In case you don't know, "get ahta tahn" is
Pittsburghese for "get out of town". As if anyone from ahta tahn is reading my blog!
Let me begin by saying that I loved Philadelphia. Shhh! Don't tell anyone. I do not want to get beat up in the parking lot the next time I go to a Pen's game. My hubs and I drove up from D. C., where I was working during the week, and spent a long weekend in Philly. Philly seemed ugly while driving in. We came in from the skyline was not alluring. I am used to the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline. About the people, the rumor we hear in the 'Burgh is that Philadelphians are, well, a bit brusque. My prejudices have been formed from sports rivalries rather than from real life experience. My beliefs were squashed upon arrival. Philadelphia is a city with an urban feel, complete with art, shopping, history, architecture, and great food - and lovely, stylish people!
Day 1:
Chaps Pit Beef (Baltimore)
First stop, Chaps Pit Beef. My husband is into smoking meats and he had been reading about and actually reproduced the famous Baltimore Pit Beef. He had to stop for a visit. We programmed the GPS and off we went..straight into an episode of "The Wire". Boarded up row houses abound, I declared, "If I see Bubs selling white-tees on the next street corner, we are out of here!" We lived. :) I actually lived in Baltimore for a bit while in my 20's so I knew the neighborhood was not so good. But, we made it. Crossing back under the highway, surrounded by nudy bars, there stood Chaps Pit Beef. We went in and I did not get any pics because my camera was packed, but the staff was super nice and the food was phenomenal. I ordered the beef sandwich, cooked medium. The tender beef was exactly how beef should taste, beefy with a bit of a grilled flavor, but not too much. Yum! Definitely give this place a try - leave the kids at home!
Hyatt at the Bellevue:
So, I was hard at work all week and we arrived in Philly Friday evening. We stayed (via a sweet Priceline deal) at the
Hyatt at the Bellevue right in the city center. The hotel was ritzy with bell boys and a lovely, friendly staff and an awesome foyer complete with marble everything (floor, walls, staircase, ceiling). I felt like I had stepped back into the early 20's and I should have been wearing a proper Downton Abbey style dinner dress and Chad a dinner jacket.
Di Bruno's
Wearing regular 21st century street clothes (booo), we decided to walk a few blocks to
Di Bruno's to grab an a la carte dinner and to the
PA Wine And Spirits for some wine. This way, we could enjoy dinner in our cute hotel room and to gear up for the next couple days of walking. Di Bruno's was a cozy gourmet shop with tiny sections of produce, prepared foods, cheeses, meats, deserts. Think Dean and Deluca Jr. We got the burrata cheese - very rich and creamy, chorizo, speck, and some Italian Bread.
Day 2:
Our first full day in Philly it was cloudy with a mist of rain. But, that did not stop us from walking - everywhere - Chad remembered the umbrella and graciously gave it to me. :) We took Locust Street towards the Old City. Locust street is a cool street for strolling Lots of murals and architecture. Good photo ops.
Cafe Twleve
First stop, coffee at Cafe Twelve. We just ran into this place while walking down Locust towards the old city. Cute establishment. Yummy coffee. On our way.
Liberty Bell
Go to the Bell. Just do it. Don't be a jabroni. We walked all the way to the Old City and got to the Liberty Bell. It was not crowded. It was inside a building. We entered (for free, mind you), walked past the cool exhibits, just the photos alone were inspiring. The Dali Lama and the Liberty Bell. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Bell. Tears forming. We made our way to the Liberty Bell. It was smaller than I imagined. But heavy looking and beautiful. It made me cry. Just the idea of it standing for liberty and freedom - The United States of America. What America is supposed to be. There was a crowd around the bell and the coolest thing was that each group was taking turns allowing the other group (of strangers) take their photo. No pushing, No photo bombing. Just a natural kind regard for fellow humans trying to get a pic. I cried. Go to the bell.
Jim's Steaks
We got hungry so we headed to Jim's Steaks. It may not have been the best route as it is several blocks south, but the scenery through the old
Georgian Style row houses made the walk the highlight, for me. We made it to Jim's on South Street, an eclectic street that reminded me of the Southside neighborhood in Pittsburgh - edgy, cool, artsy. We stood in line for a shared cheese-steak I am sorry, don't beat me up. I am not a cheese-steak connoisseur. The bread was good. It filled me up. The atmosphere was way better than the food itself. Art Deco, crowds of hungry people, sweet staff putting up with all of us. Did I mention Philadelphians are so nice? They are.
City Tavern
After we filled our bellies, we headed back up north towards the old city. By this time, we were cold and wet and it was well after noon, so naturally it was time for a warm, toasty, adult beverage. We happened upon the City Tavern, which we had read about when researching the city. Touristy or not, we stopped in for a drink. The staff was friendly, of course, and dressed in "colonial" garb complete with tats and gauged ears. Tehehe. I ordered the Wassail - cold + walking + vacation = Wassail. Chad got the beer sampler. Both the wassail and the sampler were pretty decent. We especially enjoyed the
Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale by Yards, yum.
Elfreth's Alley
Warmed up and ready
to hit the pavement, we started towards Elfreth's Alley, an historical street I wanted to visit. I also wanted to spell it with a "ph" and not an "f". Look how cute Elfreth's Alley is. Cobblestone street.
Boot scrapers at each doorstep. I imagined myself, long dress, bonnet, eavesdropping on the "goings on" in the neighborhood. For some reason, I have a dog following me in my story. A loyal dog, like a lab.
Betsy Ross House
Right down the way from Elfreth's Alley is the Betsy Ross House. Apparently, it is where she famously sewed the flag. It was very cute just sitting there all by itself. We did not go in, so that is all I have to say about that.
Hampton Inn - City Center
We only stayed at the Hyatt because we found ourselves with an extra day due to my work schedule. We moved on to the Hampton City Center. The hotel was nice. Closer to the Capitol Building, Convention Center and Chinatown. I preferred the location of the Hyatt, if I had to choose between the two, but the Hampton worked out just fine.
Zevino Wine Bar and Pizzeria
Get the pizza. Look how yummy. you know you cannot resist it. The dough was flavorful, not just a vehicle for toppings. The sauce -not too sweet, not too over powering. The cheese - melty, creamy - yummy. Add a little basil and you get one of the best margherita pizza's I have had in this country. We also tried the charchuterie. I highly recommend the bleu cheese called Rogue's Smokey Bleu sourced from Oregon. The shrimp scampi was perfect. The greens and beans were great. Wash it all down with a copa di cava or a glass of red.
The atmosphere was hip in an exposed brick establishment with minimal tables, a long bar and some industrial embellishments. The staff were knowledgeable, sincere, and friendly, of course.
Day 3:
On our last full day in Philly, we had a few stops to make, but we mostly just walked and walked and stopped when we felt like stopping. We ate a lot and drank a lot. We saw some art and we saw some cool cultural happenings.
Ocean Harbor Dim Sum
Dim Sum! I miss the city. I have not had Dim Sum in soooo long. I cannot find a decent one in Pittsburgh, although, I have not looked very hard. Slackin'. If you have not had Dim Sum, you must try it. It is a feast generally held in a 1970's style, dragon decorated, banquet hall.
If that is not enough to entice you, there is a bunch of cool Chinese food wheeled around on carts and you get to choose what you want to eat by guessing what the food is, then pointing at it. Sometimes it is a steamed pork bun, sometimes a chicken foot. We usually stick to the steamed dumplings.They also have steamed vegetables like bok choy and broccoli rabe. So delicious. If you are brave, you can try squid ink noodles or chicken combs. I am a chicken because I have not tried the chicken combs.
Happy Chinese New Year! Walking around after brunch in Chinatown, we heard some drumming and wondered what was going on. We did not see anything. Then, suddenly as we turned onto a street and there was a
Chinese New Year Dragon Dance! Could we be more lucky? I was mesmerized by the music and the one dragon dancer was so good. He was jerking to the music and he would come up and get right in your face as if to say, "Pay attention - you! Pay attention!" I did.
Love Park
Love park was right near the City Hall. I liked Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture, vibrant and modern. There was also a large noodle and some other cool sculptures across the street. I cannot find information on them, sorry. Apparently, this place used to be a massive skate park. Now it was quite desolate with a few tourists and some homeless folks. We spent about 10 minutes here, took pics, and moved on. If you are within a few blocks, stop and see the art.
Shake Shack
All that art made me hungry. Time to try a burger at Shake Shack. We walked past this place in NYC and the line was out the door and around the block. In Philly, we walked straight up and ordered a burger, no problem. We did not get a shake, though. We were saving our calories for beer. :) Now, I wish I had gotten the shake.
The place was hoppin' (even though there was not wait) and the burger was divine - toasted bun, melty cheese, fresh toppings - and butter. That is the secret. It was very buttery. How can one not enjoy it. Butter and bacon make any food good.
Tselaine
I spotted a shiny orange leather purse in the window of this little boutique called Tselaine. I was lured inside and delighted by the unique offerings of affordable jewelry, purses, gloves and more. Although the orange purse did not work out - too dressy for daily use, I left with a LOVE magnet to commemorate my travels. and a great shop to recommend to the girls.
Monk's Cafe
Around the corner, we ran into Monk's Cafe. Make your way to the back bar, dark and tiny, complete with medieval tapestries and monastery decor. Monk's, known for its variety of Belgian beers, satisfied both our french fry craving (hand cut potatoes, people) and gave us an opportunity to drink some tasty, unusual beers. Our favorite was
Tripel Karmeliet, and apparently, Beer Advocate agrees rating it a 99 out of 100. The service was perfect. We spent a bit of time chatting with the bartender about Philadelphia, specialty beers, and food, getting some ideas on what to do around town.
Magic Gardens
Time for the Magic Gardens!! We walked all the back to South Street - had to burn off some excess calories! On the way we started to see clues that we were close to the Magic Gardens - a mosaic here a mosaic there - until finally we arrived. Oh oh oh. What a place. One artist took an old space in Philly and used glass remnants and found objects to create a mosaic fantasy land.
Mazes and ups and downs and all around of mosaic. I took so many pictures. I need to figure out how to make a slide show so I can show more pics. But anyway, I was in heaven. Chad let me go in alone so I could take my time looking at everything closely and let it all soak in. My favorite part part was all the quotes - what the artist was thinking at that moment as he plastered. What a beautiful, beautiful expression of energy that I felt honored to have spent time absorbing.
Self Portrait - can you find me?
Alla Spina
Subway, baby. The Philly subway was not pretty or clean, but it got us from point A (South Philly) to B (North Philly) quickly and safely, I would say. Right off the train station was an "Italian Gastropub" called Alla Spina, a restaurant in the Vetri restaurant group. We could not get into the famous
Vetri (needed to make a reservation in advance - next time) . In an effort to save room for dinner, we just got a beer at Alla Spina. We wanted to check out the space having read about it. The staff were nice (shocker) and the atmosphere was modern, urban with industrial fans, steel stuff (I forget what it is called) high ceilings like an old warehouse turned hip new space. The colors were green, yellow, red. It reminded me of a new elementary school for some reason. And there was a pig statue above the bar. The place did not scream Italian. We tried the beer on cask - Hip Ho Hooray. Man, it was like eating a hop right off the vine. Whooo. I think I got drunk off the first sip! Delicious. One was plenty.
Le Virtu
Our last stop (back south) was Le Virtu. Chad was interested in this place based on their house made pasta and charcuterie. To start, we ordered the charcuterie and every Primi selection on the menu (they let us get a half order of each). I do not remember what it was called, but my favorite meat on the charcuterie board was something like a wild game salumi. The grilled vegetables on the board were amazing.
As for the Primi course(s) - hahaha - the ones that stood out were the Taggliatelle al Sugo di Conglio (rabbit sauce with wide flat pasta), Agnolotti alla Porchetta (pork stuffed pasta with sage butter, ameretto, and black truffle). Full, at this point, we still each ordered a main.I got the Orata (whole fish filleted table side) and Chad got the Porchetta (pork shoulder). Bother were yummy, but if I had to do it all over again, I would order only a few pasta dishes and save room for desert!
Day 4: Drive Home
Troegs
More alcohol. This time, I am the designated driver.On the way home from Philly to Pittsburgh, we stopped in Hershey to visit the brewery of one of our favorite beers, Troegs. It was worth the stop. The place was packed on a Monday at noon. We think the people of Hershey are doing things right with heir liquid lunches!
Upon entering we were greeted by a happy go lucky host who helped acquaint us with the brewery. The first stop is the tasting room and cafeteria. We got the Nugget Nectar on cask. A seasonal hoppy amber that we loved. Apparently, it is seasonal and we got there on the right day - woot! We had a nice salmon sandwich on a crispy baguette. Then we took the self tour of the brewery. Perfect.
The tour leads to the huge gift shop. We are not normally shoppers, saving our money on food and drink. But we went nuts in the Troegs gift shop. We bought these great work shirts - button up collared shirts with patch name tags (think the Exxon service station uniform shirt) with a Troegs print on the back. Finally we headed back to the bar area for one last beer (for Chad) and a cool a$$ growler with stainless steel handle filled with Nugget Nectar for me to enjoy when we got home.
Map:
Next Time:
We loved Philadelphia so much and we feel we did not see enough. We want to go back and stop at:
Vetri Restarant
Fishtown Neighborhood
Rodin Museum and the Thinker sculpture
Kelly Writers house at U Penn.
Archaeology Museum at U Penn.
