Places for Brunch at Philly?

Since my daughter鈥檚 soccer game is delayed on Sunday (9/2) from 1pm to 5:30pm, my National Taiwan University college friends (who I have not seen for years) are driving down from Boston to another friend鈥檚 house in New Jersey on Saturday. Then they will drive from NJ Sunday morning to join me at Philly for brunch.

Is the Reading Terminal Market open on Sunday? If so, where they can find economic parking? Or do you have any other suggestions for casual brunch places that have food unique, delicious, and reasonably priced at Philly (e.g., cheese steak :)?

Thanks in advance for all your advice!

cys

Places for Brunch at Philly?

I did a little research @ this website and www.frommers.com%26#39;s Philly%26#39;s ';Local Favorite'; and its Best :

Marra (best pizza),

Jim%26#39;s Steaks (Best Cheesesteak),

The White Dog Caf茅 (Best Brunch),

The Down Home Diner @ Reading Terminal Market (Best Breakfast),

Bassett @ Reading Terminal Market (best ice cream), ... etc

I also found out Reading Terminal Market is closed on Sunday :(

Here are some recommendations at the Reading Terminal Market:

Reading Terminal Market - 12th and Arch Street M-Sat: 8am -6pm (many vendors close at 5pm, about half accept cash only) - ... Scrapple, mangoes, clam chowder, pretzels -- Amish in the city on their market days (Wed and Sat),.. sticky buns at Beiler%26#39;s Bakery...soft pretzels at Fisher%26#39;s, and individual egg custards ($1) and chicken potpies ($6) at the Dutch Eating Place... Harry Ochs and Halteman Family (great country hams and local honey)...Downtown Cheese Shop (gourmet cheeses)... Salumeria%26#39;s hoagies... The best coffee at Old City Coffee... Termini Brothers Bakery%26#39;s Italian cannoli pastries or Braverman%26#39;s will fill it with an egg challah, Danish, or other pastry... Pearl%26#39;s Oyster Bar - six cherrystone clams for $4.25, and a shrimp platter with french fries, bread, and coleslaw goes for $8.50... Coastal Cave Trading Co. ( great clam chowder, oyster crackers, and smoked fish). Just inside 12th Street, Bassett%26#39;s best American ice-cream at $1.75 a cone. The shakes ($3.75) ... The Down Home Diner (excellent choice for breakfast or lunch) --- The 12th Street Cantina (tasty enchiladas, burritos, authentic ingredients, like blue cornmeal) ---- Rick%26#39;s Philly Steaks%26#39;s cheesesteaks....

Are there any other good eats at the Reading Terminal Market not mentioned here? What kind food (that won%26#39;t get spoiled easily)would you suggest to buy and bring back to my daughter and share with her friends?

Thanks! cys

Places for Brunch at Philly?

Not exactly what you are askng for, but how about a Sunday dim sum brunch in Chinatown? Just a block or two from Reading Terminal Market.. Take your daughter and her friends for a fun time.

Dim Sum is a great, reasonable and fun thing to do. I like to Imperial Inn right on 10th Street.

The Amish don%26#39;t work on Sunday...but the majority of the Reading Terminal Market is open. I know another poster recommended Down Home Diner, but I can%26#39;t stand the place. Completely mediocre food and it%26#39;s just not the cleanest place on the planet. Every single time I went in there, the utensils were dirty. Can%26#39;t tolerate that, in all honesty...

I, personally, like Marathon Grill for breakfast/brunch offering - there are a variety of locations in the city and the food is always good and reasonable. Other places in the city that offer such brunch fare are Fork, the White Dog Cafe, Sabrina%26#39;s, Standard Tap, the Plough and the Stars, the Black Sheep Pub and Morning Glory. They are all in various parts of the city - perhaps check out a few websites to see if their menus/prices are to your liking.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Suzanne

Actually, I just realized you looked up Down Home Diner! Sorry for the confusion, but regardless, I wouldn%26#39;t go there, there are a ton of better places. Also, Marra%26#39;s is great - it%26#39;s in South Philly and their pizza is awesome. Reasonably priced pasta dishes as well.

Suzanne

Thanks for the warning about Down Home Diner!

We already have great dim sum in the other places other than Philly. My college friends and I will probably will check out Marathon Grill, the White Dog Caf茅, or Marra%26#39;s.

cys

I%26#39;d recommend the White Dog Cafe. In addition to tasty food, the restaurant is a co-op, owned by its employees and focuses on healthy business practices and local products.

The Irish Pub ( the location on 20th %26amp; Walnut) has a pretty reasonably priced Brunch for $7.95.

theirishpub.com/Irish_Pub_Sunday_Brunch.htm

Food is generally pretty decent ~ Good spot near Rittenhouse Square. You should also be able to find some meter parking in the area within a couple of blocks.

I also agree with the comment%26#39;s re: Down Home Diner. It is not very good.

Hi - I just got back from the trip to Philly ... Thanks for all the advice ... I printed all the directions to various locations for the Sunday Bruch ... I met up with my college friends in front of Penn%26#39;s College House. However, my friends were too tired to do any more driving after more than two hours drive from New Jersey. So we just walked to White Dog Cafe on campus.

It already had lots of people eating outside open-air at the tables. So my friends said let%26#39;s go in - it cannot be too bad with so many people already eating there :-) The table setting was a little crowded inside, yet it was comfy, and air-conditioned. It was a big relief since we were all hot %26amp; sweaty from walking blocks to find this place.

White Dog Cafe was a perfect place to have a casual Sunday Brunch on Penn%26#39;s campus for us (it maybe a little pricy for the students :-) ... we had lots to catch up for the past 20 years ... the service is good, and most of the food tastes okay, some with really nice flavor. It was also the first time we%26#39;ve ever had ';cold'; soup, and ';pickled'; corn on the cob :)

I was a little disappointed with my Saturday afternoon%26#39;s Reading Terminal Market experience though. Maybe I have too much expectation ... I waited over half an hour to have Rick%26#39;s cheesesteak, and I don%26#39;t think it worths the price and the time I spent to get that famous cheesesteak (i.e., the meat is on a little greasy side with some fat). Also, the Amishes were running out of their bake goods. However, whatever I managed to get, it tastes really fresh %26amp; delicious. Next time, I will try visit there Saturday morning instead :-)

Thanks again for all the great advice!

Thanks for posting back about your brunch experience at the White Dog - I%26#39;d encourage you to write a review for the White Dog Cafe under the ';Philadelphia Restaurants'; section - always helpful to others to read about personal experiences.

So sorry that the cheesesteak didn%26#39;t work out as you had planned - I actually had a lousy cheesesteak (fatty, greasy) at Rick%26#39;s a few years ago and that is why I never recommend the place. But I am glad you were able to enjoy some of the Amish baked goods, although it sounds like they were limited!

Thanks again for posting and good luck!

Suzanne

I agree about Rick%26#39;s. I had their cheesesteak once and once only. I think Pat%26#39;s and Jim%26#39;s are also over-rated. I find the best cheesesteaks are from your unknown neighborhood pizza and hoagie shops.

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