We spent the past weekend in Philadelphia and were so lucky in the weather. Walked all over the Independence mall, old city and Washington Square areas Friday afternoon. Here's some specific comments:

Went to the Reading Terminal Market about 12:30 for lunch. It was a madhouse which drove us to the Old Time Diner in the market--big mistake. We ordered fried chicken and pulled pork which arrived in 1 minute--obviously sitting under the heat lamp and very poor.

Stumbled on a lovely restaurant/wine bar in the late afternoon, Positano Coast. Very pretty decor and it was open to the air on that lovely afternoon. The menu, small plates, looked very interesting and we probably would have had dinner there if not for advance reservations at Matyson's.

Emjoyed Matyson's very much. Food was excellent as was the service. Not rushed at all.

King tut in the early afternoon Saturday. Commented on that in another post, but will say here that the VIP tickets are the way to go. We got ours with the hotel room for the night and they probably saved about 30 minutes of waiting in line.

Dinner that night at Branzino's. Again, the food was excellent and the service good also. When we called to confirm our 7:30 reservation, they asked us to be on time as they had another reservation for 9:30. That was ok with me, as 2 hours was sufficient time. We got there a little early and were seated immmediately.

Also tried the gelato at Capogiro--outstanding, so thanks for whoever mentioned it in one of the posts.

All in all, a wonderful time in an interesting city.

Other than the Old Time Diner you had good food choices. Glad you liked the city.

Thanks for the report, RuthMc. We have trip planned for Sept and wanted to have lunch at RTM and thought Old Time Diner was supposed to be good (Food Network). Where would you have gone if not the madhouse you encountered? Would it be better to go later, after 1 p.m.?

Alas, RuthMc, we must have crossed paths several times this weekend. I echo your comments about the Tut Exhibit. If we had gone to Philly solely for the King Tut exhibit, we would have been disappointed. However, as part of a three day weekend touring other sights, we were glad we went.

Just to add to the discussion, we had lunch at Campo's one day (Market and Second Street), and had excellent cheesesteaks and italian pork roast sandwiches. Dinner at Marra's (East Passyunk) for Italian was fantastic and was the food highlight of the trip. Had Brunch on Sunday at Cuba Libre. The place is incredibly cute and I really wanted to love this restuarant. However, the food as uneven. Some items were absoultely amazing. Others, however, were average at best. So, while acceptable, I would eat elsewhere.

We also had a great time at the Edgar Allen Poe House. Be forewarned, the house is a nothing more than a series of empty rooms. The guide we had, however, was terrific and made the experience a highlight of the tour. Having a great guide is key to enjoying this historic site.

My husband tells me it was the Down Home Diner, not the Old Time Diner. Whatever, it is the only diner in the market. Texasjo, maybe the diner you saw on the Food Network was somewhere else and I have maligned it. Without the madhouse atmosphere at RTM, we would have picked one of the many other food options, maybe one with some seats like the oyster place or one without because there are some table and chairs to eat at, but we were hungry and didn't want to fight the crowds. I don't think it will have calmed down by 1, based on the lunch places here in DC, but maybe by 2. Also, if you're going to be there other than a Friday/Saturday, it might be less hectic, but I'll let a Philly expert comment on that.

Skipop, we probably did cross paths, although we didn't get to the Poe house. I'll keep Campo's in mind because I would have love a good cheesesteak or pork sandwich within walking distance (we were at the Residence Inn near City Hall) but I didn't know where to find one.

Thanks for response, RuthMc. I'm not sure on diner name, either, but guess we'll see when we get to RTM. I already have Campo's on the list as it's mentioned often. We moved our vacation up a week to last of Sept to include Tut Exhibit and didn't see the last one so hope not to be too disappointed. Looking forward to Philly!

How do you get the VIP tickets so you don't have to wait in line?