Visit Philly: Eastern State Penitentiary & Vetri Pizza

Where to go: Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave

Where to eat: Vetri Pizza, 1939 Callowhill St

So I'm starting a new section of the blog that I'm calling Visit Philly. I always love reading blogs that show the best places to go when visiting a city. There always the obvious must sees, but when it comes to visiting a new place it's great to have advice from the locals. No one likes ending up in a tourist trap where you pay $20 for a mediocre sandwich because you're so hungry. On this post I recap my day with my brother and roommate yesterday visiting Eastern State Penitentiary and then gorging ourselves on the pies at Vetri Pizza.

A couple years ago, before I moved to Philly, I was visiting my friend Katherine who has lived here for a couple years. We were eating at a place called Mugshots, across the street from the Penitentiary. I was asking her about it and she said that she had never been. We impulsively went across the street after eating and took a tour. Since then it has become one of my favorite places in Philly. 

I expected myself to be holed up doing work this whole weekend, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was done at a reasonable time on Sunday. Since the Penitentiary closes before I get out of work on the weekdays, I wanted to take advantage of my afternoon and share it with two Philly residents who have never been! First of all, the audio tour is narrated by Steve Buscemi - really what more do you need? The soothing voice of Steve Buscemi guiding you around one of the nation's oldest prisons is exactly the way I want to spend my Sunday. Once you're inside the high walls, it's easy to forget the bustling city just on the other side. It's a mix of beautiful and haunting, and with so much history! Definitely a great place to go to escape the city for a couple hours and learn a ton.

For dinner, one of the best places to go is Vetri Pizza. It's right next to the Barnes' Foundation, so the perfect place to go if you find yourself in that neighborhood. It is owned by the James Beard award winning chef, Marc Vetri so you know the food is on point. When I studied abroad in Italy, pizza was my diet. I ate it almost everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. My cravings for that thin crust, oven-baked personal pie never quite went away. There's nothing quite like sitting al fresco, drinking a beer and finishing an entire pizza by yourself. My recommendation: crudo pizza with prosciutto and ricotta or the quattro formaggi pizza!