When in Philly... eat a cheese steak

As this week begins, its time to re-cap the events of last week.

Thursday, we made a trip to the City of Brotherly Love a.k.a. Philadelphia. About 40 minutes from Vineland, it was another city on our list of road trip stops. Of course, wherever we go - the rain follows.


We initially planned to avoid paying outrageous parking fees and take the train, but the original plan fell through. We drove about 20 minutes to nearby Hammonton, but lack of parking at the train station and observing a prostitute pick up a john deterred us so we ended up driving ourselves to Philly.

I had one and only one mission: eat a Philly cheese steak.

We decided not to pull another New York and first consulted the trusty travel books before we stepped foot outside the Mazda. We parked right down by 6th and Market, so we were only a few blocks from The Independence Mall (no, not a shopping mall.)

It first directed us here, to Benny's Place. A source of cheap (we needed cheap) food and CHEESE STEAKS!


Although, I have a feeling that Benny's Place fell victim to the recession because a peek inside the doors and we saw this:

Alrighty, round 2.

We've had bad luck with lunch spots (New York was the source of bland avocado wraps, South Carolina KFC was more like dog food, etc.) but we had faith in a super historic spot on 2nd and Walnut: City Tavern.

Built in 1773, City Tavern was a favorite meeting spot for the Founding Fathers and an unofficial site for the First Continental Congress. Today, it still stands as a restaurant in a reconstruction of the food and atmosphere as it was in the 1700's.

Plus, the waitstaff wear embarrassing Colonial outfits. It was awesome.




The interior felt like stepping into a time machine - it had formal dining areas (the restaurant had 10 total) and all of the food was served on pewter dishes. I felt as if I should've picked up a petticoat and white wig before lunch.



When we first sat down, I cracked open the menu and scanned its entirety looking for what I felt should've been a sure-fire entree: a greasy, fatty, Philly cheese steak.

My heart sank. There was no cheese steak. No cheese, no steak, and neither combined. NOT EVEN A CHICKEN PHILLY?

Biscuts, braised duck, stew? What did I look like - a member of the English Colony? Then I read the fine print:

"City Tavern's primary mission is to interpret and deliver the culinary experience inspired by the customs and foods of the 18th Century Colonial America."

Seriously? We probably picked the one place in the entire metropolitan area that does not serve Philly cheese steaks.

I eventually got over it when our waitress walked over in her ridiculous white bonnet; I decided she was having a far worse day than I was.

I ended up ordering a traditional Colonial America favorite: West Indies Pepperpot Soup, a spicy beef and vegetable stew. It was delicious and very hearty. Courtney ordered a tomato and onion salad, only to discover it was only a sliced tomato covered in onions. Strange, yes, but Courtney said, "It was the most delicious tomato I've ever had!"

We also got a platter of bread, which included a traditional tea bread, molassas loaf, and sweet potato biscuits that were Thomas Jefferson's favorite.

Courtney (mid-devouring biscuit): "Thomas Jefferson had fantastic taste!"

We left City Tavern and set off for some sight-seeing. We started to walk down 4th when, of course, it began to pour rain. The nearest building we dashed into happened to be the sight of the First Continental Congress, Carpenter's Hall.

After that, the rain persisted so we ran a block to the next building, the First American Bank.

We took a few pictures inside, but the highlight of that building didn't happen until we reached the outside.

The steps of the First American Bank (as well as many other historical buildings) are made of marble. When the rain decided to subside, we were en route to the Independence Mall. I was going down the steps perhaps a little more quickly than was necessary and I successfully managed to embarrass myself by slipping and falling right down the stairs of the building.

Once I scraped what remained of my dignity off the marble steps, we made our way to the Independence Mall where we discovered all the tickets were sold out for the day. First of all, the tickets are free. Second of all, it was only like 3 p.m. We asked a security guard by the entrance as to why tickets could all be sold out, all he could say was, " 'Cuz they gave 'em all out!"

Hmm.

Plan B was to head to the Liberty Bell. That was neat because the building where they house it is behind the former site of George Washington's house. Its more of a grassy area where they claim the house was, but that it was pretty cool regardless.

Courtney: "You mean I could be standing by the hole where George Washington use to poop?"

We also found this random statue of the First Amendment near the Constitution Museum:

We also saw Ben Franklin's grave. It was covered in coins for some reason, so we followed suit.

After a long day of pouring rain and nearly breaking my tail bone, we left.

I never got my cheese steak.

The weekend continued with Courtney's little cousin Sammie's events. Friday night was her end-of-the-year 8th grade dance, and she gave me the honor of styling her hair for the big night.

She looked beautiful!

Saturday night was her confirmation (its kind of like a Catholic verson of a Bat Mizvah) and a BBQ afterwards. It was most of the Turner side of the family, Courtney's Uncle Bruce's Aunts and Uncles (Sammie's great-Aunts & Uncles.) The best part was, quite a few of them were very elderly and one in particular, Aunt Gladys, confused me as one of her great-nieces.

Aunt Gladys: Goodbye Honey, it was nice seeing you again! You must come visit me in Wisconsin sometime!

I just decided to go with it. She was a sweet old lady.

Sunday, Aunt Sarah took all of us kids to Six Flags. Me, Court, Sammie, Drew, his girlfriend, Grace; and two of their friends. Again, a rainy morning but thankfully the evening cleared up.

Tonight, we pack for Boston. Helloooooo, Red Sox!