Philly Favorites

Filled with restaurants, museums, bars, sports arenas, festivals and parks, you will never be bored in Philadelphia. As one of America’s most historical and iconic cities, the Spirit of ‘76 beckons visitors to Old City, where you’ll find Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the National Constitution Center, and other sites. But Philly offers much more, so much that I’m forced to break blogging law and list more than ten of our favorite things about Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary

*Halloween Nights at Eastern State Pennitentiary*

Think of Halloween Nights as a Halloween party and haunted house rolled into one, set on the creepiest site in Philadelphia, where Al Capone’s ghost may join the festivities. If you like dancing skeletons, basked in an eerie purple glow, great food and fun frights, you will love Halloween Nights. This is at the bottom of our list only because it comes around only once a year.

Snow Goose Migration

Speaking of once-a-year spectacles, the Snow Goose migration is unforgettable. Up to 100,000 white-and-black geese rest in eastern Pennsylvania on their race north to find the best homes to rear chicks in the northern tundra. They are literal art-in-motion when they take flight, circling the reservoir in fluid waves. This is one of nature’s most wonderous spectacles and is only about a 90-minute journey from the city center.

Wilbur Chocolate

Twenty-minutes north of Middlecreek WMA is Wilbur Chocolate—but honestly, is any journey too long for good chocolate? Wilbur is Pennsylvania’s older and lesser known, but far superior chocolate purveyor. If you like brown wax then you will like Hershey. If you like chocolate, go to Wilbur.

Gay Bingo

Back in the city, spend an evening with the Bingo Verifying Divas, or BVDs for short. They are wild. They are zany. They dance to Lady Gaga between intense bingo rounds. And they are raising funds for AIDS victims. They are a blast every time.

Pop Up Cafe

Cheesesteaks are certainly Philadelphia’s most iconic food, like Chicago style deep-dish or a New York slice. But for me, any sandwich that makes tofu great deserves recognition. Pop Up Cafe’s lemon-grass tofu Banh Mi wasn’t just good in a tallest-mountain-in-Kansas sort of way. The citrus, salty tofu paired perfectly with the crispy baguette and sour, crunchy vegetables.

Rodin Museum

Of all Philadelphia museums, the Rodin museum was our favorite. Rodin’s art speaks for itself, but next to a porta-potty The Thinker might have less appeal. Fortunately, this museum’s curation is both intimate and accessible. It offers free, small-group, exhibition tours and admission on and affordable suggested donation, making these stunning artistic statements available to everyone, rich or poor, artist or non-artist, alike.

Reading Terminal Market

Is it touristy? Yes. But tourist destinations are popular for a reason. If Paris had shitty food and awful art, it wouldn’t be . . . well . . . the Paris, unlike those in Idaho, Texas and some other midwestern states. In Philadelphia, some great food is packed in a little over 1.5 acres (7000 square meters). Inside you will find everything from Amish made donuts to Cajun gumbo to amazing Georgian cheese boats.

North Wales Food

North Wales isn’t as synonymous with good pizza and bagels as New York City. Still, somehow our favorites of both are together in this little borough in Montgomery County. Tony’s Pizza Palace makes a killer New York style pie, and Everything Bagel makes the best bagels this side of the Hudson. With a bakery, library, and community park all within a few blocks, North Wales makes a great place to spend from breakfast through dinner.

The Phillies

Don’t tell Benjamin Franklin, but a lot has changed since 1776. For all its museums, history, world class schools and leadership in the arts and sciences, Philadelphia is fundamentally a sports town now, and with teams like the Phillies it’s easy to see why. I get goosebumps when fifty-thousand people simultaneously roar, watching the ball arcing away from home plate, a walk-off home-run double. That feeling is . . well, electric. We used to go to AAA ball for fun. The Phillies made me a fan.

Wawa

American convenience store rivalries are getting intense. I’ve been to Buc-ee’s. I lived in Sheetz territory. I’ve lived in Maverick territory. There’s Flying J and Turkey Hill and 7-11. But in comparison, Wawa is a revelation. They have good food and clean bathrooms, same as any real contender. Their hoagies stand-up to the best in Philly, considering cost and convenience. But Wawa’s masterpiece is the coffee bar. Wawa understands that on my way to work in the morning, I need a coffee, a good coffee, fast, affordable, and maybe with some breakfast. I don’t want dishwater. And I don’t want a freakin’ sundae. I want a coffee.

Eat a Cheesesteak if you want. Wait in line for the Liberty Bell. Buy a Phillies hat, even. For me, nothing is more quintessentially Philly or better than Wawa.

John W. Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

In any major city, greenspace can be hard to find. Philadelphia’s potholes alone are enough to drive one mad, sending us fleeing to the wilderness, seeking refuge. So, touching grass is essential for a peaceful repreive. And America’s 8th largest metro area does not disappoint, boasting an entire network of parks and trails, throughout the region, Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square, FDR Park, and the Wissahickon Trail just to name a few. Fairmount Park is more than twice the size of Manhattan’s more famous Central Park.

The best of all? Founded in 1972, John W. Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum is America’s first urban wildlife refuge. Ten minutes from the Philadelphia International Airport, abutting urban townhomes on one side and I-95 on another, John Heinz NWR is nothing short of an urban oasis for humans, mammals, fish, and birds, featuring over 10 miles of walking trails, and millions of birds during migration seasons in the spring and fall, representing up to 300 unique species.

Sure, you’ll see and plane occasionally fly over. But when you see an Osprey dive for a fish, you won’t care about the plane.

Straub Brewery

Out in Pennsylvania’s wilds, 5 hours from Philadelphia, 2 hours from Pittsburgh, you will find Straub Brewery, one of the oldest continuously operated breweries in America. They offer an Eternal Tap, brewery tours and live events, like bluegrass musicians and polka festivals. We fell in love with a local band here, Co. Townes. Most importantly, Straub makes the best amber lager, and several other fine varieties. Plan an extended weekend in St. Mary’s.

Hawk Mountain & Birds and Brews

Also out on Pennsylvania’s wild country, near Hamburg, sits a raptor thoroughfare. Literally thousands of hawks, eagles, and falcons pass by a single outcropping situated atop Hawk Mountain every year. To commemorate the start of migration, the conservation society which runs Hawk Mountain sponsors an annual beer tasting festival in August, with live music and raptor education. Even for non-avian-enthusiasts, Birds and Brews is always a fun foamy festival in the forest, away from the city in cool mountain air.