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Posted to rec.food.cooking
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Stan and Andy's Excellent Adventure III
Andy wrote:
> Stan and Andy's Excellent Adventure III
> The Italian Market, South Philadelphia
> September 20, 2008
>
> At high noon, 9/20/08, Stan and I met up at the Italian market in South
> Philadelphia yesterday for lunch at Ralph's,
> http://www.ralphsrestaurant.com/ The place is unpretentious, the menu is
> complete and probably hasn't changed much since 1900. The family history is
> very inspiring!
>
> We both had cacciatore; Stan had chicken, I had veal. Included were bowls
> of spaghetti in a marinara sauce and a loaf or two of fresh Italian bread.
> The portions were "more than you can eat" oversized! All said and done, the
> food was exquisite with no room for desert. So...
>
> We tried to walk it off up and down the Italian market--didn't help! We
> peeked into and ducked into a dozen markets to sniff around. The aromas
> change as you go past different storefronts, offering fresh and cooked
> offerings.
>
> It's not 100% Italian market. The Mexican cuisine is fairly well
> represented in the 1/2 dozen or so stores. There are some "dime stores" as
> well, selling typical t-shirts and other sundries. The fruit and vegetable
> stands don't stand out as Italian, but they're there in good standing, in
> the public interest.
>
> Stan and I were seated for a break and I heard a vendor mention "It's
> slow!" Perhaps at midday on that Saturday, but I'll bet it's too busy on
> weekday mornings when restaurants load up daily. It was crowded with
> shoppers and tourists, which were slow moving, except some sharp street-
> smart folks who were either thin or quick enough to bypass the hypnotized
> crowds, 1:10 ratio was my perceived observation.
>
> So from one end of the Italian market and back, we then walked over to
> South Street, the Hollywood Blvd. of Philadelphia and Stan's backyard for
> many years. He again gave an expert guided tour of "where and what and
> what was" on South Street. He even showed me where he lived at one time.
>
> Two things about both the Italian market and South street, if you're one
> block away from either, you won't know the activity going on just down the
> block!!!
>
> We dropped into Fantés midway in the Italian market, since I can't be at
> the Italian market and not drop in to buy something useful (or NOT) and so
> I bought a shiny, new, useless jigger/shot measure.
>
> We parted company at about 3:15pm and agreed to do it again. It was way
> more fun than Stan and Andy's Excellent Adventures I and II at the Reading
> Terminal Market. It was a perfect day, clear blue sky and maybe 75. What a
> way to close out the summer!
>
> So when you visit Philadelphia, feel free to call on Stan and Andy to show
> you the best time!
>
> Thanks again Stan!
>
> Best,
>
> Andy
> http://i35.tinypic.com/5es7xj.jpg
> Picture this for maybe 6 blocks on both sides of the street.
Sounds most excellent, indeed.
--
Jean B.
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