Lunch at the Reading Terminal Market

It was just before noon on a Wednesday and we had just purchased wild sockeye salmon and crabmeat from John Fish Market; broccoli, mushrooms, bananas and red peppers at Iovine Brothers Produce; and a free range chicken at Godshall's Poultry. Now we are having an early lunch at the counter of Sang Kee Peking Duck. I’m enjoying roasted pork and duck with Bok Choy over white rice while Maria is eating sesame chicken. We did all of this under one roof.

Sang Kee Peking Duck

If Philadelphia has a gastronomic heart and soul it would have to be the Reading Terminal Market. It is one of the oldest and largest public markets in the U.S., not to mention one of the finest. There are more than 80 merchants that sell everything having to do with food. They share the space with vendors who sell books, crafts, plants and flowers. The butchers are skilled, the produce is always colorfully arranged, the pastry and candy shops are visually stunning and the restaurants represent a variety that is rare.

The counter at DiNic's

Maria and I have been shopping in this vast market since the 1980s, before we knew each other, when there was talk of closing the 118-year-old market as part of the construction of a new convention center. Instead, the city’s leaders listened to its constituents and embarked on a plan not only to save the market but to renovate it. The results have been better than anyone could have imagined. The aging and neglected structure was replaced with new HVAC systems. The light colored interior is highlighted by the reds, greens and blue colors marking the food stands. Plenty of attractive light fixtures hang down from the market’s high ceilings. The floor plan provides plenty of access for shoppers and the layout makes it easy to find your way around. Outside of its busiest times, such as a major convention, the place is designed well enough to handle the crowds.

A woman enjoying an ice cream at Bassett's

As market veterans, we chose our time to shop carefully, before the noontime rush. We were able to see our regular vendors and chat with them while it was still calm. As we ate, the terminal began filling up with hungry people for lunch. Locals, conventioneers and tourists wait in line at the sandwich shops, such as DiNic's for its famous pork sandwich and Carmen's Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks for its Italian Hoagie with Prosciutto. They all mingle comfortably at tables set up throughout the market. Locals with their shopping lists in tow walk with purpose while out-of-towners stroll at a leisurely pace and stop to examine nearly every stand. They all mix well with the hungry lunchtime crowd. The sound of friendly conversation fills the space.

The counter of the Dutch Eating Place

Below is the first part of a video I took while walking through the market:

Published Story Update

A story I wrote on automated jewelry design appears in the March issue of JCK magazine, the leading trade magazine for the jewelry industry. In the article I interview university instructors and artists skilled in using and teaching Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing software for jewelry design.

These instructors give their opinions on how jewelers can become proficient in using CAD/CAM, how much they need to spend, and the differences in using automated systems for jewelry design as opposed to designing jewelry by hand.

The story appears here.

Istanbul 101

The driver we hired for a day told me he has lived in Istanbul for five years. He was from Ankara, the capital city of Turkey about 280 miles away. He told me he truly enjoys living in Istanbul, with the exception of one thing: the traffic.

I think this is a good a place as any to begin a story about this amazingly complex and contradictory city. It’s been said many times but it all bears repeating: Istanbul is the only city on earth that sits on two continents (Europe and Asia). Culturally, it is the crossroads of the Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Historically, it has been the capital city of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. It is as beautiful as it is complex, with water playing a major role in its topography and its way of life—bordered by the Black Sea to the north and the Marmara Sea to the south. The Bosphorus strait splits the city in two, with the west being Europe and the east, Asia.



The Istanbul of today is a Muslim city in a Muslim country that embraces western culture and modern life. The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

In short, this city of anywhere from 12.8 million to 15 million people (depending on who’s counting) is a wonderful place to visit. I was there to cover a jewelry trade show located on the outskirts of the city, an hour’s drive to Eminönü, the heart of the walled city of Constantine in the southwest area of the city. The trade fair organizers arranged a bus for a group of us—which included journalists from India, South Africa, Lebanon and Hong Kong; about 20 Greek buyers; and a smaller group of Armenian buyers—where we received a tour of the historic area with a tour guide. We visited the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome of Constantinople, and the Grand Bazaar. The bus took us back to the hotel as the sun was setting and the walled city began a transformation. Cafés were lit and filled with people, couples strolled hand-and-hand along the ancient streets and on the Bosphorus the lights of the boats cast a warm glow as they drifted along the strait. All I wanted was to get off the bus and join the crowds.

The following day an Indian couple and I hired a driver and went to the Istiklal Caddesi shopping area and another mosque in the walled city. However, most of the day was spent in confusion and frustration as the driver who doesn’t like traffic also didn’t know where the monuments and sites we wanted to see were, and spoke almost no English. This was compounded by our lack of knowledge of what we wanted to see and our inability to speak Turkish. For example, the Indian couple were insistent on seeing the “Emperor’s Palace,” which turned out to be the Topkapi Palace. The driver and his boss insisted that it was closed on Sundays. They weren’t buying it. It turned out that it wasn’t closed. But when we finally arrived, it was after visiting hours. We spent most of the day in the car where I was mediating between the Indian couple, the driver and his boss on the phone. Occasionally, the driver would slow down, point and say, “This is very old. Want to shoot picture?”

The following is an overview of the major sites of this great city:

Hagia Sophia. If there is one building that encompasses all of the history and culture that makes Istanbul the place it is, it would have to be Hagia Sophia. The current structure is actually the third church built on the site, which was finished in the 6th Century. It is considered one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture. For 1,000 years it was the largest cathedral ever built.

Blue Mosque. Its official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, but its common originates from the 20,000 handmade blue ceramic tiles inside the building. Completed in 1616, there are more than 200 stained-glass windows that bring light and heighten the blueness of the tile.

A man sells grilled chestnuts and boiled corn at the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

Hippodrome of Constantinople. Today it is known as Sultanahmet Meydani (Sultan Ahmet Square). In the fourth Century it was the sporting and social center of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. It was a U-shaped track for horse and chariot races. Today it is a meeting place in front of the Blue Mosque and near other historical sites.

Grand Bazaar. It has to be the most famous place in Istanbul and maybe the most famous shopping center in the world. Certainly it is the most touristed. Opened in 1461, it has more than 1,200 to 4,000 stores (depending on who’s counting and how they count) attract hundreds of thousands of people who attempt to bargain with shopkeepers, who, let’s face it, are the pros.

Istiklal Caddesi. A modern pedestrian shopping district that attracts waves of locals and tourists. No bargaining here, although the prices are often better than at the Grand Bazaar. A video of the shopping district is below.

Kung Hei Fat Choi, Philly Style

Sunday was not only Valentine’s Day but more importantly in our house it was Chinese New Year. We celebrated the year of the Tiger in Philly’s Chinatown where we unexpectedly watched a Lion Dance parade and enjoyed a late afternoon lunch of food that is suppose to provide good luck, wealth and a long life.

Approaching Chinatown we noticed a crowd of people on the corner of 10th and Arch streets, near the China Gate and heard the rhythmic sounds of drums and symbols. Then came a long, loud blast of firecrackers and above the heads of the crowd were large, colorful decorated lion heads bobbing. The parade moved north up 10th Street, made a left at Race Street and then headed north on 11th Street. They stopped several times to dance and light fireworks and visited a few restaurants and bakeries, offering good luck for the year. We followed the parade to 11th and Race streets where we decided to leave to enjoy some good luck food.

More pictures follow:

Good Luck Chinese Food That’s Delicious

It’s a rare restaurant that combines the distinct and unrelated cuisines of Shanghai and Japan. It’s even rarer for a restaurant to do it well. Sakura Mandarin restaurant does it very well. Like most restaurants on Sunday, the green-colored corner space was packed with happy families and friends celebrating the Chinese New Year. The co-owner was able to get us a seat quickly by the window as a Lion Parade went on outside and we began ordering enough food to last us the day, since, as is the tradition for Chinese New Year, we are not suppose to cook or use knives. I’m also going out of the way to take in all the luck I can get in the hopes that 2010 will be much better than 2009 for us.



We began with the Japanese portion of the menu, rock shrimp tempura in a mango-chili sauce (pictured below). Tasty light-battered shrimp and asparagus in an orange-colored, red-flaked sauce that actually tasted like mangos and chili. Though it is a Japanese dish, the dish of seafood and vegetables kept with what should be eaten on Chinese New Year.

The rest of the meal we stayed with the Shanghai portion of the menu. Shanghai spring rolls (pictured below) were wrapped tightly and filled with cabbage, mushrooms and other vegetables. We skipped the sauce that came with the spring rolls and instead used the sweet mango-chili sauce that was left from our shrimp dish. The spring rolls are supposed to represent wealth and prosperity, symbolizing gold bars. They also represent deliciousness.

What came next is the reason this young restaurant will always be near and dear in our hearts: Xiǎolóngbāo (pictured at the top of the story). More commonly known as soup dumpling (the restaurant calls them “juicy buns”), it’s a Shanghai specialty where the broth is inside the dumpling, or more accurately bun. The traditional Shanghai dumpling has pork with the broth. We prefer the pork and crabmeat buns. To make them, the broth is chilled into a gelatin form. Then the filling and broth is placed inside the skin. The skin is made of unleavened flour that is somewhat translucent. It has to be strong enough to hold the liquid inside when it cooks but thin enough to allow the person eating it to easily get at the juicy goodness inside. The buns are steamed, which melts the gelatin into soup, and served in bamboo baskets.

Eating them requires some skill and but the results are worth it. You have to remember that the broth inside is hot so burning oneself is a possibility. It’s a good idea to let them sit for a minute or two when they arrive. They are served with a vinegar-ginger sauce and soup spoons. One way to properly eat the buns, is to place some of the sauce on the soup spoon, place the dumpling onto the spoon and either with chopsticks or teeth cut a tiny hole into the bun. You can allow the broth to run into the spoon and mix with the sauce or just suck the broth out of the bun. Once the broth is gone, just eat the bun and remaining filling as one would normally eat a dumpling. We’re stretching this a bit, but dumplings (even though these are technically buns) symbolize wealth for the coming year. I’ll add that it will never be bad luck to eat these juicy little buns. I took pictures of Maria properly and safely eating a soup dumpling.

With our financial well being in good shape, it was now time to nurture our health. Noodles mean long life so our final dish was seafood pan fried noodles. Shrimp, scallops, squid, a buttery tasting white fish, baby bok choy, carrots, snow peas and bamboo shoots in a clear sauce. Like everything we’ve eaten, despite the crowds, it was fresh, favorable and hot. Service was attentive and personable.

We thought we ordered enough food to have leftovers for the night. But we ate everything then looked at each other in shock. Then we walked home.

Sakura Mandarin, 1038 Race St., Philadelphia.

Snow Figures in Rittenhouse Square

Within a six-day period, more than 44 inches of snow fell on Philadelphia in two separate storms. With winter just past its halfway point, the city has already recorded more than 70 inches of snow, an all-time record. Most of the snow fell on three occasions. The most recent was Feb. 10-11 when 15.8 inches fell. On Feb. 5-6, 28.5 inches of the white stuff was recorded. This followed a freakish December snowstorm that dropped 23.2 inches on the city.

I’m not a fan of winter but the first two storms were actually enjoyable. The snow was light and fluffy, easy to move. They were followed by relatively warm weather and lots of sunshine so there was quick, sustained melt. Local businesses were open and stocked. It was an excuse to hunker down and enjoy the unusual events while eating comfort food. The third storm though put an end to the enjoyment. It was a heavy wet snow that covered what was left from the prior storm. It was hardened by cold temperatures and cloudy days. This is more typical of the type of snowstorms in the Philadelphia area.

Maria flirting with a snowman on a park bench

Frankly I’m sick of it and was totally through taking pictures the storm or its aftermath. That was until Friday when Maria and I strolled past Rittenhouse Square, the center of daily activity in center city Philadelphia and saw the snow figures. Rabbits, cats on the snow covered grass. Human figures sitting on park benches. There were also traditional snowmen and figures unrecognizable. Some of the figures were well formed while others were in various stages of melt. I don’t know how long they’ve been up or whether they were the result of children, adults, or both. But they were imaginative, clever and fun. It brought a smile on our faces and made an otherwise dreary winter day more enjoyable.

Snow covers all but the head of a frog sculpture

The Giant Colon

It lies in a serpentine position inside a glass case like a creature from an unknown place or something that could only be dreamed up in ancient mythology, like an Ouroboros. Or a giant snake that lived in the depths of the sea or that spent its life burrowed into the deep earth. Its brown skin is paper thin. If stretched out, it measures more than eight feet in length and has a circumference of 27 inches.

It is a human colon, one of the highlights of a trip to the Mütter Museum, which collects and displays anatomy and human medical anomalies and provides an historical context for medical tools and procedures used over the past 150 years. It’s a ghoulish, educational and intriguing collection.
The museum’s exhibits include: The plaster cast of the torso of the world-famous Siamese Twins, Chang & Eng, and their conjoined livers; a cancerous growth removed from President Grover Cleveland; and books that are bound by human skin. Unfortunately, the museum has an extremely strict no pictures and video policy, so most of images are from either the Mütter Museum Web site or other Web sites.


The abnormalities of the human skeletal system are the focus of the tallest skeleton on display in North America, a seven-foot-six-inch person from Kentucky; alongside a three-foot-six-inch dwarf. One notices immediately the oversized, protruding rib cage of the tall skeleton, a common occurrence among unusually large persons.

Famed Austrian anatomist, Joseph Hyrtl, donated a collection of 139 skulls that depict the physical variations among ethnic groups (pictured from Mütter Museum Web site).

Then there’s the “Soap Lady,” an exhumed body taken to the museum because her body had changed to adipocere, a wax-like organic substance formed by the fat in animal tissue—such as body fat in corpses when buried in a cool, moist environment. In its formation, putrefaction is replaced by a permanent firm cast of fatty tissues, internal organs and the face. Her preserved body is one of the museum’s most popular exhibits. She is believed to be more than 130 years old and is constantly being x-rayed as new imaging technology becomes available to determine, among other things: her age, when she died, and (believe it or not) how she lost her teeth at a young age.

The colon was removed from a man who didn’t quite make it to his 30th birthday and who used his medical condition to earn a living a sideshow performer in Philadelphia, billed at different times as the “Balloon Man” and the “Human Windbag.” He died, not surprisingly, of severe constipation. His colon contained more than 40 pounds of feces at the time of his death. There are pictures of him inside the museum naked with his protruding abdomen and a record of a visit to Hahnemann Hospital, which he was diagnosed as having constipation, and released. He was reported to go up to a month without a bowel movement and suffering severe pain.

Photos of "Balloon Man" and his giant colon at the top of the page are are from http://www.aliveandwellcoloncare.com

The museum is housed inside the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Founded in 1787, it is the oldest professional medical organization in the country. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is not an academic organization, as the name suggests, but a not-for-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to advancing the cause of health, and upholding the ideals and heritage of medicine.

The two-story museum itself isn’t very large, but it is filled to the rim with well-organized collections of medical tools, preserved human remains, and models of human remains. About 2,000 objects extracted from people's throats are stored in file draws. There are human and animal fetuses, sliced sections of a human head (pictured from the Mutter Museum Web site), and several exhibits and artifacts of conjoined twins.

Just outside the building, there’s an attractive, quiet medical garden—which contains more than fifty kinds of herbs with detailed explanations of their historical medicinal value and their value in contemporary medical therapy.

The Mütter Museum, 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103.