Step 25: Bucket list

As my time in Philadelphia begins to wrap up, I am working my way through a bucket list of (mostly food-related) gems in this city - and let me tell you, Philadelphia is full of great ones! Hosting guests last weekend motivated me to do quite a few of them and I figured I could share them with you so you can start your list much earlier in your time here.  In no particular order, here are some fun Philly experiences I put off until the end of my year, and now I wish I had more time to go back to!

• See The Moth Story Slam at World Cafe Live. This performance venue is super close to campus and yet it took me until April to get there. This is especially shameful because The Moth is one of my favorite npr shows/podcasts, and this live story slam takes place monthly right here in University City! One of my favorite nights in Philly so far was the one I spent last Monday eating delicious appetizers and listening to these stories at the World Cafe.
• Wandering around South Philly and eating Italian pastries - I recommend those at Termini Bros, whose cannoli and cookies are incredible.
• Dinner and/or drinks at Frankford Hall: I finally made it to this beer garden last weekend and kicked myself for not having spent all of last summer there! With Jenga on every table, face-sized pretzels, and excellent beer, there is something for everyone here!
• The Franklin Institute and Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia has a lot of wonderful museums, and luckily for grad students, many offer discounted/free entry on certain weekends/nights/etc. Last week I visited an awesome Pixar exhibit at The Franklin Institute (the local science museum) which I would highly recommend, as well as a pop art exhibit at the art museum! Keep your eye out on uwishunu.com (a great site for city happenings) for discount days, etc.
• BYO Italian at one of many wonderful restaurants in the city. I have never been in a city where BYO is so common; I'm not sure why it's such a "thing" in Philadelphia, but I sure appreciate it! Bringing my own $7 bottle of wine makes a nice dinner out much less expensive. A couple favorites that I have tried so far include Sotto and La Viola. 
• And of course, the great cheesesteak taste off.  We did the classic Pat's v. Geno's and to us, Pat's won hands down!