cheese reading terminal market
Apple Fritters • Reading Terminal Market
Math skills crumble. Resistance is futile. Calorie counting, after an excellent meal at the Terminal, flies far out the window. Sauntering post-lunch, how many times does one seem to end up “entirely by chance” in the Northwest Corner of the Terminal. Home to Beiler’s Donuts and Salads (Ha! I see a line of 20 people for donuts, but if you want a salad, there’s no waiting!)
The fulfilling meal of tofu, cabbage, and rice leaves little temptation for desert. But occasionally, deeply embedded instinctual desires for sweets overcomes even the most hardened fitness buff. We are led . . . no, pulled, toward the donuts . . . but if even the tiniest bit of rational sense can struggle to the surface, we approach with only a single dollar in our hands.
That’s it. 95¢ for a ticket to heaven. Churches would be packed if they gave out tickets like this. The apple or blueberry fritters seem to be the most popular; between the two, one of them will be just-out-of-the-fryer. I’ll carefully purchase just one. There’s always tomorrow.
Cracker Barrel Asiago
READING TERMINAL MARKET Philadelphia boasts a few fantastic vendors. Regularly I saddle up to a short counter for a bowl each of rice & steamed greens with scallions and oyster sauce. Then maybe to the Amish deli case, where you can still lay a dollar on the counter and get a dollar’s meat. Don’t forget the donut maker. Hundreds, nay, thousands, boiled daily in vats of fresh oil. Mmmmmmm donuts.
Today the Health Angel whispered from my shoulder. No donuts. After rice and greens, I happened past a cheese counter the better part of a city block long. If cheese you want, this is the place.
A few weeks ago, the local grocer’s featured a seasonal Cracker Barrel offering, Asiago. A very interesting flavor. Cracker Barrel will sell you a chunk for a fifth of the cheese counter’s price. It is a decent offering. Pairs nicely with olives, pepperoncini, maybe a few crackers.
If you see Cracker Barrel on sale, stock up! Be sure to grab a 7 oz package of chunk Asiago. Later, join me at RTM. We’ll splurge on the real stuff at five times the price. A little comparative munching. Both are worth it. Both are great values.
What happened at the RTM cheese counter? I sampled. Much stronger then Cracker Barrel. “This is real cheese, son”. Well worth $12.99 a pound. $9.99 if over a pound. They happened to have a single ½ pound piece already cut from the wheel. I did them the favor of buying for a fiver laid on the counter.
American Lunchbox 