When my parents were in town recently we took them to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, a haven for foodies. We live two hours away, but we were dreadfully misinformed that the Reading Terminal Market wasn’t worth it to visit, so this is the first time we went there after several Philly excursions! [I’ve since learned my lesson and refuse to heed any more advice from non-foodies, at least when it comes to food and food places. They just don’t get it:(]

At Chocolate by Mueller: I forgot to take a picture of the chocolate human heart which Mueller’s is really known for.

at Wan’s Seafood:

Iovine Brothers’ Produce, A. A. Halteman’s Poultry, LeBus Bakery where the kids bought their breakfast and Spice Terminal — well-stocked place except that the two things I was looking for — fenugreek and sansho powder — they didn’t have. I settled for a pound of unsweetened coconut flakes, $1.75.:

Sang Kee’s Peking Duck, Roast Beef Brisket at DiNic’s, and people lining up for breakfast at the Dutch Eating Place:

Candy Trains, The Rib Stand’s Roast Beef Sandwich (14-yo Aisa’s lunch — two thumbs up!), and honeys, candles and facial treatments at Bee Natural:

Finally, proper gyro from the Greeks! My only “wha–?” moment came when it was served with french fries. The toppings were somewhat sparse — limited to tomatoes and the requisite tzatziki, but to good effect. The pita had a gratifyingly toasty crust from being heated on the griddle. And Mrs. Volgaridis was fascinating to watch while she made the spanakopita, which unfortunately we were too full to try. What do you think, Sha?

Rick’s Philly Steaks is owned and operated by Rick Olivieri, third generation to offer these cheese steaks originally created by Pat Olivieri. Five years ago we made the trek to the Wharton/Passyunk location — the one where Rocky ordered his — to try the “whiz with” (meaning with Cheez Whiz and grilled onions). I much prefer that over the version we tried this time around at Rick’s, which while filling did not seem to have as much beef in it, as it was drowned in the peppers, mushrooms and onions — next time I’m going back to just beef and cheese, and order toppings on the side. We got there early in the morning before the place filled up, so we watched them slice the meat in preparation for the crowd coming.

Tokyo Sushi Bar’s sushi was the huge disappointment of the day, although in retrospect shouldn’t have been. The fish wasn’t fresh enough and made my throat and mouth itch (a sensitivity that helps me judge the freshness of seafood, and whether I should have more or not). The experience here reinforced my long-held belief that if you want sushi the way it’s meant to be prepared, you’ve got to go to a Japanese-owned establishment (I think this one was Vietnamese). Other Asian cooks/storeowners just don’t give Japanese cuisine the respect and treatment it needs. You’ll have better luck with French-trained chefs.

My Papa saw the crabcakes at Andro’s and wanted to try them. At $4 a piece they weren’t cheap and I’d have preferred to make them for him at home instead. They were quite tasty and contained a goodly amount of the main ingredient, though I still say we could have done better with some fresh lump crab meat:).

The bean cakes are from St. Honore Pastries in Chinatown — not the best we’ve had, but they were the only ones that had bean cakes that day and I just had to satisfy my craving.

Other honorable mentions include Bassett’s Ice Cream, which my kids got on our way out, and Little Thai Market, which sold me a few Thai ingredients I was looking for.

Philadelphia Chinatown has its own website, with listings for supermarkets, restaurants, etc.