Philadelphia Soft Pretzel appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Philadelphia soft pretzel · Philadelphia
Hand-twisted, low-rise, figure-eight soft pretzel sold from sidewalk carts, doused with mustard. Denser than the German original, flatter than the Bavarian.
The Philadelphia soft pretzel arrived with German and Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants in the 17th century and was reshaped by South Philly Italian bakers in the 20th. The local pretzel is flatter, denser and saltier than the German original, twisted into a hand-rolled figure-eight rather than the standard knotted shape. Sidewalk vendors and elementary-school pretzel days made it a Philadelphia birthright. Federal Pretzel Baking Company opened in 1922 on South 4th Street and still operates; Center City Pretzel Co. in South Philly bakes round-the-clock. The standard order is a soft pretzel with a stripe of yellow mustard down the middle, often eaten while walking. Sold by the dozen at South Street and Reading Terminal vendor counters.
Where to eat in Philadelphia:
- Center City Pretzel Co.
- Reading Terminal Market