The biggest sites and attractions are always downtown, aren’t they?

Arrival at Philadelphia International

I left the airport in my 2015 rental car and headed towards downtown Philly. Well, on a quick side note, let me tell you a quick story. I’m not a big fan of modern mobile technology, like cell phones and tablets and that, especially modern vehicle technology; however my rental came a rear camera, which I actually loved! However, the push-button start not so much. I actually spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to start one of these things, pushing the button over and over again did nothing except turn on the dashboard lights. Finally, I swallowed my pride and went in to ask “Excuse me, but….. how the hell do you start that car?” I asked with a bit of smile, letting her know that, while I was frustrated, my anger was towards the car and not the helpful people who loaned it to me. She gladly explained and laughed after I told her everything I was trying. Now to continue the real story…..

A Long Food Rival

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Before I made my way to the Rittenhouse Square district, I wanted to grab lunch, so I hunted down the famous intersection where Pat’s King of Steaks meets Geno’s Steaks, a huge rivalry in the area. I’m a big fan of philly cheesesteak sandwiches, so this has been on my travel bucket list for a while (I plan to upload my travel bucket-list very soon)! I’ve done a lot of research and despite what some may believe, Pat’s King of Steaks is the originally creator of the philly steak sandwich, though I’ll probably get some hate from some Philly folks for saying that. So, of course I had to make this my stop. I heard before-hand that this area is hard to park near, I must’ve gotten lucky because I found a spot rather quickly only a block away, and this was around noon on a Tuesday. Now, when you make your trip here, I have a major warning… Do NOT just grab a cheesesteak then leave, you’ll be missing out on a very vibrant and colorful neighborhood.

The streets are filled with multi-cultural vendors selling their produce. Numerous pubs with music coming out that, isn’t too loud, but just enough to draw you in. Most of these places are dimly lit, but aren’t threatening.

Yes, it’s true, Philadelphia does have it’s crime, in fact, I’m pretty sure I watched a drug deal go down at one intersection, but you’re going to have some crime everywhere, so don’t let it deter you away from visiting. But enough with all that; it was time for some food!

On a large corn-dusted sub bun came a handful of steak, completely buried under cheez-whiz and onion. You can get it in variations; however, this seems to be the standard according to locals. And when it’s your turn to order, make sure you’re prepared to order correctly. “One whiz with onions” it came out of my mouth more naturally than I expected. However, if you try and fail, don’t worry, you’ll just get sent to the back of the line to try again! Talking with a local will help and they even have a friendly sign informing you of the correct procedure. Technically they prefer you say “wit” instead of “with”, but you can get away with it.

The first bite in and I got nothing but bread and cheese, I stayed positive in spite of that fact and kept going. About 4-5 bites in I started getting the steak, I have to admit that there’s nothing special about the cheese or the onions which are sprinkled rationally across the sandwich, but the steak is really good! It’s pretty greasy, but not over the top, and you can take your time eating as well, the mound of cheese keeps the steak pretty warm. I had skipped a normal breakfast and just a had a banana and peanut before my flight, so slamming a cheesesteak hit the spot. It’s very filling due to the bread, so come hungry!

I will admit though that Geno’s Steaks has a bigger appeal, not just because of all the neon lights and big signs they have, but when you’re walking passed it (which I did right after eating at Pat’s) you’re surrounded by framed pictures and badges both on the side and above on the ceiling. Next time I’m in Philly I plan on hitting up Geno’s and giving it try, unfortunately this was a short visit for me, much shorter than I had hoped for.

More Exploring Leads To a Coffee Break

My next stop would be a coffee shop several blocks north. Something that I had to get accustomed to quickly was the narrow, but sometimes very well decorated streets, with cars parking on both sides on many (but not all) one way streets as shown earlier near the cheesesteak places, you can have some pretty close calls with side view mirrors and you need to stay alert to pedestrians walking in between the parked vehicles. After about a 20 minute drive (I took a slight detour by accident, but snapped a couple good photos along the way) I arrived at Milk & Honey. This is a pretty nice little place that’s shaded heavily by trees and has it’s fair share of indoor plant life and artwork which give it a very overall hipster vibe. I ordered an iced vanilla latte and it was served by a blue haired girl, it had bit more ice than I’d prefer, but it was actually one of the better tasting iced lattes I’ve ever had.

I didn’t snap a picture of my beverage, because it honestly looked like every other iced latte I’ve ever had. I loved the atmosphere though and believe it’s a much bigger appeal. After my caffene intake I decided to head downtown. I say this pretty often because of my love for big cities and skyscrapers, but Philadelphia is a really beautiful city. It’s alive and moving, the architecture is amazing, and because of the architecture you can really see how old it is. Some of the oldest buildings in the USA are located right here in Philadelphia.

Heading downtown towards Philadelphia City Hall

A close-up of Philadelphia City Hall. Construction began in 1871 and finished in 1901

Of course, there’s the modern structures as well, like the Comcast Center on John F. Kennedy Blvd with the gaint square indentation, and the two Liberty Place buildings. There are also several parks and historical spots to visit. Though, as I said before, my trip was cut short due to unforeseen circumstances, but I greatly enjoyed my visit here and it will not be my last. Hopefully, I’ll be able to check out the liberty bell, eat at Geno’s along with a few other food spots I come across, and hit a few more coffee bars! Before I ended this trip, I was able to swing by Logan’s Circle, just for the sake of my love for the show “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”!

While the downtown of every city features a lot to do, never forget about the outskirts. It can sometimes be more cultural and have all it’s own stories and adventures, and even restuarant rivalries, and what hungry person doesn’t love a food rivalry? Check back next Friday as I start my 2 part series on the not-so-popular city of Wilmington, DE. Did you know that there’s actually A LOT of places to visit in Wilmington?