Press Release

Experience A Taste Of That Famous Philly Flavor
A Guide To The Philadelphia Region's Legendary Foods

PHILADELPHIA, August 10, 2005 Philadelphia's flavor is a dynamic mix of traditional ethnic recipes and new culinary inventions, well-known treats and obscure dishes. Among the region's signature foods are national favorites like Italian water ice, Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels and the ever-popular cheesesteak. But Philly fare also harbors some well-kept secrets, such as pork roll and scrapple, which are available here in the region and through services like Taste of Philadelphia, one of many companies that will ship Philly's finest goodies throughout the U.S. Philadelphians are loyal to their edible heritage, and the following are just a few examples of foods that have left a lasting mark on the local palate:

Geno's Steaks

Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC

• Everyone agrees that the cheesesteak, invented by Pat Olivieri in 1930, requires thinly sliced beef and a crusty roll, but the choice between provolone, American and Cheez Whiz is a matter of great debate, as is the best place to eat the famed sandwich. The age-old feud between Pat's and its neighbor Geno's, which sits just across the street, regularly draws visitors to 9th and Passyunk for taste-offs. Dalessandro's, John's Roast Pork, Pudge's and Jim's have equal numbers of devoted fans, and the latter will ship steaks out of town. The cutting edge of steak belongs to high-end restaurants like the Swann Lounge, with its cheesesteak spring roll, and the Society Hill Hotel, which serves up its version on round bread.
• Contrary to popular belief, "hoagie" is not just a euphemism for a submarine sandwich. The creation of Italian immigrants in South Philadelphia, this sizeable sandwich contains vegetables, ham, salami, mozzarella, provolone cheese, oil and oregano seasoning. The bread component is critical: Amoroso's and Sarcone's bakeries are the most common purveyors of rolls, and Sarcone's even sells its own hoagies in a Bella Vista storefront. The biggest of local sandwich chains, Lee's Hoagie House, has built a small empire with its special house-spiced oil and 24-hour hoagie shipping service. Hoagies can also be made with tuna, turkey and other meats, and still more creative combinations can be found at Campo's and Tony Luke's.
• Introduced to the region by German ("Pennsylvania Dutch") settlers in the 18th century, pretzels-dough twisted into three loops then baked, salted and served hard-quickly became a favorite local snack. Then, of course, there is the famous Philly soft pretzel, wrapped in a paper bag and purchased from a street vendor or directly from a bakery. No matter what form the pretzel takes-braided, sticks, nuggets and bagels-every soft pretzel must be accompanied by mustard.
• You'd be hard-pressed to find a Philadelphian who didn't have fond memories of Butterscotch Krimpets or chocolate cupcakes with rich striped icing: Tastykakes have been the Philadelphia snack of choice for nearly a century. Founded by a baker and an egg salesman in 1914, the Tasty Baking Company later revolutionized the snack-cake industry with its individually wrapped fruit pies. Tastykakes can be ordered directly from the bakery.
• Its name is oxymoronic, but the Italian water ice is a perfectly logical solution to a hot Philadelphia summer day. Otherwise known as Italian ice, the combination of fruit or syrup and shaved ice is a refreshing treat. John's and Rose's Real Italian Water Ice are age-old favorites, but the Yardley Ice House recently took the "Best of Philly" award from Philadelphia magazine for its astounding variety of flavors.
• A mixture of pork, spices and cornmeal, scrapple is a fried breakfast meat originally introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Today, scrapple can be found in luxury hotels and greasy spoon diners, and every local breakfast joint in between. Some of the most famous purveyors are Godshall's, Habbersett and Hatfield, which also sells "Scrappledelphia" tee-shirts.
• The quintessential Philly confection, Goldenberg Peanut Chews are dense bars of nuts and sweet syrup enrobed in chocolate. First issued in 1890 by a Romanian immigrant named David Goldenberg, this chocolate treat has become a mainstay of regional trick or treat bags.
• Popularized in the region during the 19th century, pork roll, also known as Taylor ham, is sausage-like breakfast meat that is usually served on a roll with eggs and cheese. Pork roll is a Philadelphia favorite that rivals scrapple, its spicy meat counterpart, as the breakfast of choice for locals.

Address Book
Where To Get Philly Foods

Cheesesteaks

• Dalessandro's Steaks, 600 Wendover Street, (215) 482-5407
• Geno's, 1219 S. 9th Street, (215) 389-0659, www.genosteaks.com
• Jim's Steaks, 469 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, (610) 544-8400; Bustleton & Cottman Avenues, (215) 333-JIMS; 431 N. 62nd Street, (215) 747-6617; 4th & South Streets, (215) 928-1911, www.jimssteaks.com
• John's Roast Pork, Wecceccoe Street & Snyder Avenue, (215) 463-1951
• Pat's King of Steaks, 9th Street & Passyunk Avenue, (215) 468-1546, www.patskingofsteaks.com
• Pudge's, 1530 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, (610) 277-1717 Society Hill Hotel, 301 Chestnut Street, (215) 925-1919, www.societyhillhotel.com
• Swann Lounge, Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, One Logan Square, (215) 963-1500, www.fourseasons.com

Hoagies

• Campo's, 214 Market Street, (215) 923-1000, www.camposdeli.com
• Lee's Hoagie House, 20 locations, www.leeshoagiehouse.com
• Sarcone's Deli, 743 S. 9th Street, (215) 922-1717
• Tony Luke's, 39 E. Oregon Avenue, (215) 551-5725, www.tonylukes.com

Soft Pretzels

• Federal Pretzel Baking Company, 638 Federal Street, (215) 467-0505
• Philadelphia Soft Pretzels Inc., 4315 N. 3rd Street, (215) 324-4315

Tastykakes

• Tastykake Baking Company, 2801 Allegheny Avenue, (800) 33-TASTY, www.tastykake.com

Italian Water Ice

• John's Water Ice, 701 Christian Street, (215) 925-6955
• Rose's Real Italian Water Ice, 5451 Rutland Street, (215) 537-9443 Yardley Ice House, 77 S. Main Street,
• Yardley, (215) 321-9788, www.yardleyicehouse.com

Scrapple

• Godshall's, 675 Mill Road, Telford, (215) 256-8867, www.godshalls.com
• Habbersett, 701 Ashland Avenue A-4, Folcroft, (610) 532-9973, www.habbersettscrapple.com
• Hatfield, 2700 Funks Road, Hatfield, (215) 368-2500, www.hatfieldqualitymeats.com

Goldenberg Peanut Chews

• Goldenberg Peanut Chews, www.peanutchews.com

All of the Above

Visitors can find all of Philly's finest foods at the historic Reading Terminal Market, where vendors sell the freshest meats, seafood, poultry, cheeses, vegetables, chocolates, Amish specialties and, of course, cheesesteaks. Those who can't get to Philly to experience the eats for themselves can have the city's specialties shipped right to their door. Here's how:

• Campo's Deli ships cheesesteaks, hoagies, Tastykakes, Herr's Potato Chips, Goldenberg's Peanut Chews and other Philly foods throughout the U.S. and to select international destinations. 214 Market Street, (215) 923-1000, www.phillyhoagie.com
• Soft pretzels and cinnamon buns are the specialty shipping items of choice at A Little Bit of Philly. (800) 959-1128, www.littlebitofphilly.com
• The Pennsylvania General Store in the Reading Terminal Market packages Tastykakes, Melrose Diner butter cookies, chocolate covered pretzels from Asher's, Anastasio Italian Market Reserve Coffee, Goldenberg's Peanut Chews and lots of other goodies into specialty gift baskets. 12th & Arch Streets, (800) 545-4891, www.pageneralstore.com
• Taste of Philadelphia specializes in sending hoagies, cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, Amoroso rolls, Taylor Pork Roll and Habbersett Scrapple. (800) 8-HOAGIE, www.tasteofphiladelphia.com.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) builds the region's economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

CONTACT:

Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com