Friends, Food, Mafia–a Philly/Delaware Homecoming!

It was a good weekend to go back to Philadelphia and Wilmington.  Fueled with coffee and excitement of what awaited, we drove through the night from suburban Boston to the Delaware Valley.  Right around the crack of dawn the children stirred in the backseat and all but demanded we pull over for food.  So I picked a popular South Philadelphia diner.  I won’t name it, because I don’t want to be libelous.

There were several uniformed Philly and Delaware Port Authority Cops having breakfast up front.  In the back there were three goodfella guys who fussed over my girls when Jean took them to the bathroom.  “Youse girls are beautyful,” one of the toughguys said leaning in for a closer look.

“Who were those guys in the back?” Jean asked when she got back to the table,  “do you think they’re off-duty cops?”

“No.  Let’s put it this way, they’re probably the kind of guys the police will have an eye on as soon as they leave the place.”

So my family met the South Philly version of The Sopranos.

“Well if the police know who they are and what they do, why don’t they go back and question them?”

“Because they’re all having breakfast.  Everyone is entitled to an uninterrupted breakfast.  This is a kind of safe territory for everyone–good guys and bad guys.”

After the bite to eat in South Philly we rolled into Delaware where I did two book signings for The Marrow in Me at Barnes and Noble stores, and caught up with dear friends.  I must admit I was surprised at how many follow what I write on my blog–especially the Kennedy Family of North Wilmington.   That’s cool, I’m glad I’m not typing for nothing.  And it’s encouraging to find what I think is cool is shared. 

As promised we crashed with the Simon family in Webster Farm.  They are lovely people, Barb and Gary are.  It was great to see all of our favorite neighbors later that evening.  Thank you for coming out. 

 The snow was worse than we thought.  There’s no place to put it all.  Some of those snow mountains in the parking lots will be there till June.  Driving down Marcella Road in Webster Farm was like driving through a tunnel.  You could hardly see over the snowbanks on the side of the road.   

And just like it was when I first moved away from the Delaware Valley to start college; in addition to catching up with friends during return visits, it was very important to fill up on Philadelphia favorites: pizza, cheesesteaks and hoagies. 

Lee's Hoagie House. For my money the best hoagies in the Philadelphia area.

 We had them all in a 24-hour window.  It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.  Always does.  But when returned to the gym this morning, I felt like I had crude oil coursing through my veins.   Philly food may not be good for the body, but I’ll tell you this, it’s always good for the soul.

Any food you must have when you visit a particular place?   Add a comment to share it with us.