The Italian Market

The South 9th Street Italian Market is Philadelphia's most atmospheric food walk: blocks of Ninth Street in South Philadelphia lined with sidewalk stands under rusted metal awnings, cast-iron barrel fires on cold mornings, and storefronts that have been selling cheese, meat, fish, spices and bread for generations. It grew from the Italian immigrant community that settled here around the turn of the twentieth century, and it remains one of the oldest and largest open-air markets in the country. What makes it more than nostalgia is how it has changed: Mexican and Central American families now run many of the businesses, so the walk takes you from Di Bruno Bros and its cheese-tasting counter at the Piazza di Bruno to taquerias and barbacoa, past Vietnamese pho, a historic spice merchant, old-line butchers and Sarcone's Bakery for seeded Italian bread. Ralph's, often cited as one of the oldest Italian restaurants in the country, is on the block. At the market's southern end, where Ninth meets Passyunk Avenue, Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's face each other across the intersection in the city's most famous cheesesteak standoff. The market is free to walk; most shops keep daytime hours Tuesday through Sunday, with Sundays shorter and Mondays quiet. The Italian Market Visitor Center on Ninth Street has maps and current hours. Bring cash for the smaller stands and an appetite, and go in the morning for the full sidewalk bustle.

The best way to use the market is to treat it as a progressive meal. Start with coffee and a pastry, then walk south on Ninth from around Christian Street, stopping for samples at the cheese counters, a slice or a hoagie, tacos at one of the Mexican kitchens, and something sweet. The sidewalk produce stands are the market's oldest trade and still among the cheapest places in the city to buy fruit and vegetables. Look up as well: murals cover many walls along the route, and the rowhouse blocks on either side of the market are classic South Philadelphia, stoops and all.

The cheesesteak question: Pat's claims to have invented the steak sandwich in the 1930s; Geno's opened across the street in the 1960s under a blaze of neon. Both are open late and both are as much spectacle as sandwich. Order fast and correctly — specify the cheese and whether you want fried onions — and eat standing up at the counters outside. Many locals prefer other shops elsewhere in the city, and arguing about it is part of the ritual; for the history and the photo, these two corners are the place.

Logistics and fit: the market is a ten-minute walk south of the Magic Gardens and South Street, and a short ride from Center City. Morning is best for the full street scene; by late afternoon stands start packing up. Some vendors take cash only. The annual South 9th Street Italian Market Festival, usually in late spring, fills the street with food stalls, music and the greased-pole climb. For food lovers, the market and Reading Terminal Market together are the essential edible portrait of Philadelphia.