Best places to eat in Philadelphia, PA
Philly has some unbelievable food options.Here's my guide to eating awesome food in Philly....
Philadelphia is loaded with food options. From brunch to bagels to cheesesteaks galore to ice cream to donuts to burgers to pretzels, the choices are endless. I would need a good month to get it all in. Unfortunately, I had only had the weekend to get in as much as possible. After a significant amount of research, I succeeded. Here are some options to guide you on how to eat a weekend in Philly.
Breakfast & Brunch
Bagels were a priority on this trip. My girlfriend is from New York and, therefore, she is a bagel snob. Philly has about over 20 bagel shops to choose from. Most of them have unique types of bagel flavors, unconventional cream cheese spreads, and delicious sandwich options. We chose Chestnut Street Bagels on the way to Rittenhouse Square. The options for type of bagel and spreads were extensive. In addition, there are a good amount of intriguing options for sandwiches. The only downside would be that you have to order and leave. The shop is small and they have an inside bench that can seat at most 4 people. Luckily, we got there before it got too busy and were able to snag a spot. I selected the french toast bagel with a honey pecan cream cheese and my girlfriend went with the everything bagel and cheddar horseradish spread. The bagels were fresh and hit the spot!
I need to breathe a second before I write about the Brunch we had….. I’m ready. I came here the last time I was in Philly and I felt the same way. If there is one place in Philly you have to go, it is Green Eggs Cafe. Everything on the menu sounds dynamite. And, the specials each time sound even better. Both my meals here, I have to put in my top 5 all time breakfasts. We started with some boozy drinks, my girlfriend had a peach bellini and mine was an orange 'creamsicle' mimosa. The specials included breakfast egg rolls stuffed with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese served with a chili thai sauce. No brainer selection. I had the “Mexican Benedict” that consisted of 2 poached eggs & chipotle braised chicken with tortilla chips served on a cheese quesadilla with chipotle hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend went on the sweeter side, there was a special for a stack of blueberry pie pancakes. Note, there is always a line but it goes fast. Later you go in the morning, the longer the wait. And, they are cash only.
Lunch & Dinner
Decisions...decisions...decisions. Two of the most popular cheesesteak shops sit directly across from each other. A 15 minute uber ride from downtown will take you to the location of Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks. Both shops have lines in the streets at all times. They are both open 24 hours. We went with Pat’s. Boy, do they have this down to a science. There is no waiting once you are at the ordering windows. Customers quickly put in their order, pay, and cheesesteaks in hand. I went with provolone on mine and my girlfriend got the cheese whiz. Cheese whiz won. They both were good cheesesteaks. Also, they had pizza fries which were french fries with a red sauce and cheese on them. As simple as it may sound, they were amazing.
As in most of my travels, I try to venture to local food spots as seen on Diners,Drive-Ins, & Dives. Guy Fieri knows exactly where Flavortown is! On this trip, there were many on this list and we went with the Good Dog Bar. This cool little spot was very welcoming. To my surprise, there were pictures of dogs all along the walls of the bar. We were very hungry and started with the cheesesteak empanada and fried pickles. THe fried pickles were average but the goat cheese ranch sauce was phenomenal. I could use jars of that weekly. I even saved what we had left for fries later on. The cheesesteak empanadas were really good. However, the sauce that came with that was a watery, gravy taste. We used the ranch dip instead. For the main course, I ordered the brisket grilled cheese on sourdough bread with cheddar cheese. My girlfriend had the shrimp po’ boy tossed in buffalo sauce with blue cheese sauce on a baguette. Both were good and the cool thing I liked here is that they mix their fries between regular and sweet potato. They had good beer & drink options. The service was also fantastic here.
Reading Terminal Market
If you want to spend a whole day eating somewhere, the Reading Terminal Market is the place to be. There is a plethora of food options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Many different ethnic cuisines are represented at this market. Be sure to check the hours as most days it is closed by 5-6pm. And, if you have your heart set on something by Dutch related vendors, they tend to close earlier and they take Sundays off. I made that mistake on Sunday. No donuts or pretzels for us. However, we still got our fair share in.
The first stop was at Franks A Lot. The go to here was their classic Polish pierogies.
Beck’s Cajun Cafe was next. There were a lot of tasty items on the menu. We ordered the fried mac and cheese balls. They weren’t too greasy and not overly cheesy, which was a good thing. I could of ate 20.
The last meal we could fit in was at Sang Kee Peking Duck. I ordered the Duck Lo Mein. The duck was a little fatty as expected, but flavorful and tender. The noodles tasted very fresh.
At this point, it was time for some desserts. I had my eyes on some cookies. The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company had plenty of options. I couldn’t pass up a black and white cookie. The last stop was Bassetts Ice Cream. A good trip always ends with some ice cream.
IMG_4562
The Reviews:
Green Eggs Cafe: 5 out of 5
Chestnut Street Bagels: 3.5 out of 5
Good Dog Bar: 3.5 out of 5
Pat's King of Steaks: 3.5 out of 5
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the foodie outdoor enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live In Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search by city or state here.
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Weekend in Philadelphia: Top Activities and Must-Visit Spots
The summer is a great time to visit Philadelphia. Check out my travels for the best places to go in Philadelphia. Hiking For Donuts style - places to eat, visit, drink, and donuts of course.
Philadelphia is quickly becoming a favorite destination of mine. I made the trip for the first time 2 winters ago and was itching to go back. My girlfriend has never been and once I saw an available weekend and some hotel deals, it was time to go back. I feel like there is so much to do and eat of course. The food alone deserves it’s own post. And, I shall provide that. With this trip, I really wanted to enjoy what Philly has to offer for the summer. And, boy did we really pack our schedule. The research really paid off.We got to downtown Philly late Friday afternoon, checked in, showered, and began the fun filled weekend. Our main attraction for the night was Spruce Street Harbor Park. I can’t even take credit for this one. My girlfriend got skills finding awesome spots I wouldn't even come across. SSHP includes a beachfront meets carnival ambiance along a boardwalk off the Delaware River. Entering the park at night you will see about 100 hammocks hanging from the trees under a thousand colorful LED lights. Not only does it provide beautiful views but there lots of popular food trucks, beer garden, outside games like boccie ball, arcade games, rides, and even a roller skating rink. There was a giant connect four game for the kids. I was pretty jealous. This is definitely a very popular spot. The uber ride was only 10-15 minutes from downtown. I would say this was our favorite part of the trip. The park is only open from May through end of September. If you are in Philly during that time, I highly recommend.
Spruce Street Harbor Park views at night.
The next day we really hit the ground running. We decided to walk to Rittenhouse Square in the morning. One of the original space parks by William Penn is a one-square-park. If you are looking for an outdoor farmers market, this would be the place for fresh flowers, produce, and Philly specialties. After this, we decided to walk through Independence Historic National Park to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. If you are a history buff, this area is for you. Also, the Liberty Bell is quite the attraction so there are long lines in tourist seasons. In the fall/winter may be best if you don’t want to wait. You can actually see it from the outside instead of going inside. We walked through a couple historic buildings and walked to the oldest bank in the US.
Side note, the weather was scorching on this weekend. All the walking got us a little parched. Bringing us to our next stop, 2nd Story Brewing Company. This was the second time I have been here. They have a large variety of beers. One that stands out is their “Better Hef”. This is a Bavarian Hefeweizen with a banana aroma with a subtle bubblegum flavor and hint of clove. You can taste the soft note of banana. Also, they had a specialty beer on this day called “Stoop Session” referencing Stoop Boy from “Hey Arnold!” tv show. The brewery is very rustic and has a cool atmosphere. I haven’t had the food but it looks promising.
Another cool little historic spot in Philly is Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest residential street in the nation. Since we were close to the Old City neighborhood, we took a walk over. There was a museum located in two of the houses and residents still live here to this day. And, to my surprise, one of the resident’s was selling baked goods right out of her living room!
I had purchased Phillies tickets prior to the trip and the weather forecast called for thunderstorms this night. However, the weather was holding up and our next stop was cheesesteaks! The next venture was all about cheesesteaks. Waiting for the uber, my girlfriend got her research on and found a garage turned bar directly across the street from Pat’s and Geno’s. There were lots of good reviews on yelp and looked like they had a very large selection of beers. Once we got there, I was pumped about the decision. This was an awesome spot. They had arts and crafts being sold when you walked in. There were skeetball games in the back. You could bring in your own food and there are 3 big coolers of specialty craft beers. They also had some beers on tap. They give you a thick binder book to choose from and they break down by brewery name and the type of beer. They did a good job of keeping up with their inventory of beers. If they were out or had new shipments of beer, they had a paper copy for that. The bartender was really nice and helpful. It took me about 15 minutes to go through the book. Another good discovery I didn’t see in my research. After some beers, it was cheesesteak time. We chose Pat’s and it was delicious.
Amid thunderstorm warnings, the weather was holding up and we arrived at Citizens Bank Park. This was directly across from Lincoln Financial field, where the Philadelphia Eagles play. In between the stadiums, there is the “Xfinity Live!” complex that had multiple bars and dining options including beer hall and an outside area for live music. Essentially, you can tailgate inside if it’s too hot or too cold. Given it was about 95 degrees, we gladly went inside and enjoyed a beer at the Victory Beer Hall. Prior to the game starting, it was meet the team night. Everyone got to walk onto the field and take pictures with all the players. I am a huge baseball fan but I haven’t really kept up with most teams recently so I couldn’t tell you who most players were. Once they made everyone clear the field, they put the tarps down and not even 20 minutes later, there was a massive down pour. I thought our night was over but the rain stopped suddenly and the game went on as planned. We watched most of the game and walked around the stadium looking for food options. There are a lot of food options for sure. I had ice cream in a helmet and the Chickie’s & Pete’s crab fries. I wasn’t impressed, really salty.
On the last day of the trip, it was all about the Reading Terminal Market. It was right behind the hotel we stayed at downtown. If you don’t know already, this place is amazing. This is an indoor farmers market offering fresh produce, groceries, ice cream, baked goods, candy, crafts, books, and other specialty food options. If you are hungry, this is the place to be. The market hours are generally open 8am through 6pm. Sundays hours are different and any dutch vendors will be closed. Don’t make the same amateur mistake I did. However, it was nice to be able to walk with freedom. The last visit I came on a Saturday and it was very packed. It was hard to walk around or finding seating to eat. All in all, another successful trip in Philadelphia. The summer is a fun time to visit. For the foodies, you will have to wait another post. I will not disappoint!
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live In Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search by city and state here.
EXPLORE OTHER POSTS IN THE ARCHIVE
RECOMMENDED POSTS
RECENT POSTS
SEE WHERE I’VE BEEN RECENTLY ON INSTAGRAM. FOLLOW @HIKINGFORDONUTS