Reading Terminal Market

The Reading Terminal Market should be on the short list of places to visit when you find yourself in Philly.

Bustling with activity from the moment the doors open at 8am, it is a feast for the eyes - and taste buds. Located in Philadelphia's historic farmers market at 12th & Arch Streets, you can find baked goods, vegetables, meats, poultry, cheeses, ethnic foods, seafood, craft vendors, and diverse crowds of locals and visitors alike.

On our first visit to the market, our plan was simply to get a "lay of the land." We walked the vast building end-to-end, taking it all in. Everything looked and smelled so tempting, but we were trying to save our appetite for our upcoming dinner at Le Bec Fin. We finally broke down and indulged in a warm, and chewy salted pretzel from Fisher's Soft Pretzels. Served with sweet and tangy mustard dipping sauce, it was the perfect snack to enjoy as we wandered around the market.

We returned the next morning for breakfast - our last day in the City. It happened to be a Saturday morning and the market was insanely crowded with families eating and shopping. We ordered breakfast crepes at Profi's Creperie and attempted to sidle up to the diner-like counter, but it was so busy we could only find a single stool to share. With only a handful of stools at the counter, and jostling from the throngs of people hurrying by, this is not exactly a relaxing spot to enjoy a meal, but it was fun to watch as our crepes were prepared to order behind the glass partition.

Eggs, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, onions, peppers, spinach and tomatoes were cooked in a skillet while the crepe batter was carefully poured, flipped and cooked to a golden perfection. The ingredients were folded into the crepe shell as they shouted out our number indicating that our crepes were ready. The crepe batter was sweet and tasted odd paired with the savory ingredients, but the addition of Tabasco tempered the sweetness and helped marry the ingredients into a delicious medley of flavors. At $4.50 each, the crepes make an inexpensive breakfast, lunch or snack, but if you don't want to pony up the cash, each July 29th is Free Crepe Day at Profi's.

We roamed the market for awhile longer before joining the historic walking tour of the City. We nearly bought a beautiful table runner from the rather aggressive proprietor of Contessa's French Linens, were tempted by the "buy 3 get one free" cookies from The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company, and spent several moments drooling over the cheeses featured at Downtown Cheese. We finally managed to pull ourselves away, promising that we would return on our next trip to Philadelphia.