Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia's foodie paradise



Any self-proclaimed "foodie" worth their salt should feel compelled to visit the Reading Terminal Market if they are in Philadelphia. It is a place out of an earlier time, when refrigeration was rare, and produce had to be sold as close to the transportation bringing it into a young and rapidly expanding city center. This market occupies an entire city block underneath the Reading rail terminal (now the Market East rail station). It's location in the heart of a hungry city, and arms length from the trains that brought in supplies and produce made it a natural place for a market to develop and thrive. Now that food can easily be stored and preserved anywhere, such a market is no longer a necessity, but Philadelphia's has been preserved out of tradition, and is now part marketplace, and part food court- a center of activity, and a place to go for high-quality food and produce still made with artisan-level care and skill. Below you will find a series of photos I snapped, along with the meal I enjoyed there.