Food and Philadelphia

How to Rent an Apartment in Center City, Philadelphia

2009-10-07T23:00:00.002-04:00

Living in a densely populated city like Philadelphia, New York, or Chicago is different than living in the suburbs or in the country, and it is different than living in big western cities like Phoenix, or Dallas, or even Los Angeles.

Philadelphia is a densely populated -- especially the Center City area. In South Philly, Northern Liberties, and even Fairmount, which border Center City, a car is more of a necessity and less of a burden.

Life in Center City Philadelphia is enjoyable for those of us prefer walking to driving, and who like the conveniences, and the "buzz" of city life. Center City Philadelphia is parks, restaurants, shopping, museums, churches, all packed into a couple square miles where a couple hundred thousand people live, work, and relax.

Finding a place to live once you have decided on Center City.

1. Spend some time in the city in a hotel or Bed and Breakfast near where you want to live. A block or two can make a big difference in a place you want to live and a place you don't.

2. Use Craigslist. Check out the short-term rental

3. Do Web searches.

4. Talk to the locals.

5. Leasing agencies. Our worst experience in leasing was with Philadelphia Management Corporation (PMC), which I have to say is as unresponsive as any landlord can be. Maintenance help from Philadelphia Management Corporation is usually a 3 - 7 day wait. Elevators break, fire alarms go off, and good luck getting all of your deposit back.

I had three leases with three different agencies in my 2 years living in Center City. One was a nine month lease, one was a three month lease, and the last, PMC was a one year. The only one I had problems with was the last, Philadelphia Management Corporation.

Summary: Unless money is not an issue and you want to pay an agent to find something for you I suggest starting with Craigslist and a general web search. Don't be surprised if people do not call you back. Our experience and the experience of friends was that dealing with an individual or a small company is much preferable to most leasing agencies.

Divisions in the general area called Center City.

1. Rittenhouse Square -- probably the most expensive area in Center City, but also the one with most amenities for the resident. And the safest.

2. Museum District -- a good area but flooded with tourists on weekends.

3. Washington Square -- good, better prices than Rittenhouse, but the park is less crowded.

4. Old City -- I love walking through Old City. I don't think there are many rentals there. Very crowded on weekends with tourists visiting Independence Hall

5. Society Hill -- same as Old City

6. Fairmount -- good for students, singles, and some sections have young families moving in. Many college students but it appears on the graduate level.

Sweet Ending Yogurt

2009-09-07T22:58:00.004-04:00

There are several new soft frozen yogurt places in Center City Philadelphia, my favorite is Sweet Ending. I have been to two of the three, Yogorino and Sweet Ending, and I prefer Sweet Ending because it is self-serve and you can put as much of the fruit, nut, and sweet toppings that you want -- you pay by the ounce. I visited every night for about two weeks. It is very good.

The three new soft frozen yogurt shops:
1. Yogorino --20th and Locust
2. Phileo Yogurt -- Fourth and South Streets
3. Sweet Ending -- 18th and Chestnut.

How to Get From Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Center City.

2009-05-13T19:48:00.006-04:00

Assuming you do not have someone picking you up at Philadelphia International Airport you have three options, four if you want to rent a car. I'll start with the easiest and most preferable for the one time visitor.

1. Taxi. The taxis are there waiting for you near the baggage claim and the fastest way to get to Center City. Compared to New York, the taxis are older and not as clean, but they will get you there.
Cost: $28.50, expected tip $5 minimum.
Time to center city: 20 - 30 minutes.

2. Lady Liberty Transportation. This is the "Super Shuttle" type transportation, you have to wait for them as they circle around the airport and you stop for other passengers going in to the city. But if you are the socialable type and have a little extra time, it's a good option.
Cost: $10, plus a $1-2 tip.
Time to Center City: 30 minutes - 1 hour.
http://www.ladylibertyshuttle.com/

3. SEPTA train.
Public Transportation train. Departs airport terminals every 30 minutes. Stops 4 or 5 times before Center City and takes 30 minutes to get there. If you do not have a lot of luggage and you are staying near the stations it is a great way to go. When I was traveling a lot and living in Center City I preferred this method. Once you get used to the train schedules it works very well and it is seldom crowded. If you are traveling with a lot of luggage or have more than 2 in your party it is better to take the taxi.
Cost: $8. Pay cash on train.
Time to Center City: 30 minutes
http://www.septa.org/service/rr_schedules.html

Car rental? If you don't need a car, don't rent one. Parking costs are anywhere from $25 - $$40 per day, plus tip. And it's not about the money. It is difficult to get in and out of the city unless you know where you are going and if you are in the city only a few days you probably won't use the car anyway. A taxi can be had at anytime of day or night from all the center-city hotels. If you are not staying in Center City you may need a rental car and the rental agencies are easy to get to. My preference at PHL is Enterprise and Hertz.

Staying longer and need a car? Try Zip Car. Car rental by the hour. See my review.
http://foodandphilly.blogspot.com/2008

La Reserve. Bed and Breakfast.

2009-04-18T15:45:00.003-04:00

Friends of ours are visiting from out-of-town and staying at La Reserve on Pine Street at 18th. Beautiful place with about eight rooms/suites and winter rates are extremely reasonable.

Their choice was the Hampton Inn at the Convention Center. Great for a convention, terrible when visiting friends who live closer to Walnut. Plus, the whole street is under construction. So I told him to look closer to Rittenhouse Square and that is when he found La Reserve. Great choice, quiet, clean, free wifi, and cooked breakfast in the morning. Not a bad deal.

http://www.lareservebandb.com/

Fado. Real Irish Food and Drink.

2009-04-13T19:51:00.002-04:00

Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant is as much of the real deal that you will find on this side of the Atlantic.

Located in the Rittenhouse section of Center City at 15th and Locust, Fado's is easy to pass without noticing, except on the weekend, and nights when a football (the Irish kind) is on the telly, then it is standing room only. Fado has the usual assortment of good pub beer like Guinness, Harp, Bass Ale, Boddinton's, and plenty more.

But the food is good, too. My wife is British and she loves their fish and chips and Shepherd's pie.

Priced reasonably for center city. Fado's is a good place to go. Highly recommended for casual dining, game watching, or just throwing down a couple of pints.

Sarcone's: the best bread in Philly.

2008-11-29T13:00:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while you taste something and, even at my age you say, "I think that is the best "______" I have ever had. I did that when I tasted a slice of Sarcone's Italian bread. If you can make better bread I do not know how. Thin crust on the exterior, chewy but light on the inside, with the fuller taste of a quality wheat with each bite. I just can't say enough good about it. Sarcone's doesn't need my recommendation to add to their success, they have been selling bread in Philadelphia since 1918 and they know what they are doing.

Sarcone's Bakery
758 S 9th St
Philadelphia, PA

Daily 7:30 - 3:30 / Closed on Monday.

http://www.sarconesbakery.com/

Thanksgiving Day, 2008.

2008-11-27T07:27:00.001-05:00

Every Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, for over 40 years, the Wall Street Journal has reprinted, on the editorial page, two essays. The first is called "The Desolate Wilderness." and is a brief chronicle based on William Bradford's account of the Pilgrim settlement. The second is called, "And the Fair Land..." and reminds us to remember our good fortune in a world not often so blessed.

It is a good habit every Thanksgiving to read them. The following are two excerpts from the Wall Street Journal:

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof: So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.

To read the balance of the editorial: http://online.wsj.com/article
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Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful. This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped. So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.

To read the balance of the editorial: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119

Reading Terminal Market -- worth a visit (or two).

2008-11-26T01:38:00.002-05:00

All food-loving visitors to Philadelphia should visit Center City's, Reading Terminal Market, but I think much of their business comes from the local resident like me. It is good source for meats, breads and produce as well as eat-at-the-counter sandwiches. A list of the merchants can be retrieved from their website, so I won't list them all here. I will comment on the merchants I have visited.

Suggestion: before buying, walk around, there is a lot to see and it can be criss-crossed in 20 minutes or so.

1. Giunta's Prime Shop. Excellent choice of meats including hard to find prime cuts. The prices are good as well. Locally made sausages.

2. Metropolitan Bakery. Very good croissants and breads.

3. Dinic's. Beef and pork sandwiches. This place is good.

4. Old City Coffee. Sorry, go to La Columbe.

5. Bassett's Ice Cream. Hard to beat.

6. Down Home Diner. Mentioned before in another post. Click here: Down Home Diner. It is good.

The Amish communities have a whole section of the Market. They are open Wednesday - Saturday. Their produce is very good and their restaurants are good as well. I have not tried all of their products but I get the impression that everything is fresh and locally grown.

Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch Streets
215-922-2317

http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/

Comcast Tower Food Market

2008-11-25T14:05:00.003-05:00

In the lower level of the new Comcast Tower in Center City is a good place for a quick lunch and it's adjacent to Suburban Station.

It's a large area with plenty of chairs and tables. Merchants include Di Bruno's, Termini Bros., La Scala's Pizza, plus there are merchants for sushi, coffee, salads, sandwiches, and a fresh food market. Is it great? No, but it is good and it is convenient. And after lunch diners take the obligatory visit to the Comcast lobby to see the large screen multi-media show.

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

2008-11-23T06:54:00.001-05:00

Ecce Homo

Caravaggio / 1573 – 1610
oil on canvas
1609 / Palazzo Rosso, Genoa

A note from the Editor:
I try to match the picture with the Sunday, and that with the reading given to us for that Sunday, at least as best I can given my limited knowledge of both art and theology. Today is the The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. Christians honor Christ as Man and God, suffering servant and King. This Caravaggio represents the former more than the latter. But I am partial to Caravaggio. Note the staff of the shepherd, the "crown" of thorns, and the fact that all the faces are shadowed and His thin body centered and highlighted, visually representing the title.

Pilate is saying, "Behold the Man."

-----------------------------------------------------------

First Reading

From the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.
As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

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Mass times in the Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia (Center City): http://www.Philadelphia.org
Picture from Art and the Bible: http://www.artbible.info/

Don Giovanni by Curtis Opera at the Prince

2008-11-18T15:27:00.005-05:00

Thursday night begins the 4 day run of Mozart's, Don Giovanni, performed by the Curtis Opera at the Prince Theater. If you enjoy good operatic music in a great venue you will enjoy this performance. Two casts, one which performs on Thursday and Saturday, and one on Friday and Sunday.

Curtis Institute/ Don Giovanni

Prince Music Theater
Thursday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 23 at 2:30 p.m.: SOLD OUT

Ari Pelto, conductor
Ned Canty, stage director

Everyone's out to get Don Giovanni, whose romantic charm has seduced innumerable women, and whose libertine lifestyle has fueled jealousy and hatred. Donna Elvira hunts the lover who deceived her. Masetto guards his fiancée. Donna Anna vows vengeance for her father's murder. And the stone statue of the dead Commendatore has its own mission.

Center City Groceries: Trader Joes, Whole Foods ...

2008-11-16T12:55:00.005-05:00

Trader Joe's is a "small footprint" grocery store that emphasizes value, maybe even extreme value without overly sacrificing quality. Many of the items at Trader Joe's carry their branding and many of them are good. Natural Peanut Butter for instance costs about $2.00 at Trader Joe's and is very good where at other stores you can pay anywhere from 3 - 4. They have small produce section, but again reasonably priced, and a small dairy and baked goods section. The aisles have the normal canned and dry food products.
You'll notice a 60's hipness to the Trader Joe's staff and a casual but work hard disposition. You'll see a lot of tatooes and ear piercings.
I like Trader Joes because the prices are very good and the quality is good considering the price. The Trader Joe's we frequent is on Market around 21st. It has a small parking lot and is entered from the rear of the building.

The other alternatives in Center City are Whole Foods, which has two locations, Shop-Rite which has two that I visit, and the smaller locally owned markets. The Whole Foods stores are small compared to the ones you see in suburban locations but the product is the same. They do have a good deli/meats departments as well as good cheeses. Personally, if I am looking for the higher quality cheeses I prefer DiBruno's. (see my link: di-brunos-is-very-good.html)

One surprise you will find in Center City is that many of the small store front produce and grocery store stores can have very good prices, especially in the produce.

Trader Joes: http://www.traderjoes.com/
Whole Foods: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Five Guys Hamburgers.

2008-11-15T06:49:00.004-05:00

I think the best hamburger in the center city area is Five Guys. Wow. Fresh meat patties, cooked after you order. Double stacked. Boardwalk style french fries and a lot of them. The Five Guys guys have won a griddle full of "Best Burger" awards from New York to Florida, and in my view, they deserve them. I'm going back. Five Guys is at Chestnut and 16th in center city.

Another good burger in center city is at Good Dog restaurant and bar. Good Dog is a small place with very good food. The hamburgers are made fresh upon order so you have wait longer than a fast food place but they are very good hamburgers. Good Dog is on 15th around Chestnut.

http://www.fiveguys.com/

Metropolitan Bakery.

2008-11-12T21:12:00.005-05:00

My wife is a connoisseur of almond croissants. She purchases one at every new bakery and coffee shop we visit. One of her all-time favorites is from the Metropolitan Bakery in Philadelphia. They are made fresh every day and on Saturday morning if you don't get there early enough you won't get one. They do take reservations, though. Put your name on the list and they will save one for you. They are big, American style croissants, flaky, buttery but not oily, with just the proper proportion of almond taste. They are a little pricey, but they are worth the cost.

http://www.metropolitanbakery.com/

The "I Hate Recipes" Way to Make Spaghetti Sauce.

2008-10-18T13:19:00.006-04:00

Italian food is cooked with the senses -- taste, smell, sight, and touch -- and not with measuring cups. Add common sense, patience, experimentation, failure, and love, lots of love, and eventually molto bene is achieved.

Italian-food cooking is social. Tomato sauce is at the center of that communion because it needs looking after, which gives everyone a chance to visit the kitchen, taste, have a glass of wine with the chef and talk about food, politics, religion and everything else. It's like a campfire, except it's inside.

All this to say, I don't have a recipe for great spaghetti sauce but I could cook it tomorrow, and I think it's as good as you can get. You start with good meats: meatballs and Italian sausage. My beautiful daughter makes a perfect meatball, she has the recipe here: meatball-recipe. For some reason, I don't care for the meatball making process, so if it is left to me I just buy Italian sausage.

I am not big on recipes, but here is the process:

Purchase cans of whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. If you can buy fresh whole tomatoes and de-seed them great. Do not buy romas anymore. They are tasteless. Tasty tomatoes yield tasty tomato sauce. Hunts is a good dependable choice. If you have another favorite, by all means use them. Get diced or whole not crushed.
Taste the tomatoes and sauce before pouring into pot. If it tastes bad cold the addition of heat and oregano won't make it taste good.
Use a thick, cast iron type pot. When my wife and I were first married we bought a set of Le Crousset cookware. Their big pot is perfect for tomato sauce with a thick bottom and a ceramic finish.
Add Italian sausage in first to sear the sausage, then olive oil, fresh sliced garlic. Don't toast the garlic. Don't cook the sausage completely, let them cook in the hot spaghetti sauce.
Pour in the tomatoes.
Cover until hot enough to steam, stirring at bottom frequently.
Lower the heat, pull the cover back so that steam can be released and the sauce can reduce, but keep the cover partially covering pot. I want low heat and I want the flame away from the bottom of the pot so I don't have to worry about scorching. I achieve this at home by stacking two grill guards on top of each other, which raises the pot about one inch.
Allow 4 hours of very low cooking, stirring the sides and bottom about every 15 minutes with a wooden spoon. You may taste from the wood spoon. If the spoon is old and chipped it will make the sauce taste better.
Thirty minutes before completion add Italian seasonings. Remember, oregano should enhance the good tomato flavor, not be the flavor. I let my wife do this because I don't like to ruin that pure intense, tomato flavor. It makes me nervous.
Sugar? I don't use it. I do not like sweet sauces.
Make extra, spaghetti sauce can be frozen and reheated.

What is being accomplished is this: the taste of real tomato-based spaghetti sauce is in the reduction of the tomato so that the tomato taste is intense and the texture is thick enough to cover the spaghetti without water being released to the plate. Look for a deep red color with rainbow like swirls of purple in the oil released from the sausage and meatballs. The sauce will also get a "lumpiness" to it as the tomatoes get close. If meatballs are added I add them an hour or so before the sauce is done.

Buon appetito!

Di Bruno's in Philadelphia -- Very Good!

2008-10-15T06:46:00.004-04:00

Di Bruno's is equal parts cheese shop, bakery, butcher, sandwich shop, deli and fruit stand. Sound like a grocery store? Well, it is, but without all the peripheral items, and more like the gourmet aisle than the 2-for-1 aisle.
I like Di Bruno's a lot -- although, if you are expecting Trader Joe's you might be disappointed, some of the items can be expensive. But, I just bought Fuji apples for $1. 40 a pound, which is an excellent price, so you never know.

If you like cheese, you'll love Di Bruno's. They have a good selection of Italian cheeses as well as well cheese's from other nations, and Italian meats like pepperoni, salami, prosciutto in dozens of varieties. If you are a food lover it is hard not to like this place.

Upstairs, in the Center City store Di Bruno's has a roomy dining area with buffet salad bar, sandwich bar. The salad bar usually has a fresh hot item or two, like pasta, or a meat dish.

Here's their website: http://www.dibruno.com/

Di Bruno's (main location)
Rittenhouse Square
1730 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Di Bruno's (smaller lunch location)
Comcast Building
17th and JFK

Di Bruno's
Italian Market
930 S. 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19145

Down Home Diner in the Reading Terminal Market

2008-10-13T13:59:00.009-04:00

Want a real breakfast in Philadelphia?

The Down Home Diner in the Reading Terminal Market in Center City is the real deal. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but if you like thick sliced bacon and a home style breakfast this is the place to go. Philadelphia has plenty of 24 hour restaurants with 24 hour breakfast but Down Home Diner is best. If you are staying at any of the Center City hotels like, Marriott, Lowes, Holiday Inn, or Bellevue get over to the Redding Market and get in some real Philadelphia food shopping and breakfast while you're there.

Read more on Reading Market in this post: http://foodandphilly.blogspot.com/2008

Zip Car / Philly Car Share

2008-10-11T12:00:00.003-04:00

I have to say. I like them. For the first time in over 30 years I do not own a car. At one point when the children were in their teens I paid for three and sometimes four of them. And it's not the car that kills you, it's everything that goes with it. Fuel, insurance, repairs, repairs, repairs.

With a rent-by-the-hour car I only pay when I use it. Today I will rent a BMW for 1 1/2 hours and it will cost me $20. They pay the gas. I have to pick my son up at the train station and he could take a taxi for $15 with tip, or walk, or a bus for $2. I am going to do some grocery shopping while I have the car so I'd say $20 is a good deal. I could have rented an economy car for $15 but I thought I would try the BMW for fun.

So, if you are going to be in Philly for a while. Rent a car . . . by the hour.

Zip Car: http://www.zipcar.com/

Philly Car Share. http://www.phillycarshare.org/

Tony Luke's Cheese Steaks

2008-10-05T18:37:00.003-04:00

I grew up with good Philly Cheese steaks and in Philadelphia they are everywhere. Everybody wants to go by Pat's if for no other reason than to say you have been there. But if you want the real thing go to Tony Luke's and get a real cheese steak. http://www.tonylukes.com/

Best Produce in Rittenhouse Square

2008-09-23T21:52:00.003-04:00

For excellent fruits, vegetables, nuts and milk, at low prices go, to Sue's Produce on 18th around Chestnut is the place locals shop for produce. The prices are very good, sometimes half the price of supermarket, the selection is good and the quality is good. The proprietors shop daily for produce and select the best in season produce. Also available, organic milk from grass fed cows. Excellent.

Long lines are shoppers are proof of good value. The lines move quickly.

Bad News from Hershey Chocolate

2008-08-28T21:28:00.001-04:00

If you remember nickel candy bars as big as two hands, you're as old as dirt like me. Well, I got some bad news for you. They are getting even smaller and more expensive.

Rumor has it (Wall Street Journal) that chocolate manufacturers are choosing between making their current product smaller or changing the ingredients, both so that they are less expensive to make. Hershey's is exchanging some vegetable oil for some cocoa butter in order to cut costs. Bummer. But, they say, all candy manufacturers will be doing the same thing, cutting the size, changing ingredients, or increasing the price because their costs have risen dramatically, some say 45%, in just one year.

I can handle higher gasoline prices, but vegetable oil for cocoa butter, now you're talking revolution.

Cooking Basics: It's the Little Things.

2008-08-20T09:46:00.001-04:00

photo by mrjoro / flickr

I believe a good cooking philosophy is this: fundamentals first, or metaphorically, you can't build a good house on a bad foundation. It's a simple idea but it works, and even professionals forget it.

For example, I was in a nice restaurant the other day and ordered a large salad with chicken for lunch. As it was being served, the greens looked beautiful and the chicken just right. When I began eating my salad I noticed immediately that the plate and the greens, that is the salad itself, were at room temperature . . . in the summer. So all the expensive ingredients added up to a bad meal because the easiest part of it, keeping the lettuce cold, was considered unimportant. Who likes warm lettuce?

Same thing with soup. I had a bowl of soup last week at the Corner Bakery. It too was room temperature or a little above. I know they can't serve it scolding hot, like I prefer, but barely warm enough to consider warm just isn't right.

So you want to be a good cook? Get the little things right first, then move on to the more complex. In Asian food, it's knowing how to cook rice, something I can not do very well, even though my wife does it perfectly every time, and has showed me how to do it. In Italian food, get the pasta right (I can do that). If it's too sticky, too squishy, or cold, I don't care about how good the sauce is you have bad spaghetti.

Breakfast? Eggs, should be served very hot, but not dried and over-cooked, which is why at good buffets they are made to order. A good sandwich starts with good bread. Add a good meat and cheese. Guess what? You have a great sandwich.

It's really pretty simple. Keep the hot foods hot, the cold foods cold, have good ingredients and the tastes take care of themselves. That's my untrained view of things.

Now there is one more ingredient to a good meal, and it is an old proverb, "better a morsel of bread in peace than a feast with dissension." No matter what the food tastes like, you can't have a good meal with people who don't get along, and conversely, even poorly prepared food is enjoyable when the diners enjoy each others company (especially with a good supply of wine).
Corollary and final thought: gratefulness improves everything.

If the food is cooked in a home, and I am a guest, it all tastes good. Food critics are for restaurants not homes.

We Like Wegman's

2008-03-09T13:36:00.000-04:00

My first trip to a Wegmans was in the Baltimore area and I loved it. If you like food, if you like to food shop, you'll like Wegman's, too. Take the Di Bruno's on Market Street, expand each department by 100%, add a large grocery store and you have Wegmans. What's good about that? Well, their deli has very good meats at more of a grocery store price than a gourmet market price. The bakery is respectable. The salad bar for lunch is a pretty good meal and if you want generic brands of peanut butter and other essentials, they have them. Plus, you have a friendly, service-minded staff and managers on duty. And there are plenty of good foods to taste as you walk around and explore. Do they have the best of everything? No, of course not, but the fresh foods are just that fresh and well managed.

You'll find a few Wegmans' stores in the Philadelphia area, including Cherry Hill and Warrington.

www.wegmans.com

Wawa, I cried.

2008-03-08T07:36:00.000-05:00

I hate to say it, but the local Wawa has shut its doors. Bummer.

Like the biblical swarm of locusts, the Wawa on 20th and Locust, saw shoppers clear shelves that then were never re-stocked. Bummer, again.

I like Wawa. The food is generally fresh, the price is fair, the lines move quickly, and the ATM is free. It is a Convenient store.

As I was reading the store's burial notice posted on the window, one hopeful female shopper walked up next to me, stopped, read the sign and said, "bummer, that's my bank."

I agree, Bummer.

Dems Come to Philly

2008-03-07T09:08:00.000-05:00

Political cartoon by Daryl Cagle

Well, well, well.

Who would have ever thought that the Democratic primary would be having a meaningful and maybe decisive electiion in Pennsylvania a few weeks from today.

But that's what is happening. The sparring match turned mud wrestling contest is just beginning to get fun.

La Colombe Coffee.

2008-03-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

Hands down winner, in this reviewers opinion, for coffee. La Colombe, Rittenhouse Square, is the best in the city. I love the coffee and the way it's sold. It's the un-Starbucks. When you walk into a La Colombe cafe you notice a few things. It's understated decor', not different from any hip coffee shop and the line of coffee buyers. Then, when you get in the line, you notice that there is no menu board, menu sheets or menu indicators of any kind. That's because they serve coffee, espresso, cappuccino, lattes and that's it. After you have been there once you know, so who needs menus? There are croissants in two or three flavors, depending on the day. Oh, and 1 pound bags of coffee. No mugs, t-shirts, CD's, coffee makers or sandwiches, or bric-a-brac of any kind. Coffee for a buck-fifty.

It's always, fresh, hot and very good. Know what you want when you are asked by the highly-trained baristas, they'll move on to the next guy if you hesitate too long.

I promise you nobody does it better than La Colombe. Check out their website, it's an impressive company. http://www.lacolombe.com/

Pietro's Pizza in Rittenhouse Square

2008-03-03T18:31:00.000-05:00

One of the first restaurants my family and I visited, actually, the very first place we stumbled upon was Pietro's Coal Oven Pizza. It's a big restaurant for Center City area, advertised as a Pizza restaurant but really full Italian cuisine. The pizza is a big seller there and very good. The service is good, tables are not on top of each other, and most importantly, the food is good. Pizza, spaghetti, veal parmesan, lasagna, etc., The salads are good to very good. I get the arugala salad with chicken breast added as an extra. The complementary rolls are warm and freshly baked. Delicious.
Overall, I would put Pietro's in the medium price range, 3 of us without alcoholic beverage have a bill for $50- 60. We go to Pietro's often. It's dependable and fairly priced.

1714 Walnut Street / Philadelphia

Doylestown -- Not so Hip, but Very Cool.

2008-03-02T18:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, Doylestown is not going to win the "southern California hip place of the year" award. It's more of classic style, they call it neo-traditional . . . ahhh . . . fire the guy who came up with that tagline. But I like Doylestown, I like it a lot.

The first thing it's got going for it, from a food lover's point of view, is the Wegman's a couple miles away. For Philadelphia residents, Wegman's is a dream place to grocery shop and a great place to get a make your own salad.

Doylestown has plenty of good shopping for female shoppers, Chico's, Talbots, Beans, etc., but also coffee shops, dozens of restaurants, bakeries, and a couple good book stores. Many of the stores are not franchise chain stores but owned and run by local merchants. Then there is the Mercer Museum which is a fascinating building which we will visit on our next trip.

Going for overnight? Another suggestion. The Hampton Inn on the south side of town is new and in good condition. It's the new style Hampton Inn with great beds, real towels, and flat screen TV's. $109 for a weekend room. Not bad. And no highway noise.

I'm looking forward to eating in the restaurants in Doylestown. It's a great place to walk around, window shop and laze around with a good cup of coffee and a book.