A few hours in Philly!

We took a day trip to the distant land of Philadelphia. Home of the Eagles, cheesesteaks, and tons of history. I spent the day with a great friend who treated me to brunch followed by a tour of the city.

First stop, Sabrina’s Café. A cute diner like restaurant that was packed with 20 somethings and above. We were looking at the oversized menu and decided we were going to go ahead with the soup and sandwich combo until we saw the chalkboard advertising the stuffed French toast. Instantly we knew we had to have it, we shared that with a tuna sandwich and a butternut squash soup (that was SO GOOD). The French toast was literally one of the bests I’ve ever had and made us so happy!

Farmer’s cream cheese topped with bananas and vanilla bean syrup

Next stop Reading Terminal Market, but first a walk around City Hall and some fun facts about the historic city from my unofficial tour guide.

Unofficial tour guide in red.

Do you know how tall the statue that sits atop of City Hall is?

Four stories tall and the statute is of William Penn.

Do you know why the windows of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul are so high up?

The church wanted to protect themselves from thieves and called for the tallest strongest man to come to the church and throw a rock. The rock’s spot marked where the windows were to be built (now that one sounds silly, but can you imagine if it’s really true!)

The Reading Terminal Market was amazing, smaller than I thought but filled of businesses in every nook and cranny. We stopped at The Head Nut and I fell in love, it was filled with bulk items everywhere.

From spices to beans, to coffee to nuts! If I had come to shop I would have overdone it in there! We continued to peruse where we saw so many amazing foods like hot sauces and these beautiful deli meat display from Riehl Deli & Cheeze Shop. After an hour we headed out to the last stops.

Second to last stop, The Fabric Workshop and Museum. As we were leaving the market we walked into this strange song coming from the museum. My friend suggested we go in to see the exhibit and learn the story behind the song which lead us to the Poorly Watched Girls exhibit by Suzanne Bocanegra. After fully immersing ourselves in the nun fashion show we headed out to our last stop.  

Suzanne Bocanegra, needlework in progress for the “Dialogue of the Carmelites” segment of the exhibition. Photo: Carlos Avendaño

Last stop, Pat’s! My husband requested a Philly Cheesesteak before heading home so we  stopped at one of the famous spots. I didn’t really get to eat the famous sandwich myself, because it was all for him but I took a few bites and I must say, it needed flavor (a little salt, pepper, and acid would have done it a lot of justice). My husband enjoyed it toasted with ketchup and hot sauce.

Before leaving I was gifted this massive pack of oxtails to cook. Next month is freezer month for us in the house so I can’t wait to get into that, using our mother’s recipe.

quiero rabooooo (Anthony Santos voice)

Thank you comadre for being a great tour guide and friend, until next time!

Before you go, let us know what are your favorite spots to explore when you’re in Philly, maybe we’ll go there next time!