Philadelphia Trip Summary

Art:

I didn't have an ah-ha creative experience like I did in Vancouver.

I think Cherry Street Pier came the closest and I liked what I saw of the artists in residence. However, it was vacant on the late afternoon weekday I visited.

There was also a small, screened-off vendor in the corner of the Philadelphia Bourse building that seemed to have some potential, but was not open the two times we visited.

The Barnes Foundation was fantastic.

Cheesesteaks:

1. Rustica Rosticceria: 
1. The Gladiator: Roasted pork, pulled and chopped with sharp provolone
2. Marino’s Gobbler: house-roasted sliced whole turkey breast cranberry apple spread rich turkey brown gravy classic stuffing with onions and celery
2. Sonny's Famous Steaks: The Classic - Whiz, wit'
3. Campo's Philly Cheesesteaks: American, wit'
4. Geno's Steaks: Whiz, wit'
5. Pat's King of Steaks: Whiz, wit'
6. Reading Terminal Market - DiNic’s: Roast Pork, provolone, wit'
7. MilkBoy (note: they serve Jim's Steaks): provolone, wit-out
8. Cleavers: Whiz, wit'
9. Chickie`s & Pete`s @ PHL Airport (Terminal D): Whiz, wit'

My favorite was Cleavers, by a yard, even though the service was a sequence of miscommunications and misunderstandings. Rustica was also great. 

Let's face it, competition is strong in Philly and all of the above are solid (with one exception, noted below). 

My least favorite was Chickie's & Pete's, also by a yard, for mediocre bread, small portion size, and unenthusiastic service ... maybe it's better outside the airport.

People tend to treat customer service as something to be efficient about when ordering, and Pat's was probably the most true-to-expectation, but nearly every place was helpful and if you treat them like a human being they're super nice, even if it's sweltering hot and humid. x_x