Philadelphia Specialty

The goal of this Old Town gem is to introduce a whole new generation of sweet-teeth to the traditional ice cream soda fountain experience. As with their candy-focused venture, Shane, the Berley brothers looked to the past for inspiration for both the décor (Art Deco-ish, with an antique bar and tin walls) and the menu (milkshakes, sundaes, house-made waffle cones). Try a phosphate soda or one of the classic banana splits (there are currently three on the menu).

Todd Carmichael has coffee in his roots. Well before founding La Colombe in Philly, a boutique coffee company and café that has sparked a sort of coffee revolution, with its canned draft lattes and pure black varieties, he lived in Seattle where he worked at a café that later became Starbucks. The businessman and traveler partnered with JP Iberti to start La Colombe with the goal of bringing sustainable, good coffee to the masses. In Philly, you can sip their brews at their locations in Fishtown, Rittenhouse Square (their first brick-and-mortar shop), Dilworth Plaza, and Independence Mall. Not in the city? They’re also in Boston, NYC, Chicago, DC, and LA, as well as on the shelves at various health food stores.

What’s a Philly-style bagel? According to bakers Collin Shapiro and Jonathon Zilber, it’s boiling the dough in beer-spiked water. The resulting bagel is crispy on the outside and pillow-y on the inside with a delicate malty flavor. For purists, have your sesame, poppy, garlic, onion, salt, everything, or plain bagel simply toasted with spread (smoked salmon is a favorite). For the adventurous, there are bagel sandwiches—from hummus and veggie to BLT.

An old-timey candy shop at first glance, recently, the new Shane Candies has been carefully restored (by the brother team behind Franklin Fountain) to mirror the original confectionary—in business on and off since 1863. Their claim to fame: “clear toy” candies, made right on site, where they also craft bonbons, fudge, perfect marshmallow hot chocolate, and so much more, from scratch.

In an intimate, 16-seat exhibition space, local chefs like Malik Ali of the Dutch, Matt Kemp of Shoon Sushi, and Peter Scarola of R2L put their cooking skills to work on a monthly basis. (See the full list of classes here.) The retail arm stocks an exhaustive assortment of cookbooks, kitchen gadgetry for every skill level, plus produce from Fishtown-based Green Aisle Grocery.

If you had to describe an ice cream shop as “cute as a button” this would be it: Here, in a pocket of Fishtown, husband-and-wife duo Andy and Jen Satinsky lovingly churn out French-style ice cream one batch at a time. The organic cream comes from Seven Stars Farm in Chester County and the eggs from nearby Sandy Ridge—plus they’ll incorporate fresh and in-season ingredients, so no two batches are totally alike. This summer, standouts included blueberry breakfast (cinnamon toast oat ice cream plus blueberry swirl) and summer jam, a chocolate ice cream with marshmallow fluff. The ice cream sandwiches, like blueberry on a cardamom graham cracker are pretty epic, too.

This year-round farmers' market features more than 40 local vendors offering some of the best produce from the surrounding area. Located in the historic Society Hill neighborhood and Run by The Food Trust, a Philly-based non-profit that works to make fresh, healthy food accessible in the city, this is one of Philly's largest and most popular markets. There's also several food trucks–including on not-to-be-missed lemonade stand–parked within the mix.

Ultimo was early to the Philadelphia coffee scene and remains a favorite, in part because they keep things fun with tastings and coffee competitions. The original location, in the Newbold neighborhood, shares a roof with a specialty craft beer shop called Brew—a setup as perfectly hip as it sounds. (Ultimo now has a roastery/lab in this neighborhood, too.) The second spot is just a couple miles north in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood.

Ultimo was early to the Philadelphia coffee scene and remains a favorite, in part because they keep things fun with tastings and coffee competitions. The original location, in the Newbold neighborhood, shares a roof with a specialty craft beer shop called Brew—a setup as perfectly hip as it sounds. (Ultimo now has a roastery/lab in this neighborhood, too.) The second spot is just a couple miles north in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood.

Philadelphia has a long market history, the first informal iterations having appeared in the 1680’s. Reading Terminal was formed from a few different markets and opened in 1892; train service began the following year. The last train left Reading Terminal in 1984, but the market lives on. Today, people come here for excellent produce, meat, cheese, specialty chocolate, flowers, and gifts—and the legendary soft pretzels from Miller’s Twist.