I discovered this market while I was in Philadelphia last month. It was around noon and I was getting hungry, so I walked through the Reading Terminal Market searching for a place to eat lunch. Let’s just say there was lots of food here!
There were plenty of places to sit down for a sandwich (or anything else you might want for lunch). And there was a variety of other things to buy, from candy to fresh vegetables. I had a great time strolling through the market and looking at the booths. Here is some of what I saw:
Chocolate:
Things to take home:
Popcorn and more:
This is a great place to spend time wandering around. Just don’t hurry!
Yum! You could go mad in there (I would, I fear…) Mouth-watering photos, I love the piled up peppers (and, of course, the chocolates).
I thought that too – there were so many choices of things to eat! And of course the chocolate looked (and tasted) delicious too… :)
Great post! I love the photos. Everything looks fresh and vibrant! Great photos! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! The way the food was displayed made everything look appealing. And I’m glad you liked the photos :)
Now, I want to go to the market! Hehee
I do too! When I look at these pictures I think I definitely want to go back soon…
Did you load up your bags with goodies?
Definitely! I left the market with lots of “souvenirs”! Of course the chocolate didn’t last too long… :)
Ohmygosh! What a cool place to discover — it’s like you hit the jackpot!
That’s a good way to describe it! The market was lively, bright, and colorful. There was even someone playing the piano :)
I love the giant sign outside, and everything looks so good on the inside!
I really liked the sign, too. It gives you a little hint of what you’ll find inside, which is great!
Looks lovely and delicious, Meg! :)
You’re right – it was a very colorful and lively place!
That looks like one pretty cool market.
It was a great place to take a stroll and admire everything. And I (naturally) had to look for delicious things to eat!
Lovely market! I would have sampled everything in that chocolate store :-)
There were lots of places that sold chocolate at the market! And I’m pretty sure I found all of them, too… :)
I’ve been there and it is a kick!
Isn’t it fun? I would say that it’s an important place to see when visiting Philadelphia!
After looking over this post, I think I need to run to the store and pick up a few things. You’ve got my appetite roaring this morning!
I think I know what you mean, because I’d really like some chocolate right about now!
This is my kind of place!
I’m glad that you like the market. I know that’s the way I felt about it!
:-)
Thank you for sharing this lovely market! The displays are fabulous!
You’re welcome! And the food there was just as tasty as it was attractive… :)
That seems like such a great market! Loved the photos!
Thanks, and it’s a fun, lively market that I really enjoyed visiting. I’d like to go back there again!
What a great place to explore – thanks for sharing! Happy Tuesday!
I’m really happy to share how great this market is! Thanks, and I hope you have a great day, too :)
I always make a point of visiting markets when I visit a new city, they’re so vibrant and a real insight into the foods and traditions of local people. I’ll bet the smells in there were great and wow that chocolate looks terrific!
It’s really great that you go to markets to learn more about the places you’re visiting. And I’m starting to think that chocolate is a special treat everywhere!
thanks for the advanced enticements … I’ll be having lunch there in two weeks as I visit my family in Philly. They also have some interesting Pennsylvania Dutch food. Yay, scrapple!
You must be looking forward to that! I think I missed the scrapple when I was there – I was more interested in candy and desserts :) Have fun in Philadelphia!
Wow! All the textures and colors are calling out to be painted. Love the red and green bell peppers. So festive!
I really appreciate your thoughts about the market from an artist’s perspective. I’d enjoy seeing how you’d paint scenes from there!
This reminds me of the open market in Holland. Great photos. I’m going to switch you over to an RSS Feed and stop following you this way. I’m still following you though. so don’t think I’ve dropped you when I remove you from my list. At least I hope I can do it. Boy I have such trouble doing these thing.
I think markets are fun and interesting wherever they may be… :) And no problem Karen – just do what’s easiest for you!
I can’t believe I might have missed so many great places on my hitchike through downtown Philadelphia. Of course, it was over 30 years ago so I doubt I missed the same places you’ve shown. Maybe I’ll get back there one day.
I’m sure you had a great adventure before, and now you can keep this in mind as a place to visit the next time you get to Philadelphia!
What a great place! We have one Whole Foods Market that seems a lot like this. It’s huge, and when I realized the size of the nut and nut butter “bar” was the size of most produce departments, I declared, “The Mother Ship has landed!” We don’t go often, because I spend a fortune. But aren’t we fortunate to even have stores with this much variety! We are surely very spoiled. Thanks for sharing this great place, and I say, “have fun!” Debra
Visiting a market can be a festive occasion! And making vegetables and other fresh foods look so attractive is also good. Thanks for your observations, Debra… :)
Yummy! So what did you have for lunch or was it too hard to choose? For me the chocolate would have been impossible to resist.
I had a Philly cheesesteak sandwich there. It was filling but somehow I managed to eat some chocolate anyway :)
Great post!
Thanks! It’s a beautiful market and I enjoyed visiting there…
Great pics. I spent three years in Massachusetts back in my twenties. Love the east coast (grew up in Nova Scotia) and miss it often. We lived in Lynn first and then Wakefield and I worked in Boston. Loved the wonderful markets with cheeses and fresh flowers and fabulous veggies.
There’s something so appealing about markets and all the fresh food and vegetables! And I know all those places in Massachusetts you mentioned – I’m from the Boston area :)
I used to love the Italian markets with the garlicy olive jars and rich cheesy smells. Yum. Oh, and you can’t forget the subs. Miss those a lot.
I really like your descriptions of the food! And as you mentioned, the delicious smells are part of the experience. Now I’ll need to go back for another meal!
I spent 3 months last year in Philly working on a project and LOVED to go exploring Reading Market…the spice place to try new ones you never knew you needed, the great blueberry panckakes for breakfast, the treats of sweets and chocolate…sure wish they had one here in Atlanta! Thanks for the memories!
It sounds like you had a great time in Philadelphia! It must have been nice to be able to go to the market regularly. And thank you for sharing your memories :)
Vibrant and colorful!
Definitely! The market was really photogenic :)
Great post Meg. Sounds like you had a great time. I have nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger Award. Check out my blog post at reneesrevelings.com for the details.
Thank you so much Renee! I really appreciate the nomination. And congratulations to you too :)
Oh I would love to spend an afternoon there! Look at all the beautiful chocolate!
You’d really enjoy the market! The hardest part for me was trying to decide which chocolates to try… (They were all delicious) :)
Makes me hungry just looking!!!
I feel the same way! They did a wonderful job of displaying all the food… :)
Good memories of when my parents lived in Philly and we shopped there. Try the ice cream at Bassett’s when you return. Did you see any chocolates in weird shapes there? One time I saw chocolate mice. Lots of them!
I imagine you had lots of fun going there! And I actually did get ice cream at Bassett’s while I was there :) The only reason I didn’t include it in my story was that it was so crowded I couldn’t get a good photo.
Terminal as in “death by food” Meg? At least it’s mostly healthy stuff. I’m so easily misled! First I thought you were at a “reading” festival so I was all set for some book recommendations, then I thought it would be Reading in Berks., England. Still, I like surprises!
I can imagine your confusion trying to figure out what this place was! All of your observations were very reasonable, and yet it turned out to be something completely different. I wasn’t familiar with the market until I visited Philadelphia, but I’d definitely recommend it (especially if you’re hungry)!
Gorgeous, colorful photos!
You know I never knew vegetables could be so photogenic!