I was going to suggest the Museum Restaurant itself (rather surprisingly good, last time I was there) but it turns out that's closed on Mondays, too! (I had thought you were going on Sunday.)

There are a number of Fairmount neighborhood places, so maybe someone will be able to give you some good suggestions nearby. (The Fountain at the 4 Seasons does serve lunch daily, and they do some pretty amazing food--just a bit of a walk down the Parkway.)

Reading Terminal Market is great; I do some of my food shopping there, and always have to have a meal when I'm there.

Oh, and I second Cuba Libre, above, plus there's an "old school" northern Italian place that's been in the city 30 years that's got the best insalata caprese I've ever had: Ristorante La Buca, at 711 Locust.

Amy - The museum is usually closed Mondays, but because of the holiday, it will be open on 7/5. I'll call them, but I'll bet the restaurant will be open too. Thanks for the suggestion. That would be most convenient unless we decide to go to Manayunk before going home. Ate in Le Bus last year. Any other thoughts?

Oh, right, that makes sense! (I'm guessing they're closed on Sunday the 4th?--I hadn't actually realized that the 4th was a Sunday this year. Here's what I'll likely be doing, by the way: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...altoona-pa.cfm)

For a neighborhood outing other than Manayunk, have you been to Chestnut HIll? It's got great shops and some interesting eating spots as well, plus the Morris Arboretum (and, going further down Germantown Ave, some important Revolution/Underground RR buildings.) Here's a site for it: http://www.chestnuthillpa.com/ I really like the vibe there.

centralparkgirl,
We took the train to Chestnut Hill East & then from there we walked to Morris Arboretum last Saturday. The Arboretum is beautiful and worth a visit. Will you have a car? The walk from the train station to the arboretum was 45 minutes, longer than we expected, so when we left the arboretum, we took a cab to the train station.

You MUST go to Reading Terminal Market!!! it is fabulous. For breakfast, go to the Amish restaurant and order the blueberry pancakes, the best I've ever had. As I previously recommended, you should have lunch at Beck's Cajun Restaurant at the market; we had the etoufee with shrimp & crayfish, and warm bread pudding with whiskey sauce for dessert. DELICIOUS!!

Just thought I would add that for sightseeing we had a tour of Independence Hall (of course!), saw the Liberty Bell, & also visited the Rodin Museum and Franklin Science Museum, which is fun & saw a great movie at the IMAX, Forces of Nature. Don't know if you are looking for other sightseeing suggestions, but we did a lot of walking through the different neighborhoods, such as Old City, Society Hill, Italian market, & South Street. On 9th Street, at the Italian Market, we had delicious lattes, cappucino & croissants at Anthony's Italian Coffee House.

I think Philly is an underrated city. We loved it and I would definitely go back again.

Kwoo - did some of that last year. You can see my TR if you're interested in killing a few minutes.

The plan:

Sat 7/3 - Drive from NYC to Sheraton in Phillie. Even though the room won't be ready, I want to see if they will accommodate us like last year and give us a room on a high floor facing the fireworks. Head over to Reading Terminal Market to walk around, browse and have lunch. Around five, we will go to the Franklin just for the Cleopatra exhibit, then dinner at Tinto.

Sun 7/4 Longwood Gardens - drive there after breakfast and spend most of the day. Lunch in their restaurant. After dinner, the fireworks.

Mon 7/5 PMA in morning - Late Renoir exhibit - lunch - head back to NY

Short and sweet.