Local Food Favorites at Popular Urban Markets

This summer was the year of mini-vacations for my family, and everywhere we went there was no shortage of hometown food favorites. I enjoyed my first visit to historic markets in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, along with discovering  an amazing summer outdoor food venue in New York City. Of course, since we were in New York, we also had to make a stop at our favorite candy shop, Dylan’s Candy Bar. Read on to find out more about these popular destinations for food lovers and the local specialties that make them great. 

• Philadelphia.  Reading Terminal Market was my hands-down favorite place to eat in Philadelphia. With almost 80 small businesses currently operating in the market, there is no shortage of delicious local food. Because it was so convenient to the Hilton Garden Inn and it was just my teenage daughter and I, we decided to eat breakfast and two lunches at the market. I had to try the local favorites: cheesesteaks at Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks, and one of the highly acclaimed roast pork sandwiches from DiNic’s. My daughter opted for an oversized portion of Chinese Food from Golden Bowl, which was also delicious.  Of course, no trip to Reading Terminal Market would be complete without a trip to Beiler’s for donuts for breakfast. Too many choices for donut lovers!

• New York City. There is always a street party somewhere in the city, and summer is no exception.  UrbanSpace Broadway Bites, at 33rd and Broadway, was in full swing during our visit. With everything from Korean BBQ and Sicilian Rice Balls, it was tough to decide what to have for lunch. Of course, as soon as I saw lobster rolls from Red Hook Lobster Pound, I knew my summer was complete! Big chunks of Maine lobster were overflowing from the bun. If you live in the northeast you know it doesn’t get any better than this. Then we had fun browsing through Eataly, a huge Italian food market complex on 5th Avenue. I was hoping to get to Chelsea Market, but instead we decided to take the subway uptown to get ice cream at Dylan’s Candy Bar, which is one of my favorite candy shops. How can you pass up a colorful, multi-story candy shop with a cafe that includes desserts like the Demolition Cookie Derby ice cream sundae or a S’mores Pizza! (Plus its a nice break from the rest of the city.)  By now you would think we would be done eating, but we ended the day in Greenwich Village, enjoying Italian food at Trattoria Sphagetto, with a quick stop after dinner in the beloved Murray’s Cheese Shop. 
  

• Washington, DC.  I must admit I have lived in the DC area all my life but had never visited historic Eastern Market. It’s located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and easily accessible by Metro. My husband and I decided to visit on a recent Saturday, knowing that the streets surrounding the market would be filled with local artists and vendors selling everything from jewelry and fine art to antique maps and clothing. By the time we headed inside the market, we had worked up an appetite from all that shopping! For appetizers, we started by hanging out with the owner of Bowers Fancy Dairy Products.  He was excited to share many samples of his flavorful cheeses, and convinced us to pick up a few to take home. After that, I headed to the place with the longest line, the Market Lunch, to find out why they were so popular. It seemed that most customers were either getting the Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes or the Softshell Crab Sandwich. Since it was summer, I had to go for the softshell crab, and was not disappointed. Next time will try the pancakes!