So after a Cheesesteak Segway Tour and a Passyunk Pizza Tour, I thought it was only fair that I did a general ‘Food Tour’ of Philadelphia, to get a balanced range of the culinary delights that they serve up in the city (which happened to include cheesesteak and pizza). My guide was the lovely Judy, a born and bred Philadelphian who had been running the tour for ten years, so really knew her stuff and was happy to answer every question.
| Liberty Place
I arrived at Liberty Place fifteen minutes early for the tour, but given that the only other guests on the tour were also British, we were all early and therefore able to start ahead of time. Judy gave us an interesting overview of the building we were standing in, the history of Philadelphia and William Penn (who was born in Bristol, UK, where the other couple were from), and her connection to the city, before we headed out into the sunshine onto our first stop of the tour. Tomato pie at Joe’s Pizza!
| Joe's Pizza
Tomato pie is a thick crust cheese-free pizza with a very special sauce that the owner makes every morning, and when the sauce is gone, the restaurant closes. Using only the best San Marzano tomatoes, the sauce is sweet and rich, which is why it tastes great without the need for cheese. Whilst we ate, Judy showed us a map of how William Penn originally designed the city of Philadelphia to fit between two rivers, and to be split into four quadrants with a park in each. There are interesting stories behind the names of the streets, and how they’ve changed over time, but I won’t spoil the tour!
| Philly Pretzel Factory
After Joe’s Pizza we headed round the corner to the Philly Pretzel Factory, but not before making a quick stop at Insomnia Cookies to hear about how a college student started a late-night cookie delivery business, that now has over 100 stores on the east coast. Enough about precocious teens though; it was pretzel time. Judy was well acquainted with the history of the pretzel, having been given them as treats by her father if she was good at church. These had been sat out all day and grown hard however, so someone had the bright idea of starting a store that sold them “Hot Outta the Oven” throughout the day, opening its doors in 1998. We had a salted pretzel with our choice of mustard (I went for the mildest because I’m a mustard-phobe), and ate them on the street - as is tradition. Just to give you an idea of how popular these are, they sell between 10-25,000 a day, and their ‘special deal’ is buy 25 and get 25 free!
| Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse
Following our streetside snack we made a quick stop at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, an upscale restaurant that was once the First Pennsylvania Bank. The decor was just incredible, and would make a very nice reception venue (although I peeked at the lunch menu and the prices were somewhat eye-watering), so leaving my dream wedding fantasy behind, we moved on to Philadelphia City Hall. This formidable building was once deemed the ugliest building in the city, but is now clean and beautiful, and makes a useful walkway through to our next food stop; Pandora’s.
| Pandora's
I like to think of myself as a cheesesteak connoisseur now (even though I’ve never eaten a whole one), so I had a good idea of what I liked and what I wasn’t so keen on with Pandora’s version. The steak was chopped which was good, but the cheese wasn’t so evident within the sandwich which lost it points. Altogether though, the friendly atmosphere, cheap beer, and soft bread made it a great cheesesteak establishment, and the cheese fries really topped it off.
| Reading Terminal Market
Our final stop on the tour was the amazing Reading Terminal Market, which is as much a tourist attraction as it is a foodie sanctuary. We’d be having two sweet treats here; cookies from 4th Street Cookie Company and glazed donuts from Beiler’s Bakery. The cookies were crisp yet soft in the middle with gooey chocolate chips, and the donuts were soft and surprisingly light, we could have eaten ten of them! We didn’t though, and this sadly brought the tour to a sweet and sugary end.
| Thanks for reading!
Judy was a fantastic guide with heaps of knowledge and useful tips, making this tour ideal for visitors to Philadelphia who want to learn more about the food scene. Judy pointed out loads of bars and restaurants along the way that would be great for a post-tour drink (or meal if you’re somehow still hungry), so it’s a great experience to do towards the beginning of a trip. Massive thank-you to Judy and City Food Tours, and I hope I never see another cheesesteak again! (Just kidding, they’re delicious).
