagley. Jackie demonstrated herself to be one of Philadelphia's treasures. She has lived in many cities both here and abroad, and has picked Philadelphia as her place to settle. She was friendly and a never-ending stream of knowledge. A tour with Jackie was like a distant aunt showing you around her treasured home. We took a taxi, and she narrated the sights as we went.
We passed the Convention Center, the largest building in Philadelphia. Our hotel has a sky bridge to this facility, which is a constant hub of activity. Jackie is extremely proud of the Mural Arts Program, which thus far has subsidized the commissioning of over 2,000 murals throughout the city. This is done in an effort to combat graffiti and beautify Philadelphia. This program works with the community in picking sites, as well as a type of mural that will be made. We rode past a horticulture mural that over looked a garden, as well as a large baseball mural not far from the stadium. When we finally got to the Italian section of Philly, we spotted the Mario Lanza mural and the Frank Sinatra mural, of course!
We continued our taxi ride and saw Penn Hospital, the nation's oldest. Ben Franklin was one of its founders, and it was used up until the 1970s. Thankfully, Philadelphia learned its lessons from history well, and the original hospital was not knocked down or modernized when a new one was constructed. Today it is used for offices, a library, and a museum. You can still see the same herb garden used a century ago for medicinal purposes, and the amphitheater used as an operating room due to its natural light.
Our taxi tour took us through Society Hill, which is the country's largest grouping of 18th-century homes. This area does not get its name, as one might assume, because the elite of society live here. Rather, it was named after "The Society of Free Traders and Merchants" who had congregated there in the late 1600s. Our tour guide pondered out loud how poverty is a great preserver of the past. The fine wood floors in most of these homes were covered over with inexpensive linoleum, and the original fireplaces were cheaply boarded over when the owners wanted to redecorate. Now, these homes are a treasure to Philadelphia as each one is restored to their original grandeur. Tours of Society Hill are available through the Visitors Center.
Our taxi driver made a quick stop and we jumped out at St. Peters graveyard, where many graves date back to the 1700s. Artist Charles Wilson Peale is buried there.
And now, back into the taxi, the highlight of this adventure begins. We pulled up to a corner, and on either side of the street was a cheese steak restaurant. On one side is Pat's King of Steaks; and on the other side is Gino's. This is where the war of best cheese steak is fought. It's on this corner that vicious battle lines are drawn among true Philadelphians who each have their personal favorite. The Philadelphia cheese steak is legend here, and this sandwich is a serious matter. I met a group of hungry-looking men, and their vote was for Pat's. Their reason: "Generations of blood, sweat, and tears are in this cheese steak." Pat's has been around since 1930. My vote was: "I liked them both." What can I say? I'm a diplomat.
Well, to complicate matters, our tour guide had another cheese steak eatery she wanted us to try. Jim's was hard work, but someone had to do it. So after eating 3 cheese steak sandwiches (in halves), we felt full and confused. How could they all be so good?
Possibly, I liked the last place best because they had indoor seating, and it was beginning to get chilly out. In any case we enjoyed the great Philly cheese steak taste test.
Again, with tummies full, we walked through the Italian Market where stores are passed down through the generations. We met Sammy D'Angelo from D'Angelo Brothers, an Italian butcher in the same location for 94 years! Now that's a hard working legacy. Mr. D'Angelo is much more than just a butcher. A historian and an author, Mr. D'Angelo wrote the book, "And Now We Call It Gravy." I loved the title and shared with him how my grandmother always called the red sauce on the macaroni "gravy." He also showed us the original butcher-block hat his 5'4" grandfather used and shared his words of wisdom: "If you're not proud of something you do, then do something else." The shop is filled with fresh game, pork, buffalo, pheasant, rabbit, stuffed rabbit loins, and venison tenderloin. Mr. D'Angelo is definitely proud of what he does.
We popped into the Triple Play Sports (in business for 32 years) and the Luigi Sarcone Bakery around since 1918, and both businesses had a unique history and character.
Now, our guide whisked us off to our last stop, the Mummers' Museum. Not being from the Philadelphia area, I had only vague images of the Mummers having something to do with a parade. I quickly learned that Mummers are to parades, what the Rockettes are to kicking. The word, "mummer," comes from the German word mumme meaning mask. I also learned the definition of a mummer: "Anyone involved in the fantasy of song, dance, and costumed splendor each January 1st in the New Year's Day Parade." Different clubs within the Mummers literally practice all year rehearsing songs and fine-tuning dance numbers. All participants are amateurs, and they work extremely hard, putting in long hours and wearing elaborate costumes for this one day each year.
The museum holds the history of the group in videos, photos, and "retired" costumes. As you leave the Mummers' Museum, the following quote is etched on the wall: "With sweat and loud music, we now begin. We'll shout the old year out and the new one in." I left there humming and tapping, and wishing I were a Mummer.
All this singing and dancing gave me an appetite. We walked back to our hotel, changed quickly, and looked forward to our dinner reservation at "Jones." This restaurant on Chestnut Street is only open about 2 ½ months. When we arrived, we saw "this place was jumping." The bar area was busy, every table was filled, and there was a line waiting to be seated. There was low lighting and music playing in the background. The booths were all candle lit with a fireplace in the center of the room. Large windows surround the restaurant on two sides, giving an airy feeling to the room.
The place was very noisy, and as the hostess showed us to our table in the balcony area, I was glad because it seemed a little more removed from all of the busyness. From the balcony, we had a great vantage point to look down and get a general feel for the atmosphere. There's a 60s feeling, highlighted by the large mural behind the bar of four young girls in the one-piece bathing suits frolicking carefree on the beach.
The menu is also a throwback to Mom's best meals. I tried the chicken soup that was full of chunks of chicken, and brimming with vegetables and noodles, while on our table was a basket of "to die for" biscuits. Don had the fried calamari, and though they were good, they did not remind him of his Italian grandmother's cooking since they were made American style. For dinner, I enjoyed the beef brisket over grilled vegetables, which were cooked to a delicious firmness. Donald finished off a turkey potpie with onion rings. Again we felt social pressure to have dessert, and I caved in and ordered the Duncan Hines Chocolate cake, which comes with a glass of ice-cold milk. Don opted for a homemade sorbet. Being a tea drinker, I especially loved the absolutely huge cup of tea they served. I always complain how tea drinkers are slighted in defference to coffee drinkers -- especially when I'm trying to get a 2nd cup of tea. The waitstaff is always going around with a coffee pot asking who wants seconds, but I usually wait forever for some more hot water. Well, there was no need for a second cup of tea even if you could finish this one.
Steven Stars is the owner of this establishment, and he has a lot invested in this neighborhood -- he owns 8 other restaurants in the vicinity. The chief is Adam DaLosso, and he evidently listened to his momma well as he grew up. All of his food was filling and had a "made in Mom's kitchen" taste. Our waitress was Julia, who was happy to serve us and extremely knowledgeable about every dish on the menu. It was another great meal in Philadelphia. I wish we had the time to try a few other Starr establishments -- oh well, next time.
Read part 1 | Read part 3
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