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[polenta]

This is the thread for all those who will be at the AAA meetings in Philadelphia from Dec. 2 - Dec. 6.

Share your advice about Philly: Good eats? Are some places an absolute must? What is especially worth seeing? Avoiding?

Do you think it will be an interesting conference? Are you organizing a session or presenting a paper?

[newengprof]

Philly hasn't been my home turf for a while, so you'll probably find more recent info. Still, here's what I would do if I were in town for a while. I'd eat really well. Reading Terminal Market is great as both a breakfast/lunch stop and an attraction. If you're conferencing anywhere near there (Convention Ctr, Marriot, Loews), eat lunch there every day. If not, make the trip, walk around to see everything and sample some good food. (I'd start w/ a cannoli at Termini Brothers, pretzels or pancakes from one of the Amish places, and Nanee's kitchen for Pakistani food.) I'd head to Monk's for a pot of mussels and a beer at any time (they serve from 11a-1a--perfect when panels take up your key meal times). If I were looking to spend a little $$$ on a good meal I'd go to Amada for Tapas or Morimoto for Japanese. If I were looking to spend a bit less, I'd head to one of the city's many reasonable BYOB's. Matyson would be my first choice, but your concierge can point you to whatever's hot right now.

Depending on your interests and what you can get in your home city, I'd rec the Phila art museum and the Rodin museum and the Rosenbach library. No matter where you live, I doubt you have a museum like the Mutter Museum of medical oddities. Many exhibits are not for the squeamish, but it's a place like few others. If you want to conduct some fieldwork and check out some of Philly's great neighborhoods, I'd walk around the Italian Market in South Philly or pop into a neighborhood bar in Manayunk. Great people watching. I suppose you could say the same for South Street, but that's pretty touristy.

Oh, and for more food and drink I'd go to Tria. Good wines, beers, and cheeses. I wish there were one in every city.

I believed every place I mentioned has a website. Google is your friend. And enjoy Philly--it's a great town.

[polenta]

Philly hasn't been my home turf for a while, so you'll probably find more recent info. Still, here's what I would do if I were in town for a while. I'd eat really well. Reading Terminal Market is great as both a breakfast/lunch stop and an attraction. If you're conferencing anywhere near there (Convention Ctr, Marriot, Loews), eat lunch there every day. If not, make the trip, walk around to see everything and sample some good food. (I'd start w/ a cannoli at Termini Brothers, pretzels or pancakes from one of the Amish places, and Nanee's kitchen for Pakistani food.) I'd head to Monk's for a pot of mussels and a beer at any time (they serve from 11a-1a--perfect when panels take up your key meal times). If I were looking to spend a little $$$ on a good meal I'd go to Amada for Tapas or Morimoto for Japanese. If I were looking to spend a bit less, I'd head to one of the city's many reasonable BYOB's. Matyson would be my first choice, but your concierge can point you to whatever's hot right now.

Depending on your interests and what you can get in your home city, I'd rec the Phila art museum and the Rodin museum and the Rosenbach library. No matter where you live, I doubt you have a museum like the Mutter Museum of medical oddities. Many exhibits are not for the squeamish, but it's a place like few others. If you want to conduct some fieldwork and check out some of Philly's great neighborhoods, I'd walk around the Italian Market in South Philly or pop into a neighborhood bar in Manayunk. Great people watching. I suppose you could say the same for South Street, but that's pretty touristy.

Oh, and for more food and drink I'd go to Tria. Good wines, beers, and cheeses. I wish there were one in every city.

I believed every place I mentioned has a website. Google is your friend. And enjoy Philly--it's a great town.

Thanks very kindly, newengprof, these are wonderful tips! I will certainly be visiting some of these places! =)

[sciencephd]

There is a tremendous range.  What are your interests ?

[carebearstare]

The Mutter Museum is definitely worth seeing. Although it's not for the faint of heart.

[sibyl]

Some threads to ponder:

http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,31192.0.html
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,46677.0.html
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,38062.0.html
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,56237.0.html

You can probably find more in the search function.  Good luck.

[polenta]

Thanks everyone for these suggestions, and the past threads on Philadelphia were quite a find!

Is there a north Indian/Pakistani restaurant or two that anyone can recommend? My husband is Indian, always on a quest for great Mughal creations...

[temporaryname]

I don't know if it's north Indian or South Indian, but if it's still there, the New Delhi near 40th and Walnut (Chestnut?) had an absolutely amazing lunch buffet--in my opinion better than their dinner menu, and cheaper. (And easily the best Saag Paneer I've ever had.)

It's been well more than a decade and I still have occasional dreams of that place.

[multinodal]

It's probably North Indian since that's what most Indian restaurants in the U.S. are (and with a name like New Delhi...). I can't say that I've found any of the West Philly/Penn area Indian restaurants to be particularly good; they cater to the student population and are selling quantity more than quality.

If you're willing to brave Indian food in your room, Tiffin is Philly's most raved about Indian food for delivery - personally, I've found Tiffin quite good, but also a bit uneven - but unless you live somewhere with a sizeable South Asian population and a lot of good restaurants to choose from, Tiffin should do the trick for you. For dining in, my partner recommends Karma - I haven't been yet, but it's on my list - and I'd add Cafe Spice; both are in Old City, I think on 2nd, around Chestnut.

And if you're in Philly and you drink beer, don't forget to try a local brew! Philadelphia has some of the best beers in the country (Yards and Victory are two of my favourites) and most pubs and restaurants will have something local on tap - and it will be good.

[polenta]

Thanks for these suggestions, will try to get to Tiffins or Karma!

And yes, I too am guessing that New Delhi is north Indian.

[hikingprof]

Probably too late (isn't the conference going on now?) -- but don't forget that Chinatown is only a few block from the convention center. There are some excellent food choices there.

Also, if you like Belgian style ales, then make the trip down to Monk's. It is well south of the convention area, but well worth the trip.

[spork]

I'm going to be on a weekend work trip in Philadelphia, I'll be at the Sheraton between I-95 and Independence Park (the hotel's website calls the location "Society Hill").  I hate eating in hotels, so I'm interested in recommendations that are within walking distance. I can easily walk a mile or more for dinner.  Lunch might need to be closer.  Unfortunately I've developed a reputation among colleagues for an ability to find quality restaurants, so there's a good chance I'll be leading a group excursion.

To give folks an idea of my dining snobbery:

I don't drink alcohol, don't eat beef or pork, don't like tomato- or cream-drenched Italian food.

I don't care about atmosphere, just let the place be quiet enough to hold a conversation without yelling and be well lit enough so that I can see my food.

Please no Americanized Chinese, Mexican, etc., etc.

I usually find the best food in restaurants where the staff and clientele don't speak English well.

I'm on an academic budget.


A quick search shows a nearby Afghani restaurant called Kabul Afghan Cuisine.  That looks worth a try.

Zahav looks Lebanese or Israeli, another possibility.

Rangoon Burmese Restaurant is about a mile away, apparently in a Chinatown.  Don't know if it's good though, and identifying a really good Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant in that area would require wandering around -- don't know if the people who might tag along with me would be willing to do that.


I eat large breakfasts, early, and would appreciate any suggestions for that as well.

[the_honey_badger]

I wish. NOBODY can party like an Anthropologist...

enjoy yourself!

[epistephiliac]

Kabul has an okay reputation, although I've never eaten there myself. There are a number of good places in easy walking distance of Society Hill: Xochitl in Headhouse Square; Amada on 2nd St & Chestnut for tapas; Fork on 3rd & Market. For something a little trendier (but fun, at least in my view) there's Jones on 7th & Chestnut. There are also a few places up in Olde Town, but those tend to be more hipsterish than I'm guessing you'd want.

The most popular places for Vietnamese are in Chinatown: Vietnam on 11th St. just north of Market is the only one I'm personally familiar with, and I'm not a knowledgeable judge of Vietnamese cuisine.

With the exception of Vietnam, all of the places I've mentioned have native English speakers as staff (or did last I was there), so may not be at all what you're looking for.

FYI: Lots of restaurants in Philly are BYO, so if any of your dining companions are interested in wine with their meal, they may need to plan ahead and stop at the state liquor store on 2nd St. just below Market.

[spork]

Thanks for the specific recommendations.  The menus for Xochitl, Amada, and Vietnam look very yummy.  Vietnam was started by boat people and has some traditional dishes, even though the Vietnamese words on the menu are missing the diacritic marks.  Fork looks very good too but it's the kind of cuisine I can find at a few places here.