Great news! I’m the Artist Guest of Honor at Philcon 72, the Philadelphia Conference on Science Fiction and Fantasy, November 21-23, 2008. Philcon’s the longest-running literary sf con in America, and I’m proud to be a part of it this year. I’ve never been to Philly before, so if anyone has recommendations (eats, shops, sights, etc.), let me know. More on this show, as details solidify….
Dude. I can totally give you some good recs on the Philly front. I should try to be there!
Come out, man! It would be awesome to see you there.
Straight up, I know I’m gonna want a Philly Cheesesteak within minutes of my arrival from the hotel. There’s a joint called Texadelphia in Austin, over on the Drag, that does amazing cheesesteak sandwiches, but I’ve never had the real deal from Philly. Malik Rose, fomerly of the San Antonio Spurs, was from Philly and he had a cheesesteak place over here in the Quarry for a while, but the stuff was pretty pricey, so I didn’t do it very often. Anyway — I went and looked up Geno’s, the legendary shop there in Philly, but dude, I’m already turned off by all their chatter about “freedom fries” and “if you don’t speak English, we don’t serve you.” No grub is worth that. I kinda laughed when I read they’re dealing with civil rights suits because of that jive. So I read that there’s a place called Pat’s that’s supposed to be really good and there’s a place called Steve’s Prince of Steaks that’s supposed to be awesome. And Steve’s has a location over in Cherry Hill, NJ where the con will actually be…..so that looks like a winner. Too bad my wife is totally grossed out by the whole concept of cheesesteak sandwiches. But man, I’ll all over it….anyway, I’m game for any good recs you have for urban food, drink, sights, bookstores, weird stuff…..lay it on me. 🙂
Oooh, it’s tempting to come down for a day to see you. I could combine it with a visit to a friend who lives in NJ about an hour outside Philly. Hmm, must ponder.
Oh wait, the con is actually in Cherry Hill? That’s even closer to my friend. Hmmmmmm.
Do it, D!
I’d love to see you. Yeah, the con’s in Cherry Hill this year, but Traci and I will likely spend some time in Philly ahead of the con, since we’ve never been there. Sadly, I think this will probably be my only trip up to the Northeast this year, so this will likely be as close to you as I get (sniffle). 😉
It’s gonna be good times…..
If you’re going to get a cheesesteak, you have to get one from Pat’s King of Steaks (which is across the street from Geno’s). Pat’s is the inventor of the cheesesteak, it’s where ROCKY eats cheesesteaks.
It’s my favorite of all the cheesesteak places. Of course, you need to order correctly or they send you to the back of the line. 🙂
I don’t know if I can swing two trips to Philly in the same year, but we are talking of coming down to San Antonio…
You sold me. I’m going to Pat’s for sure. Looks like Philadelphians consider cheez whiz the cheese of choice. Man, I hate cheez whiz, but I guess I’ll have to suck it up and do it the way the natives do it.
Check this out….I read about this today — “the South Street Special”, made by wrapping a cheesesteak from Jim’s Steaks, located on the corner of 4th & South Street, in a slice of pizza from Lorenzo’s at 305 South Street.
Are you kidding me??? Hilarious.
Hey, if you come to SA, gimme a holler and Traci and I will definitely take you out for some great food.