Cream Cheese

If there's anything that's completely synonymous to Philadelphia, it's cream cheese that, once more, it had to be named for it. True to the purpose of this blog, I am sharing a secret. Contrary to popular belief, cream cheese is not cheapest in Pennsylvania but in New Jersey. The only plausible logic I can come up with is that the factories where these cream cheese are made are so much nearer New Jersey than Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ironically, using cream cheese for one's Philly cheesesteak is the eighth of the capital sins. I reckon it has to do with the cheese's coarse and creamy texture which, apparently, does not work with thinly sliced tenderloin.

A year in Philadelphia had me raving about how simple ingredients can turn out to be the fanciest of flavors. The key lies in pairing the unique sweet-tanginess of Philadelphia with the neutral and acidic qualities of basic food. I have come up with my top three choices for local cream cheese-based food:

1. Blueberry bagel and cream cheese. Imagine sour and creamy cheese spread over mildly-salty freshly-baked bagel topped with sweet and juicy blueberries; heaven! And the best part is, it's so simple to make.

2. Philadelphia roll. I am not a sushi person that for me to rave about raw fish is one main feat. Much to my surprise, trying succulent fish bathed in cream cheese and wrapped with vinegar rice was actually a very pleasant surprise. Ajia is a Japanese sushi buffet bar in Center City that serves great Philadelphia rolls.

3. Cheesecakes. Yada, yada, yada, everyone knows cheesecakes are made of cream cheese. In Philadelphia, however, cream cheese is paired with sour cream and, mind you, it does more than wonders. In fact, it is so good it can work as a stand-alone, much like blueberry cheesecake sans blueberries. But it's not a New York cheesecake (which doesn't embellish toppings too) either because the New York one does not use sour cream. Aptly, it has to be Philadelphia cheesecake; another reason why Philly is so underrated.