Center City Bloggers Offer Readers A Tasty Trek Through Philadelphia
By Chelsea Karnash
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Hungry?
If you're not already, you will be after taking a look at the blog 22nd & Philly.
From zeppolis at (of course) Zeppoli to a New Orleans-inspired sandwich at Plenty Café to banh mi battles between two Philly bakeries, married couple and Center City residents Bradd and Kristy have eaten it all with gusto – and taken some pretty droolworthy pics.
"We launched the blog in 2008 and it had its fits and starts before we really got going, but we finally began posting regularly in January 2010, so we'll say officially it's been five years," Kristy says.
The couple says the idea for 22nd & Philly came to them while they were carbo-loading for the Broad Street Run at D'Angelo's Italian restaurant back in the spring of 2008.
"We realized that we went out to eat in Philly every weekend (and sometimes during the week) but didn't have any way to keep track of where we ate, what we liked," Kristy explains.
They started writing about their meals in Philadelphia, including both the amazing and the not-so-great ones. That honesty – along with some great reviews and those aforementioned photos -- is part of 22nd and Philly's charm. What's more, the pair doesn't just stick to big-name restaurants and newbies; Bradd and Kristy also seek out lesser known spots, including "BYOBs and beer festivals."
Five years after they started blogging, 22nd & Philly now has thousands of followers on social media, mostly via Twitter.
"Truthfully, we don't post about a lot of the places we eat because we just don't have time," Kristy admits. "We really encourage people to follow us on [social media], where we post nearly every day with photos and quick tidbits on all sorts of delicious bites around Philly, or wherever we travel."
One thing they're partial to? Sandwiches.
"Philadelphia is a sandwich town, so in addition to reviewing restaurants, we often write about all the great sandwiches here. And that's more than just cheesesteaks! There are so many excellent hoagies, roast pork and other sandwiches."
"We are also very passionate about Italian cooking/restaurants because of Bradd's heritage and family focus on cooking," Kristy adds. "He created a series of posts called the 'Nana Test' to compare Philly's many great Italian BYOBs to the experience of his grandmother's cooking at home. Zeppoli was our latest Nana Test review and the first-ever perfect score."
And while the duo says the city is "exploding with new energy and new people" and they "couldn't be more excited about Philadelphia's emergence on the national food scene," they'll soon have something even more fulfilling to focus on than food.
"We're expecting a new baby in May," Kristy says. "So our perspective on eating out is about to hit a new level!"
To read more on Kristy and Bradd's culinary quests, visit the blog or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.