BAFoodie On the Road: Philadelphia

I won't lie that I was probably more excited about where I was going to eat in Philadelphia than the work conference I was there for. I had visions of cheesesteaks and legit Italian food dancing in my head before I snapped to and realized that I was going for work, and thus there would be just about no free time to take my tastebuds on a field trip. However, I did make it to a few places worth noting. And I discovered that Philadelphia has a pretty respectable restaurant scene that I hope to get back to soon.

Barbuzzo

 

If you have time for just one meal, go here. Don't second guess it, just listen to me and pony up to the cozy spot on 13th street. This place--the food, the vibe, the decor, the drinks in glass Ball jars--is practically everything I dream of having if I ever own a restaurant someday. The cheese-stuffed meatballs, their whipped ricotta, the uovo pizza with the creamy white sauce and a runny truffled farm egg in the middle, the brussel sprouts with pancetta and the six-hour smoked pork ragu with broccolini known as tufoli calabrese. Oh, the tufoli calabrese!

You think you can't make it to the finish line and that you've consumed far to many carbs to push yourself any further--but then there's the budino: a pudding with a dark chocolate cookie crust and a layer of thick, gooey, salted caramel on top. I file that little jar of happiness under categories such as "heavenly" and "divine." The budino was so good that I came back for a bonus round two nights later (and mainly because I had the most disappointingly bland dinner at Marc Vetri's Amis, that my friend and I decided to skip dessert there altogether).

Tommy Dinic's 

I'll cop to being slightly misguided when I first heard that I had to go eat at Reading Terminal. "Food court," I thought. Nay. Rather, Reading Terminal delivered the largest sandwich I have probably consumed in my adult life complete with hand-pulled, roasted Italian pork (plus all the drippings and tasty pork juices on the sandwich), broccoli rabe and slices of provolone that buckled under the heat of the fillings. Be prepared to skip dinner after lunch there. But if you do have room, hit up Bassett's for some good ice cream. I recommend Preston & Steve's Gadzooks or Guatemalan Ripple.



Pat's King of Steaks

If I could, I would complete a study in the cheesesteak. I would make my journey through every place in the confines of Philadelphia that serves a cheesesteak, take a very long nap, ponder the merits of phosphorescent whiz-drenched onions, and then write about it. Alas, I only had time for one. Apparently, it is frowned upon to eat at Pat's and then directly cross the street to try Geno's, and I suppose I'm glad I did not make that faux pas. The cheese whiz, the hot, seared steak on a flat top that is the cornerstone to such a classic institution, the crusty, toasted roll all culminate in an experience every man, woman and child should have upon visiting Philadelphia.

So thanks, Philadelphia, for showing me some good eats, and to the friends who recommended places to go and see in their fair city.

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.