A Ninth Street Guide Walks You to Isgro's Cannoli
A walk through Philadelphia's Ninth Street market with a guide from the neighborhood, ending at a bakery two blocks away.
Ninth Street runs its market outdoors, under awnings, along the stretch the listing marks out as Wharton to Fitzwater. Stalls sit on the sidewalk. The shops sit behind them, and the two have worked the same pavement for generations.
This walk takes a narrow slice of that. It starts at 919 South 9th Street and ends at a bakery on Christian Street, about two blocks along. The distance is small. The eating is not.
StrEATS of Philly Food Tours runs it. The listing describes Ninth Street as America's oldest continuously running outdoor market, and the guides come from the neighborhood.
Prices start at 69 dollars a person, and one booking covers up to ten people. The same page sells two different walks. The option you pick decides your guide, your menu, and what time you finish.
Philly Chef-Led Italian Market Food TourStrEATS of Philly Food Tours · rated 4.95 from 393 reviews · from 69 dollarswww.viator.comTwo Walks Share One Listing
The booking page carries two options, and the gap between them is wider than the names suggest.
The Chef-Led walk runs two and a half hours with Chef Jacquie Kelly, who owns the company. Its tasting list is the Philly Italian roast pork sandwich, artisanal cheeses and pairings, espresso, and cannoli, and the listing marks it BYOB. It leaves Wednesday through Sunday at 1:30 PM.
The Chef-Curated walk runs two hours with Alma, described on the listing as the youngest daughter of the Tlacopilco family of Marco's Fish and Crab House in the market. Its list is square pizza, cheeses and pairings, a fresh corn tortilla, guacamole, mozzarella, vinegars and olive oils, fruit, and cannoli. It goes out on Saturday and Sunday only, at 10:30 AM.
Cannoli is the one item on both lists. Neither walk runs on a Monday or a Tuesday.
The Shops Do the Tasting
The itinerary gives the market itself the first hour, then names three shops.
Di Bruno Bros handles the cheese in fifteen minutes of pairings, and the listing says guests get a shopping discount there. Fante's Kitchen Shop gets the same fifteen minutes. It sells kitchenware, and the note attached to that stop promises espresso and another discount. Isgro Pastries closes the walk in ten minutes, which is where the cannoli comes from.
The listing calls Isgro a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist in the bakery division. Semifinalist is a shortlist placing.
The Inclusions List Says Lunch
The inclusions name three things: a professional guide, lunch, and food tasting. Lunch is the operator's own word, which sets the bar higher than a row of toothpicks.
Alcohol sits outside that. The listing excludes alcoholic drinks and notes they can be bought in the market, and the Chef-Led option is separately marked BYOB.
Tips are extra as well. The operator's own FAQ describes gratuities as greatly appreciated and not mandatory, and puts the standard in the service industry at 15 to 20 percent.
Dietary work is possible with notice. The listing says vegetarian and gluten-free options are available and asks for a heads-up at the time of booking. That request has to go in when you book, not on the sidewalk.
Hotel pickup and transport are excluded. The listing points to public transit nearby.
Ages, Group Size, and Rain
The booking form carries one price band, and it starts at age 10. The listing separately says infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and that each child needs an adult along.
One booking covers up to ten people. The listing also flags that a departure can be called off when too few travelers book it.
It operates in all weather, and the operator hands out rain ponchos when it rains. The listing calls it suitable for all physical fitness levels, which the short footprint supports.
The booking system lists guiding in English, Italian, and Spanish.
Meet at the Italian Market Visitor Center, 919 South 9th Street. The walk finishes at Isgro Pastries on Christian Street, roughly two blocks from where it started.
Booking closes four hours before departure. Cancelling more than 24 hours ahead returns the full amount, and cancelling inside 24 hours returns nothing. One Sunday on the calendar, October 4, leaves at 12:30 PM, an hour ahead of the usual 1:30. Tickets are mobile or paper, one per booking.
The market keeps trading after the guide stops talking, and the stalls you walked past on the way in are still there on the way back.