Shane Confectionery-PA

Shane Confectionery 
110 Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19106

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Shane Candies makes candy as it should be made - lovingly, with deep respect and affection for the craft of confectionery. You might even think of their chocolates as miniature works of art.  Shane is America's oldest candy shop since 1911. Now those are some big shoes to fill. Shane tries to bring back that olden-day candy shoppe vibe... The staff was very funny and entertaining in their 1920's garb, and the candy is all fresh, made in house with the original machinery and equipment. They make everything by hand the old fashioned way. This place is right next to The Franklin Fountain and they are both owned by the same bearded guys. They have thought of every detail to set their shops apart and they have become a real destination worth visiting. They said their most popular item is there creams. Round pieces of chocolate filled with different flavored sugary creme. These were very good. If you show them your Franklin Fountain receipt  you get a 10% discount so be sure to check out both when in Philly.

Franklin Fountain-PA

Franklin Fountain
116 Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19106

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Mmmmm, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!

 This is an Olde City Corner Store configuration, long, narrow, and you can tell lovingly and painstakingly restored to what a true Victorian era ice cream parlor would have looked like - tin ceilings, wainscoting, small tables, down to the vintage cash register.  Some fun whimsical details - bust of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin on a coat rack.  I commend the ownership for such attention to detail, it's really cool.  The first thing i noticed was the door knob to get in was 100yrs old and I just knew. Also completely appropriate given that this place is in the heart of Olde City, where "period" rules.

We decide to split a sundae and a phosphate. I don't remember exactly which sundae it was but it has lots of pretzel balls that I have never had before. It was very good. The egg cream phosphate was made by a real jerk. A soda jerk that is. It has real raw egg in it. Hot fudge made from dark chocolate, not high fructose abominations from a jar bought at Acme.  Real, honest to goodness heavy whipped cream. Yum, something really darn special in the world of ice cream going on here. You can tell from the line out the door.

Go. Spend the money. It costs more because it's real, pure, complete dessert perfection. They cut no corners, this I suspect is as close to how they enjoyed "iced cream" back in the day.

Flying Monkey Bakery-PA

Flying Monkey Bakery
Reading Terminal Market
12th St & Arch St
Philadelphia, PA 19176

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How about some cake for Thanksgiving? How about a slice of pumple? Pumpkin  pie inside of chocolate cake and apple pie inside of vanilla cake all in one slice of cake. Sounds confusing but they actually bake two different pies into a two layer cake. Since Flying Monkey pioneered this concept people have taken it even farther to a Cherpumple, which is cherry pie, pumpkin pie, and apple pie, baked into a three layer cake. So Flying Monkey's Pumple is alittle outdated but still crazy. At $8 a slice and 2000 calories this is some serious dessert. Located in Reading Terminal Market, which is just an amazing place to visit and eat, Flying Monkey has been pumping out all sorts of desserts. They are especially known for their whoopie pies besides their pumple cake. I was actually very disappointed with this dessert. The icing they use is some kind of hard stuff to help support the 4 layers.  My wife and I made a Cherpumple a few years ago which was much better. I wouldn't even bother getting this cake just go straight to Dinic's and get a roast pork sandwich and then after a whoopie pie.