In Philly: Staff Picks

Named the Next Great City by National Geographic Traveler's magazine, Philadelphia is a classic American city with plenty of parks and recreational centers, great eats, fanatic sports fans, a burgeoning arts scene, and more history than you can imagine. And since no one knows a city like the people who live there, we asked our Admissions staff for their take on those critical questions about Philly. Like who makes the best cheesesteak in town and what's the best food truck on the Penn campus?

Where do you get the best cheesesteak?

In Philadelphia, cheesesteaks are serious business - with debates raging about who serves the best. Alyssa D'Alconzo, our associate director of admissions and a five-year resident of Center City, casts her vote for Jim's Steaks, at 400 South Street.

To find out our other picks, click here.

What's your favorite restaurant?

It's not all CheezWhiz and pretzels. Since the restaurant renaissance of the 1970s put the city on the culinary map, chefs from around the country - and around the world - have been cooking up a storm in Philadelphia. LaToya Floyd was born and raised in Philly, and when she's looking for a great meal, she heads to Pod, in the heart of the Penn campus.

Click here for our other staff recommendations.

What's the best free (or nearly free) find you've discovered?

Ann Clark, a native Philadelphian, loves the pay-what-you-wish admission to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Sundays. The PMA houses masterpieces of Western art from the Renaissance to the modern era as well as a collection of rooms from around the world (a Medieval French cloister, a 16th-century temple hall from India, a Chinese palace hall, and a temple hall and a ceremonial teahouse from Japan). Visitors also love to run up the Rocky steps at the Museum's Parkway entrance.

To find out our other finds, click here.

Historical site?

Jung Kang, our senior associate director of admissions, soaks up the sense of American history with a visit to the place where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were adopted - Independence Hall. If the tour doesn't leave you with a lump in your throat, find the statue of Washington out front and the two plaques nearby, one marking the spot where Lincoln delivered a speech in 1861 and the other where JFK spoke a century later, in 1962. Then turn around and catch sight of the Liberty Bell.

For our other staff recommendations, click here.

Best day trip?

Thought we'd say New York? Nah! When Allison Nitch, who's lived in Philly for six years, has had enough of city life, she heads upriver to Lambertville, New Jersey, where she can cycle along the canal, browse the galleries and shops, enjoy a great meal with a great view of the Delaware River.

Click here to find out about other favorite getaways.

And your favorite Saturday activity?

Doug Lynch - Penn GSE's vice dean and, at four years, a relative newcomer to town - loves to head out to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, aka Tinicum, to fish. (Disclaimer: That fish Doug's landed? He didn't catch it at Tinicum!)

To find out other ways to wile away your Saturday afternoon, click here.

What's the best thing you've found to do with out-of-towners?

When Allison's parents come into town, she treats them to tickets to a Phillies or Sixers game - and hopes that this time the home team will make it all the way to the playoffs.

For other suggestions about entertaining your guests, click here.

Your favorite place to shop?

Ann likes the ironic edge of the wares at Urban Outfitters. A self-styled urban emporium, this store specializes in clothing, but you can also pick up items for the apartment as well. Philadelphia has two stores: one on 36th Street near the Penn campus and the other downtown at 18th and Walnut.

Click here for our other staff recommendations.

To curl up with a good book?

What better way to spend a summer afternoon than curled up with a good book. LaToya heads out to Penn's Morris Arboretum, a 92-acre landscape garden in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.

Click here for our other staff recommendations.

Your favorite bar?

Had a hard week? When Alyssa's had a hard week, she heads to The Bishop's Collar for some great pub fare and a good selection of beers. A favorite neighborhood hangout in the Fairmount/Art Museum district, the Collar is a great place to meet people.

To find out where the rest of our staff likes to raise a glass, click here.

Best food truck?

So what's with these food trucks? A Penn institution, they may be your best bet for good, cheap food on campus. They're cheap, and they cook up just about every kind of food you can name. In fact, the trucks are such an important part of campus life that The Daily Pennsylvanian has published a dining guide devoted to them.

Of course, everyone has a favorite - to find out our staff's picks, click here.