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The Italian Market AKA South 9th Street Curb Market - Outdoor Market in Bella Vista


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Thanks! And one more Philly question - any farmers' markets worth going to on Saturday or Sunday?

The Italian Market on South Street is on my must visit list every time I go to Philly. The butchers, sausage shops and all around feel of the place makes me very happy. Very good prices. Very cool people. Better than Eataly (and I like Eataly).

Not organic. Atmospheric. Think Rocky. Bring a cooler, you might need it.

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If you get a chance, head down to the Italian Market and go to Di Bruno Brothers. Lots of cheeses and meats, get whatever is to your liking, and some bread, and sit in the parking lot in front of the huge Frank Rizzo and Di Bruno Brothers murals. Now THAT is a VERY Philadelphia thing to do.

We took a quick trip to Philly in late December and had a great time, thanks in large part to the information in this thread. I see that MDT already has posted about the Rittenhouse location of DiBruno's and that's a great idea. If you feel like exploring more of DiBruno's and more stores like it, I'd recommend a visit to the Italian market in South Philly. It's an outdoor market (well, really many, many shops lining a few streets) and is incredible. I do not know if SEPTA stops there, but I'm fairly certain a bus would get you there. Incredible shops and wonderful food and housewares and it has a real "market" feel. It's also great fun to see each shop and the differences among the various butchers and shops. I'm still kicking myself for not bringing back some cheese from a few of the stores. Yummy foods.

And, if your not familiar with the area, DiBruno Bros. is a wonderful Italian market that makes not only my mouth water, but my eyes as well. Grab a pannini and a cafe table outside and enjoy the people watching. Or get some cheese and salumi and grab some grass in Rittenhouse Square. http://www.dibruno.com/

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Every time we go to Philly, we always time it so we check out of our hotel Saturday morning, drive down and park on Washington Avenue and hit our spots around the Italian Market.  For some reason this ritual makes me so happy.  First stop is the Center City Pretzel Company, open 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays, to get a big stack of soft pretzels (a couple to munch on, the rest to put in ziplocs and freeze).

We cross Washington Avenue and start making our way up S. 9th Street in the Italian Market proper.  Our boys love looking at both the curbside vegetable stalls as well as the store windows, with the best part of course watching and listening to the south Philly vendors and customers; very exotic to these central VA boys.  First stop is Cappuccio's Meats, which has an incredible variety of linked housemade sausage.  The signature one we always get is the pork, broccoli rabe and provolone, which is always unbelivably tasty and of course an encapsulation of Philly's true signature sandwich.  This place is small, old-school, and not very pretty, but product and service are great.

Next stop is Tortilleria San Roman, which makes fresh tortillas right before you and always gives you a mini stack of free  tortillas just off the griddle to dip into the three salsas they sell (red, green, and pico de gallo).  Their tortilla chips are delicious as well, which they sell in a variety of sized bags.

Still chewing, we cross the street to hit the two main Italian food emporiums, DiBruno's and Claudio's House of Cheese.  The service is slightly friendlier at Claudio's but both are very free with free samples of their cheese and charcuterie.  The two are amazing places where I load up on pasta, meats and cheeses that I can't get in this form back in Charlottesville and certainly not seasoned with that great south Philly attitude.

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