the junk food tour of philadelphia

My mouth is still dancing! Jeff, our tour guide, showed up promptly at 9:30 AM. My husband & I, plus 4 of our friends booked this trip back in November for $99 pp., so we were all super excited, and super hungry! Not for long, though, since our first stop was Marciano's in Manayunk. I had a bacon egg and cheese Stromboli, which was absolutely fabulous! Onto Shank's for a roast pork sandwich that was melt in your mouth goodness. I was looking around for a toothpick, definitely recommend that those be carried on the tour. Do not plan on eating the entire portion at each of the stops, you'll never make it to the end! I actually wish the tour was a little bit longer, to a allow for some walking off of the quantity of food. I really wanted to explore the Italian market near Paesano's and South Street near Jim's Steaks a little more. Only two minor disappointments on the tour, Pop's water ice was not as flavorful as I imagined it would be. And a little mixup between Entenmann's and Tastykake occurred at the end of our tour. All in all, it was a great day and we would definitely recommend it to others, and do it again ourselves! Now for a Tum's and a nap...

This "tour" is literally a bus ride around the back streets of the city with a major focus on food. The guide has pre-planned restaurants to stop and pick-up food for the guests on the bus. The food portions are FULL-sized (Strombolis, Cheesesteaks, Pizza etc.). Guests of the tour are handed a paper at the beginning of the tour from which they can choose from one of four food selections per restaurant (pre-selected based on popularity at the restaurant). The tour guide then walks through the bus and takes everyone’s order. When the bus stops at the restaurants, the tour guide goes into the restaurants and picks up the food selections. The food is then brought back onto the bus where you can begin eating. Not all food is eaten on the bus; there are some stops where the tour guests can get off. Please be aware, the website for this tour listed seven “vendors” (i.e. restaurants) that would be visited but we only went to six. I’m sure that there is a disclaimer somewhere on the website about this. Just be aware that you may not visit all of the restaurants you see advertised. Overall, the food was truly fabulous and ridiculously calorie-rich! You will not regret this five-hour tour at all for the sole fact that you can be coached around the city and just eat all day.However, the word “tour” I believe should be used lightly. The website for this tour has photos of things you will probably not see (or see in full view). There were only a few stops during the tour (most of which you would not want to stop and take photos). While the bus drives in parts of the city that most other tours do not, the guide did little to explain the scenery & buildings. Most references were casual comments about the tour guide’s memory of a building, or personal experience in the city. The guide also mostly stood at the front of the bus so those in the back would have a hard time hearing. Without the formal “tour” aspect of this outing, the five-hours started to feel long towards the end. The guide just didn’t add anything special to the tour to make it more fun/engaging. If you go with a quiet group, this may be a boring day driving around the city, but with good food. Overall, this is a good concept, but you could probably visit all of these places on your own without sitting on a bus for five hours.

Take a bus tour around the lesser-known parts of Philly, while gorging yourself on the local cuisine. Cheese steaks, brisket, Stromboli, Italian ice, white pizza... All full portions-not tastings. When you get on the bus you're handed a yellow shopping bag and a tray. The bag is yours to save what you don't eat for taking home, and you'll be taking home most of what you order. Order on the bus and it's ready for your arrival. Not much walking, although the Italian market is a great walk. We really enjoyed it, although the gym next week is a must.