Eat Your Way Through Philadelphia: Exploring Food In Fishtown
Philadelphia may be home to major tourist attractions such as the Liberty Bell and the Rocky steps, but let's not forget about its ever-growing food scene.
In Center City, dubbed one of the "nation's most walkable downtowns," there are museums and galleries for art buffs and retail centers for shopping addicts, but the most notable (and mouthwatering) attraction is the historic Reading Terminal Market, a food hall with vendors selling locally grown produce, baked goods, and fresh meats, seafood, and poultry.
While there's plenty to do and eat at Center City, a neighborhood just outside of the district calls to those looking for a slightly more suburban experience. In Fishtown, you can find art, music, and most importantly great food a short ride away via public transportation, biking, or a car. We hitched a ride in Buick's newest compact SUV, the Encore, which debuted alongside a larger model, the Envision.
The first stop on this Food of Fishtown journey was Pizza Brain, a pizzeria that not only offered artisanal and traditional pies but also the "world's first pizza museum." The museum landed restaurant owner Brian Dwyer the Guinness World Record for largest collection of pizza-related items in 2011. Unfortunately, it's not a large-scale museum, but fans will appreciate the memorabilia placed throughout the restaurant, which includes pizza-related cassette tapes, records, movie posters, and figurines.
Next door to Pizza Brain was Little Baby's Ice Cream, which serves hand-made, small-batch ice cream and also offered non-dairy options perfect for a post-pizza treat. You can mostly find creative and eclectic flavors including black pepper butter pecan, earl grey Sriracha, pizza, and everything bagel.
Further down Frankford Avenue, Fishtown's main drag, is a coffee shop and tearoom called Steap and Grind, where you can grab a quick refreshment or hang out to observe the local art decorating the walls. The tea selection includes a range of black, green, oolong, white, and herbal teas that you can mix and enjoy iced or hot.
Fishtown is also home to the new location of Philadelphia Distilling — the first craft distillery built in Pennsylvania since the Prohibition — which opened in February 2017. At the distillery, you can find a tasting room, bar, and retail store, in addition to its facilities that produce small-batch spirits available for public tours. At the bar, the cocktail menu has more than 16 cocktails named after Philadelphia's major tourist spots, including the Port Authority made with the distillery's Bluecoat American Dry Gin.