Happily Ever Adventurous

When planning our Philly trip we decided that we wanted to try the best, most authentic Philly Cheesesteak. Baros had never tried it before and I wasn't convinced I had had a really good Cheesesteak. So we decided to do some research online and then by asking our Philly friends for suggestions.

One name continuously appeared: John's Roast Pork.

I love the signage!

It was even featured on one of our favorite Youtube channels: Worth It. If you've not watched Worth It, it's a lot of fun and has some great food suggestions at varying price points (each episode focuses on one type of food and three restaurants serving said food). In the episode about Cheesesteak, they feature John's Roast Pork at the lowest price point and it looked delicious.

The internet recommended John's Roast Pork and so did some of our good friends. Inchan and Andrea told us that it was a trek from center city especially since we don't have a car.

A simple menu of deliciousness

But they also said it was well worth the effort, so we decided to take the 40 ish minute public transport route to get the "best" Philly Cheesesteak and see how good John's really is.

We were definitely not disappointed. John's is known for the roast pork and cheesesteak sandwiches. We just got a cheesesteak this time but when we go back I think we'll definitely try a roast pork sandwich as well. And we'll go there even hungrier so we can eat more!

This time we decided just to share one sandwich for the both of us. We got a traditional cheesesteak with sharp provolone and cooked onions. We didn't add any of the other extras like peppers or spinach since we wanted to try a basic form this time.

Our Glorious Sandwich

It was delicious even in basic form. The beef had great flavor and was complemented

by the cheese and onions. The bread was fresh and had soaked up some of the flavor from the meat and onions. The portion was more than enough for us to share. We'll have to go even hungrier next time to try everything else on the menu.

The food was delicious but more importantly the staff (and I think owner too) were incredibly helpful and nice even though there was a line out the door. Everything was well organized and even though we had to wait since everything was so organized, it didn't feel like we were waiting for an eternity. It helps that there were news articles about John's on the walls so I kept myself and Baros entertained by reading and reporting back to him!

John's felt like a really homey place even though they have no seating indoors. We were able to sit outside in a picnic seating area.
It wasn't too expensive for what we ate and we really enjoyed the experience overall.

I really loved the signs too!!

It feels like ages and ages ago, but Baros and I randomly decided to go to Philadelphia for a weekend mini moon. It wasn't a crazy trip and we stayed with Andrea and Inchan.

On a lovely Friday night after getting out of work, we met in NYC and grabbed some yummy BBQ and drinks on 9th Ave and then we hauled it over to Bolt Bus... which was then promptly delayed a good half hour. The bus we were supposed to get on had a problem so couldn't leave. But at least we could keep each other company waiting! It would've been so boring alone.

Finally, we took our first longer bus together (we've taken long train rides and now a flight together, but only short bus rides to and from the city). We goofed around for a while until I fell asleep for a much needed nap.

We arrived in Philly and headed to a friend's house to crash and hang out with through the weekend.
That night we went to a bar restaurant called Steam Pub. I'd been there before for brunch and it's quite tasty. However, if you go there at 11pm on a Friday night, know that it will be crowded and loud. People were there drinking and dancing. It definitely looked like fun. I think if we had been less tired maybe we would have danced too. But we weren't in the mood. Baros got a couple of IPAS and Andrea and I each got $5 margaritas. We got some delicious appetizers to share, the Burger Sliders, Asian Calamari and Floured Garlic Hot Wings. Everything was really tasty. My favorite though were the sliders. I don't usually favor burgers but these were really tasty. The flavors were impeccable. The Asian Calamari was also surprisingly well done. We were definitely happy campers by the time we left.

At the train station in Philly Station

Saturday morning we woke up, had a home-cooked meal courtesy of Andrea and then headed into Philly via train for early afternoon. We are not morning people so we took our time getting up and ready.

Reading Terminal Market for Lattes

We started at Reading Market and got some caffeine as we wandered. Baros had an Iced Mocha Latte and I got an Iced Oat Milk Matcha Latte from a coffee shop (I cannot remember which one right now). The Iced Mocha Latte was pretty good, but I'm very much in love with the Iced Oat Milk Matcha.... I've never had Oat Milk and it was amazing with the Matcha. It toned down the Green Tea flavor and added a lot of round creaminess to the mix. I definitely recommend it.

We always seem to find some Turkish goodies when wandering

I love wandering around Reading Terminal Market because it has a little bit of everything. It's a legit market with authentic handcrafted items and foods. It's loud and crowded and in every corner there's something to see and eat. If we had been hungry, we could have eaten our way through but since we'd had some pretty filling brunch we just walked and filled our eyes and ears with the beautiful sights and the boisterous sounds. We even saw more Turkish trinkets! We admired the jewelry and sculptures and wished we were hungry enough to try the doughnuts, meats and cheeses down each aisle. Baros liked it so much that we decided to go back the following day to grab artisanal cheeses to try at home.

Obligatory selfie

Chinatown

Afterwards, we took a walking tour of Philly.

We walked through Chinatown down to the Constitution Center and Visitor Center. We'll save the Constitution Center for another trip since we didn't start super early in the morning.

Flying Dragons along the street

The Liberty Bell Center: It's high security so be prepared

The Liberty Bell

Independence Hall

Then we got in the line for the Liberty Bell. It was a pretty long line, but it moves quickly. Be aware that you have to go through a metal detector like through airport security, so don't bring anything metal with you. I've seen the Bell before but Baros had not so it was nice to go through the exhibits with him and read about everything I'd previously forgotten.

The Liberty Bell is such a beautiful symbol for freedom. I had forgotten that it's been a key symbol of protest for women's rights, civil rights and LGBT rights over the years. (Ironically during WWII it was also a way for the government to make money on war bonds... all in the name of freedom of course).
I really enjoy walking through exhibits like that.

And of course at the end of the exhibit is the original liberty bell sitting in silence.

The Liberty Bell with its colorful background

After taking our pictures, we walked outside and looked through the outdoor exhibits showing the foundation of where George Washington lived as well as a memorial for slavery. The memorial was beautiful and the foundations interesting as they also highlighted the history of slavery and the contradictions that existed even during the founding of the nation. The exhibit is well thought out and beautifully put together.

If you're interested, there is a guided tour of Independence Hall

We were going to go to Independence Hall also this trip, but time was short. Rather than rushing
through everything we decided to save it for another trip. Instead we took a walk to City Hall. Everything in the downtown area of Philly is so easy to navigate.

City Hall

City Hall itself is beautiful. It has gorgeous architecture and statues and on one side of the building is

Being silly... I so deperately wanted to run though
but it was too cold for me

a water feature that kids (and some adults) love to run through. If it had been a sunnier hot day rather than an overcast chilly day, I would have played as well.

Walking through one of the entries

About to go through the arch to see the architecture

Gorgeous architecture

So detailed and pretty

Across the street is also a Masonic Temple. We missed the tour but we did get to admire the beautiful architecture and design of the arches. I'd be really curious to see what the tour is all about.
I have limited knowledge about the Masons so I would definitely be interested in learning more at some point.

Founding Masonic leaders

It was nice walking around, taking pictures of everything. We even found some beautiful nature. There were some gorgeous flowers.

The coolest trash containers

John's Roast Pork: A Must!

Around 4:30 we finally started to feel a little hungry and we trekked to John's Roast Pork in South Philly to get some Philly cheese steak. All in all I think it took us 40 minutes to get there and it was worth it. We really wanted to try an authentic cheese steak and I think we got it. It was so good that it has its own post, here.

Ready to eat our Philly Cheesesteak

Catching our train

Then we trekked all the way back to Warminster to eat with Andrea at a beautiful Moroccan restaurant called Casablanca which is epic so go here to read about the amazing food that we got to try.