Taste of Philly Food Tour

Insider’s Guide to Philly

Recession-busting Philly Travel Tips from the Owner of Philly’s Most Affordable Food Tour

1. Take the local train to and from the Airport. The R-1 train picks up at all the airport terminals and has three dropoffs in the heart of Center City Philly. Then get around Philly on one of SEPTA’s one-day convenience passes for $6, $10 or $25 (the latter covers unlimited bus/train/subway/trolley rides for a family of five, including your train ride in from the airport). The passes can’t be purchased at the airport but if you present your receipt from the R-1 at a SEPTA ticket counter at one of the downtown stations it will be credited when you buy your pass. These are great deals considering that a single bus or subway ride is $2, and that the train ticket from the airport is $7, as is the minimum price of a single local cab ride to/from anywhere in Center City. Or, if you’re 65 or over, just show your Medicare card for free SEPTA bus/train/trolley rides and $1 train rides.

2. Score a $10 “community rush” seat to a Philadelphia Orchestra concert at the Kimmel Center as well as any other events listed on the Kimmel Web site as “Kimmel Center Presents.” Sales begin at 11:30 a.m. for matinees and 5:30 p.m. for evening concerts but seats are limited so you should plan on getting in this line 30 minutes to an hour before that, one ticket per person. (The sales usually end by 6 p.m. so you’ll have time to grab dinner before the show.) The Academy of Music just down the street also has a rush program for their Broadway series with some $28 seats released at the box office two hours before performances that are not already sold out. Call 215-893-1999 for more info on either program.

3. Make a day excursion to New York City for as little as $3 roundtrip (processing fees included) on a spiffy new Bolt or Mega bus, departing right across the street from 30th Street rail station (Mega also stops at the Visitors Center). Must purchase these nonrefundable tickets online (BoltBus.com or MegaBus.com) and the further ahead you make your reservation, the better the chances of snagging the $3 seats. Their more typical fares of $18 to $32 roundtrip depending on demand are still not that expensive and less hassle than the train.

4. If you’re in town the first week of the month plan your Philadelphia Museum of Art visit for that first Sunday when admission is pay-as-you-wish instead of the usual $16. Or visit on Friday afternoons, when regular admission includes a free world-class jazz concert in the Great Stair Hall from about 6 to 9 p.m. See PhilaMuseum.org for the current schedule. The Institute of Contemporary Art in West Philly is open Wednesdays to Sundays and always free.

5. Get nosebleed seats for an Opera Company of Philadelphia performance in the beautiful Academy of Music building for $10 or only a little more than the price of a movie ticket. (Service charge is only $2 more if you buy in person at the Academy of Music or Kimmel box office – higher if by phone or online.) See OperaPhilly.org for performance schedule.

6. If you’re going to be in town on a Friday at noon and like indie rock/blues/roots or folk music visit progressive rock station XPN.org or call them at 800-565-WXPN to sign up for the free weekly Live at Noon concert at World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St. in West Philly. Past performers have included the Indigo Girls, Loudon Wainwright, Dr. Dog, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Osborne as well as less well-known but talented up-and-comers.

7. After Saturday’s Taste of Philly food tour and lunch at the Market, continue your Philly food education by attending the free 2 p.m. Saturday cooking demo with a local restaurant chef at Foster’s Homeware at 33 N. Third St. (about a 15-minute walk from the Market). But arrive early as seating is very limited and there are no reservations. Visit ShopFosters.com for current schedule.

8. The Curtis Institute on Rittenhouse Square is one of the best music schools in the country, producing musical legends like Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Lang Lang and Hilary Hahn. See America’s future classical music stars today at one of the Curtis Institute’s free student recitals, held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday when school is in session. Get this week’s schedule at Curtis.edu or by calling 215-893-5261.

9. Breakfast on the coffee preferred by Martha Stewart, Daniel Boulud, Jeans-Georges Vongerichten and other renown foodies along with some delicious flaky pastry while soaking up Philly’s hippest coffeehouse scene at La Colombe coffeehouse, 130 S. 19th St. Cost: less than $5.

10. Lunch on one of Philly’s famous hoagies at Chickie’s Deli on Federal in South Philly or Primos at 2043 Chestnut St. in Center City or one of Philly’s even more famous cheesesteaks from Sonny’s, Campo’s or Jim’s in Center City or Pat’s, Geno’s, Philip’s, Tony Luke’s or John’s Roast Pork in South Philly. Cost: less than $10.

11. Eat dinner at one of Philly’s many charming neighborhood BYO restaurants like Melograno (Mediterranean), Little Fish (Bella Vista), Cuchina Forte (famous for gnocchi, also Bella Vista), Chloe (New American/Old City), Radicchio (Italian/Old City) enjoying some of the best cooking Philly has to offer with alcohol you purchase yourself for a fraction of what licensed restaurants would charge (Buy your wine at one of many Center City state liquor store locations – addresses at lcb.state.pa.us and your beer at a bar or deli.) Cost: Typically less than $25 per entrée plus the cost of your own liquor. These restaurants usually don’t charge a corkage fee but many also don’t take reservations – expect a wait on weekends unless you go very early or very late.

How to Order a Cheesesteak: A Guide for Tourists

There is a protocol to ordering a cheesesteak at the cheesesteak epicenter of Ninth and Wharton, which, if not followed, can result in being sent to the back of the line Soup Nazi–style, or even worse, getting less meat. At Pat’s and Geno’s, you must order by saying the name of the cheese you want and then “with” or “without” (or as it is often pronounced in South Philly, “wit” or “witout”), which means with or without grilled onions. A correct and traditional order there would be “Whiz wit.” “Mushrooms witout” will get you a steak sandwich with mushrooms but no onions or cheese. You order and pay for your drinks and fries at a separate window.

This ordering system is chiefly used at high-volume shops, which need to keep their lines moving quickly, or other places (many out-of-town) who are trying to provide an “authentic” Philly cheesesteak experience. Slavishly adhering to the “wit or witout” phraseology at a more low-key neighborhood joint in Philly will mark you as a nervous tourist. Many of these out-of-the-limelight places don’t even offer Cheez Whiz. White American is the more common cheese default regionwide, along with provolone and mozzarella.

Acceptable cheesesteak condiments include peppers of all kinds, hot pepper relish, hot sauce, ketchup, dill or sweet pickles but not mustard and mayo (although a really good steak won’t need any condiments).

As weird and arbitrary as some of the above principles may seem, holding as tightly to them as you do to your wallet while placing your order should leave the impression that you know what you are doing, always a good thing for a stranger in a strange town.

Read more content from my "Great Philly Cheesesteak Book"