Can anyone give me some good mid-priced restaurants where two female teachers can safely walk from the Marriot in Philadelphia? We will be at a convention for 3 days so I'd appreciate as many suggestions as possible. If not walkable, we'll take a cab. Thanks.

If you're willing to walk about three blocks you'll find that quite a few of the good restaurants in Philadelphia are located on Walnut Street between Broad and the Rittenhouse Square area located at Walnut and 19th Street. You may want to try Stripped Bass for sea food, Brasserie Perrier for French bistro, and Susanna Foo for Chinese. Each of these have entrees at about $20 or so and are all located along Walnut. For cheaper and more casual fare, try The Irish Pub a little further up Walnut. Philadelphia is a great city; make sure that you see the historic area, the art museum, and, at night, there are a few dance clubs on Columbus avenue next the Delaware River. The Hotel staff can point you the the right direction.

Thanks navislonga! i didn't get any other replies and I DO know that Fodors has a restaurant section but since we are not familiar with Philly, I didn't know "In what section" of Philly the Marriot on Market St. is located. Can anyone help us so we can use the Fodors' restaurants section of this site?

The Marriott is at 12th and Market, which isn't in a neighborhood that has a Philadelphia 'name' such as Society Hill or Olde City or Rittenhouse Square. But you will be approximately in the middle of Center City, which is laid out on a strict grid with City Hall in the middle. North/South streets are numbered east to west. Think of My Cat Wears Long Sweat Pants for the East/West streets you'll mostly be interested in. My (Market) Cat (Chestnut) Wears (Walnut) Long (Locust) Sweat (Spruce) Pants (Pine).

Scanning through the Fodor's restaurant list, I can see that it's a little outdated. The Bleu Angel, which was modeled on a French bistro, has closed. The Striped Bass is in bankruptcy. Since the 1970s Philadelphia has had a robust restaurant scene and -- I hope this isn't heresy -- I'd recommend getting a Zagat's for Philadelphia.

Not on the list -- because it just opened -- is a new Stephen Starr restaurant at 13th and Sansom called El Vez. Also not on the list is Jones, 700 Chestnut, a fun, modernistic place open for lunch and dinner.

On the list there's Bluezette, 246 Market. A short cab ride will take you to Olde City. You can fill up on great Soul Food/Caribbean appetizers at the bar here. Sit in the window and watch the nightlife. Also the Caribou Cafe, 1126 Walnut. Great for lunch. Not a beautiful walk from Market to Walnut, but okay just the same. Your hotel is right next to the Reading Terminal Market which is a big, lively fresh market that has more lunch choices than you can eat in 3 days. Chinatown will be a couple of walkable blocks north and east of you. There is a *very* good Vietnamese restaurant there on 11th called Vietnam.

Maggiano's is just across the street. Italian food - decent prices. Good bar!

"Teachers"
these are some that I have tried,although 1-3 yrs ago..
Italian: Spasso; Upstairs at Varalli
Seafood: McCormick and Schmicks; Philadelphia Fish and Company
American: Fork; Continental; Capital Grille
Mexican: Tequilas
Maggianos is REALLY good and so close. Also don't miss Reading Terminal --lots of shops,snacks. seafood,groceries --just fun to look around---Amish products there on thurs. through Sat...
2 middle-aged family members there in Oct. (with convention) and were told the areas mentioned here
are safe to walk ,even in the evenings..
IF you have even an hour or so--it is well worth your time and money to take the "sightseeing "Trolly_(on the corner to the right as you walk out of your hotel) It gives an overview of the city along with narration of history, neighborhoods and you pass by several restaurants...
You will love Philly....

What about The Redding Terminal Mkt., isn't that 100yds from the Marriot?
Great food selection and for every budget. Not a bad place to try your first Philly Cheesesteak.

Thanks for all of the suggestions thus far. Is the Reading Terminal open in the evening?

teacherD,

I most certainly agree with travler24's suggestions. I have eaten at all of the restaurants he/she listed except Magiano's and Capital Grille. In fact I was just at McCormick and Schmicks last Friday for dinnner, and it was excellent as usual.

Actually "Upstairs" should be spelled "Upstares" at Varalli.

The best places for restaurants are Old City, Rittenhouse Sqaure, and the Avenue of the Arts (South Broad Street from South Penn Sqaure to Pine Street.

Check out the following sites for more information:

http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/

http://gophila.com/

The market is open until 6 p.m.: www.readingterminalmarket.org

Also, while Maggiano's is both a fine restaurant and convenient to your hotel, it's still part of a chain. Many of the places mentioned in the posts here are unique to Philadelphia and well worth trying -- especially if you're talking Italian.

I also recommend getting the Zagat's guide, it is pretty accurate for Philly. To stay mid-priced less than 20.00 per entree, try Jones, or in the rittenhouse square area, 20 Manning or Bleu. Dinner for two without drinks or tip will be about 40-50 dollars. Each of these places also have good wine lists. For very casual, go to Lombardi's Pizza,, 20th/21st and Chesnut area.
Varalli's is a tourist hang out,, food is ok, view is the best part of the place, if you can get a table overlooking the street.
Philly is full of great places to eat,,, Striped Bass, Suzanna Fu,, these tend to be expensive.
You should consider a cab from the marriot to rittenhouse square,, $5. The area around city hall(the marriot) is not all that safe,, although, it is much better than it used to be.

Ohh,, definitely do the Reading Terminal for lunch. Get some Famous 4th street cookies,, chocolate chip with walnuts,,, you will definitely want to take some home... best cookies I ever had.

I would defintely suggest trying some of the smaller bistos and BYOBs. One of my favorite places is down near Rittenhouse, Friday Saturday Sunday. Here is the link:
http://www.frisatsun.com. It's cozy and reasonable and the food is wonderful. Also Audry Claire is a good BYOB.

Had a great burger at Rouge right on the square. And good drinks at the Continental in Old City.

My favorite place for cheesesteaks is Jim's on South street, but you can't go wrong with any of the steak places (Genos/pats).

Philly is a great city!! Enjoy.