The early morning sunlight streams into the produce stands of the Italian Market on Ninth Street in South Philadelphia, and the Route 47 bus plows past discarded fruit crates. A smell of exhaust mixes with the pungent odor of poultry and vegetables and fruit.
An old woman hawks grocery bags to early-bird shoppers. A burly man, sleeves rolled up and a knit cap on his head, waves radishes before a young woman trailed by two children. "Two pounds for a dollar!" he shouts. "The best in the market!"
In a butcher shop, sawdust jumps on the floor as a cleaver splits a rack of ribs. Lambs and rabbits dangle from meat hooks behind a glowing neon sign.
Outside, the sidewalks begin to look like a human rush hour. People move past stalls of produce as vendors work feverishly, sorting and bagging. People weave their way through tunnels of hanging T-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans and piles of shoes.
This is the heart of the Italian Market, reminiscent of European market tradition. On Sunday, that tradition will be celebrated in a number of ways at Italian Market Day (for details, see Winners, Page 2). But don't stop at the market, or its southern vortex at Ninth Street and Passyunk Avenue, where Gino's Steaks and Pat's Steaks engage in a sort of Philly culinary face-off.
In South Philadelphia, you'll find gems that are often overshadowed by the Rocky stereotypes. Places of art, music, history, culture and culinary delights are hidden among the rowhouses and small streets. In this South Philadelphia, the slow, appreciative eye is rewarded. Here's but a glimpse of the attractions that, for South Philadelphians, are home-town sights.
VICTOR CAFE. This landmark combines Northern Italian cuisine with operatic servers who can deliver an aria as well as scaloppine.
The walls in the cozy main dining room are lined with hundreds of autographed photos of tenors, sopranos, baritones and conductors who date as far back as the early 19th century. If they could speak, their voices probably would sing with memories of Victor Cafe's past.
The cafe was started by John DeStefano, an Italian immigrant with a great love of opera, who traveled to the New World in the early 1900s. At age 15, he was working in restaurants and spent his earnings on newly released recordings of Italian love songs, arias and symphonies.
