Image (Bakery_14p) is missing or otherwise invalid.The Reading Terminal Market, just a short walk from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, is a good choice for a quick lunch of local specialties. (Photo: Top Kat)
When is a steak not? When it has an “s” on the end and is spelled steaks. On many luncheonettes, you will find the sign “steaks and hoagies” on menus and windows. Spelled with the “s” it represents the famous Philly Steak Sandwich. This consists of thinly sliced meat, grilled and put on an Italian roll, and such optional additions as fried onions, cheese, sauce, and peppers.
You typically buy the sandwich on a street corner and adopt a bent-over position to eat it. This allows you to eat the sandwich and have the drippings fall on the pavement instead of your clothes. In a “sit down,” tables and plates are included; you will find them all over the city. Famous sit-down places have names like Pat’s, Jim’s, or Geno.
Close behind steaks in popularity are hoagies, known in the rest of the country as grinders, heroes, or subs. Same roll, piled high with meats, cheeses, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, peppers, and oil. For the faint hearted there are other versions like turkey, tuna, or vegetarian.
The third Philly street food is the soft pretzel—large, doughy, and salty. These are always smeared with mustard prior to munching, and they are sold everywhere. Be forewarned, however, that pretzels can be habit forming. Do not confuse them with the crunchy ones you are used to buying at the supermarket.
On many breakfast menus, you will see scrapple along with more traditional breakfast meats such as bacon, ham, and sausage. Scrapple is a Philadelphia breakfast favorite of Pennsylvania Dutch origin. It is a spicy slab consisting of cornmeal, spices, and bits of pork. It is always fried and eaten with eggs, often accompanied by catsup or syrup or served plain.
Right across the street from the Pennsylvania Convention Center is the Reading Terminal Market, which is the reincarnation of a former train station. Multiple food stands serve all of the foods I mentioned above and lots more. While there, try Bassets Ice Cream, which is one of the best around and comes in an array of great flavors.
Another Philadelphia favorite treat is Italian water ice. My flavor recommendations are lemon and cherry. Many others are also available.
At the corner of 17th and Jackson is the home of what locals call Nick’s Roast Beef. Nick’s is a bar that sells roast beef and roast pork sandwiches. To look like a local, ask for an outside (crisp outer slices) or an operation (the white inside of the roll pulled out).
Chinatown is not far from the convention center. All the food I have had there is good and inexpensive. In addition to Chinese eateries, there are ones offering Korean, Vietnamese, Burmese, and Indonesian foods. Be adventurous. Enjoy! ▪
Footnote
Dr. Kanefield is chair of the APA Task Force on Local Arrangements.
From its ubiquitous cheesesteaks to mustard-covered soft pretzels, Philadelphia offers a world of tasty treats that are about as far from fine dining as you can get—but not from fine food.
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