Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia, PA

We recently took a day trip to Philadelphia to go to the market, the Reading Terminal Market. This is a picture of what the building originally looked like. You have that big grand building in the front (the headhouse containing passenger facilities and offices) and if you look closely on the left side of the picture, directly behind this big, grand headhouse, you have that squatty building behind it that held the trains and tracks (the trainshed). Reading Railroad built this terminal to join together a number of train tracks into one location.
History of Reading Terminal

This is a more current picture of what that squatty building looks like now. Today this trainshed houses one of the nicest markets I've ever seen. I've been to quite a few markets in my time: Pikes Place Market - Seattle, Lonsdale Quay Market - Vancouver BC, Lexington Market - Baltimore Harbor, plus many smaller true Farmer's Markets around the country. Philadephia's Reading Terminal Market clearly has the best selection and variety of quality vendors. The aromas of fresh cheeses, prepared meats, and meals was unbelievable when I walked in the place. You could get fresh produce and flowers, fresh meats from various butchers and seafood vendors, preserved foods: pickles, jerky, jams and preserves, candy; fresh prepared foods: deli sandwiches, full Amish meals, cookies, ice cream, etc. You could also buy clothing, jewelry, soaps, perfumes, and wine. The selection was unbelievably varied and nice all under cover (out of the elements cold/wind) covering a city block.

M and I got some deli sandwiches for lunch, an apple dumpling for dessert from the Amish restaurant, but we of course also had a fresh baked cookie from another shop. We bought a number of cheeses from a vendor to make our cheese fondue for our last progressive dinner. We also bought 6 types of sausages from a vendor. They were so amazingly good we plan to go back and buy more. There really is something for everyone at this market. If you ever find yourself in Philadelphia, be sure to stop by the market. You won't regret it. Here are pix of the Market so you can see what it looked like and the variety of vendors there.