Reading Terminal Market Mini Reviews!

I have been chomping at the bit to get to the Reading Terminal Market.  I've seen it on television shows such as Bizarre Foods, Man v. Food, and various places on the Food Network.  It's known as a foodie paradise- with a huge variety of foods from various cultures.

Being in Philly, it does have more than one place that will serve you a cheesesteak.  But come on, you can get a cheesesteak anywhere.

So, having just spent some time in Philadelphia, here are some minireviews of the places in the Reading Terminal Market where I tried some of the deliciousness available there.

Before we begin, I want to make something perfectly clear: I ATE AT THE MARKET ON MULTIPLE DAYS.  I DID NOT EAT ALL OF THIS STUFF IN ONE DAY, NOR DO I THINK IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO DO SO.  Okay, read on!


Dutch Eating Place: This place by far wins the title of "most obvious restaurant name."  These are PA Dutch people who serve you various foods from that tradition.  I suspect that most of these delicious dishes are high in fat, loaded with calories, and otherwise not appropriate for those dieting.

When I checked out this place on yelp.com, just about every other review spoke of the legendary Apple Dumpling.  One comical review even spoke of simultaneously giving the reviewer diabetes and an arousing sensation.  You can get it with either whipping cream or heavy cream.  I went for the heavy cream, since it was pretty much milk in a cup, and I have always been of the opinion that apple pie and apple dumplings are best eaten with enough milk that you are essentially eating Apple Confectionary Cereal.

The Apple Dumpling was good.  But honestly, when everyone talks something up like it is Sliced Bread Number 2, it rarely lives up to the hype.  This is the way I felt about the Apple Dumpling at Dutch Eating Place.  It was delicious, but at the same time, not as mindblowing as I expected.  Honestly, I am still craving the Apple Dumplings you can get at the Bloomsburg Fair.

I also had the ham loaf special, which came with mashed potatoes and corn.  It was a bargain at only $5.99, and you got two huge pieces of ham loaf in some sort of wonderful fruity glaze.  To me, this was better than the apple dumpling.  I love ham loaf, and this particular version was an adventure in taste explosions.  I didn't so much care for the sides- the mashed potatoes and corn were both fairly ordinary.

On another day, I tried their Beef BBQ sandwich.  See, everyone raves about the apple dumpling, but there's more to be fond of here at Dutch Eating Place.  The Beef BBQ Sandwich should be in the discussion of best sandwiches you can have at the Reading Terminal Market.  The BBQ sauce was obviously homemade, and it drenched hot, thick cuts of beef.  It was also a bargain compared to the other food served at the market, and I should also say that it was HUGE.

So really, to me this is the best place at the Reading Terminal Market, at least so far in my journey through that cornucopia of food awesomeness.

DinNc's Roast Beef- So I went here expecting something incredible.  Man V. Food's Adam Richman apparently had been here a few weeks ago, having previously covered the place in another episode of his show.

DiNic's is expensive at $10 a sandwich if you want provolone and broccoli rabe, but you also get a fairly big sandwich for that price which could be two meals for the average person.  Also, expect to wait awhile- each day at the market, this was the place with the longest line.  Searches on the net reveal that many believe this to be the best thing available in the market, if not in the entire city of Philadelphia.

So I waited a long time.  I listened to the owner talk Flyers Hockey with the guy next to me in line.  He seemed like a decent guy.  But what did I get as a result?

Well, let's put it this way: maybe roast pork isn't for me.  Everyone raves about the flavor, but to me, the only thing I tasted was the Provolone, which overshadowed everything.  The pork had little to no flavor, and the vinagary taste you are supposed to receive from the rabe was simply absent.  I have to admit, for me, DiNic's was a little bit of a letdown.

Maybe I should give this place another try.  Maybe I had an underseasoned sandwich.  But as it stands, the roast pork sandwich here is highly overrated.

The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company- The first thing we saw upon entrance to the RTM was this place, with its various cookies spread out, all looking delicious.

My wife Michelle had the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and I had the Chocolate Chips themselves.  We walked away $8 poorer with two cookies each.  Honestly, this is a little overpriced in my opinion.  The cookies were nice to munch away at while walking around and taking in the sights of the market, but they weren't worth the price.  I've had better cookies for cheaper.  Honestly, I've had better cookies in my grandmother's kitchen.  Not to say that these were bad- they certainly were tasty, and could hit the spot of one were to have a sweet tooth.

So if you want some cookies, you could do worse than these.  Expect to pay for them, though.

Bassett's Ice Cream- It was a fairly warm day, and to be honest, the market itself was pretty warm, so we decided to get some ice cream at Bassett's on the way out.  I had the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Michelle had the Strawberry.

Both flavors were good.  This was probably the second best Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream I have ever had, the best being Maurer's Dairy in Shamokin.  Prices were reasonable, and we walked out cooled off with a nice little treat.

Bassett's is homemade, and you can taste the craft in their ice cream.  Mine was nice and creamy, with a great texture, with the chunks of cookie dough distributed evenly throughout.  Although it was "hard" ice cream, it wasn't "too hard".  Pretty good if I do say so myself!

Four Seasons Juice Bar- What is wheatgrass?  Whatever it is, keep it away from my smoothies.  I ordered a Orange Pineapple smoothie from this place, and they put some of this wheatgrass stuff in.  Gag.

It was so terrible I offer up this haiku:

Wheatgrass Horror Time
I want orange and pineapple
Instead, want to puke

And here's another:

Seriously now?
Wheatgrass?  Actual grass here?
In my drink?  Ugh.  No.

Overall, I had a great time here.  There are numerous places to explore and enjoy, and I can't wait to return.