Eating our way through Philly- Part 2 of 2

Continuing on with the remainder of Philly eats from my 4th of July weekend road trip...

Taste of Philadelphia food festival
Location: Penn’s Landing

We arrived to the Taste of Philadelphia festival a tad bit too early so we had to wait around until it officially opened up to the masses. Sadly, not all of the vendors were set up and ready when we were able to enter (and some hadn’t even arrived yet). On a happier note, the food we did acquire was pretty darn tasty and we witnessed a dead on performance from a Rod Stewart impersonator, so it wasn’t all bad. Word to the wise: if you are in Philly and come across the food truck Delicias, purchase and devour their black bean, cheese, and plantain arepa.

Vegetarian chili and cornbread from Feast Your Eyes Catering

Black bean, cheese, and plantain arepa from the Delicias food truck

Reading Terminal Market
Location: 51 N. 12^th Street

When I was a newborn, my family moved to Philly for about a year and my dad worked in an office across the street from the Reading Terminal Market. He often would eat lunch at the market and he highly recommended we eat there on this trip. We were not disappointed. With over 80 merchants, there is definitely not a lack of choices when it comes to good food to inhale.

Inside the Reading Terminal Market

Nick and I bought two different sandwiches from two different venders. My sandwich was from the Valley Shepherd Creamery, makers of fresh, artisan cheese products. I had mozzarella on a baguette with homemade roasted tomatoes and roasted garlic. It was wonderful. (Although, I’m still kicking myself for not adding on truffle oil.) Nick’s sandwich was of a similar idea, but it was mozzarella with artichokes, roasted red peppers, and herbs from the restaurant Mezze.

Sandwiches from the Valley Shepherd Creamery and Mezze

For dessert, we had ice cream from the one and only Bassett’s. Nick and I shared a cup with a scoop each of dark chocolate and green tea ice creams.

Green tea and dark chocolate ice cream (the latter not visible) from Bassett's Ice Cream

The Sidecar Bar & Grill
Location: 2201 Christian Street

Fried green tomatoes

The Sidecar Bar & Grill serves up American food in a dim (actually too dimly lit) bar atmosphere, but the food is anything but your average bar chow. I ordered fried green tomatoes and the mushroom dip sandwich which had a lot of mushroom flavor which can sometimes be lacking in mushroom dishes. Nick had a black bean burger with cheddar, salsa, and chipotle mayo (which was enormous). One of the main issues we had was service (other than the lighting). Three of the four of us were nearly finished with our main course before Katie even received her zucchini “pappardelle,” which, thankfully, was superb.

Mushroom dip sandwich (a truffle mushroom duxelle and
gruyere on a brioche with mushroom jus)