Fact: I was almost named Philadelphia.
Saturday was my birthday (as some of you may have seen), and Dr. P celebrated it by spiriting me away to Philly for a day of phun, phood, and phine art. I've been to the land of the liberty bell a couple of times now, and I've gotta say, I find it fan-freaking-tastic.
The city itself is much like the sandwich that bears its name. The cheese-steak: The heart of the dish is the steak, and steak is pretty classy stuff from what I hear, but then they smother this classy core in the ghetto-delicious that is cheese-wiz before tucking it into a long roll which is delivered for you to adorn with the condiments of your choosing. Philly for its part has lot of new world elegance to it. It is the cradle of our nation, and the streets and structures reflect that. But anyone who has been there can tell you that Philly's also got its own wiz goin on. The bread is in the location, so convenient to so many places people want to go, whether it be DC, NYC, Baltimore, or even the Jersey Shore. But the real beauty of the city is not in the parts, you have to accept that it's a cheese-steak, which is to say you have to enjoy it whole. If you eat a cheese-steak expecting just steak, you'll be disappointed and confused. But if you sink your teeth in--and maybe even add some relish and hot sauce--there's a good chance you'll become addicted.
*I'm currently on a train to NYC, and the internet gods are not cooperating with my attempts to upload pictures, so they'll be coming later.
