Having spent most of my life living in Philadelphia, the main thing I miss now is the food! There are many more than 5 great types of food in Philly, but these are an awesome start.
What is a hoagie? It's what a Subway sandwich wants to be when it grows up. Massive amounts of meat and cheese and whatever condiments you like shoved into a hoagie roll, which are 16 inches long not 12. They are especially tasty with lots of oil. It is the biggest, best tasting sandwich you'll ever find for the price.
Philly soft pretzels are just wonderful. Depending on where you get them, they are quite large and even in this day and age they can be bought for as little as a quarter a piece! They also go with most anything and can be eaten as a snack or a lite meal.
Cheesesteaks are probably the food Philadelphia is most famous for. You have strips of very thinly sliced steak cooked to hot, greasy perfection and served on a hoagie roll with onions, peppers, pizza sauce, or whatever you'd like. If you love grease, these are for you!
Water ice is basically shaved ice with flavoring added in. I know there are multiple places you can get similar items to this, but I have never had one anywhere other than Philly that tasted exactly right.
Not a food Philly is famous for, and it depends where you order them from, but Philly has some of the best cheese fries around. Steak fries with cheese whiz or cheddar cheese melted on top in my opinion are by far the best!
I'm heading to Philly! Great list.
Not a bad list, but you left off the best Philly sandwich of all, the Roast Pork with Broccoli Rabe!
select one here...