THREE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT PHILADELPHIA

I'm obsessive-compulsive. I also am every group's self-appointed cruise director. These traits (character flaws) serve me well in many instances, but also drive the people around me crazy at times. For example, it's hard for me to pick a winner because I don't want the losers to feel bad. I also want everything to be perfect and, in the case of a blog entry, exhaustively researched.

But, I am going to go off reservation for this entry and describe just three things I love about Philadelphia. Not the only three things or the best three things. Just three things. This is particularly hard for me because Philly, a city of 5 million located less than two hours from my home in Baltimore, is one of my favorite destinations. Sitting roughly halfway between New York and Washington, the City of Brotherly Love long ago ceased to have any reason to live in either city's shadow.

1. The food: Philadelphians are justifiably proud of their robust and diverse food scene. There are so many good choices from which to choose that it's hard not to schedule a weekend visit entirely around your meals. On our most recent visit to town for the wedding of two close friends, we checked out another member of the local restaurant empire founded by Steven Starr. Located at 7th and Chestnut streets near Independence Hall, Jones welcomes you with a Brady Bunch decor, right down to the shag carpeting. The menu is solid comfort food with a few twists. My spouse, friends and I each enjoyed our respective and delicious choices of chicken and waffles, tuna tacos and a REALLY cheesy grilled cheese sandwich. The carrot cake with caramel sauce was a real hit at dessert.

The next day, before heading home after the wedding, my spouse and I walked a few blocks from our hotel, the Westin Philadelphia, to one of the most ideal urban parks anywhere. Rittenhouse Square is a perfect little greenspace surrounded by upscale shops, hotels and residences. The square - one of four included in the original design for Center City's razor-sharp urban grid - also is home to a number of good dining options, including one of my favorites. Rouge is described by some Zagat surveyors as "Euro sexy." It is, in fact, a small, salon-like bistro with outdoor, dog-friendly seating and a limited but excellent menu augmented by a few daily specials. My brunch entree, a lobster and brie omelet, definitely hit the spot. Before heading home, we made a quick detour at the adjacent corner to stock up on dog shampoo (yea, I know) at Kiehl's and drove home - once again - very happy campers.

You cannot speak of food and Philadelphia without mentioning one of the greatest urban farmer's markets in the world, Reading Terminal Market. Dating to the 1850s, this enclosed public market, which is located at 12th and Market streets, offers virtually everything Philadelphia and the surrounding region have to offer. Here, you can buy produce from Amish farmers, scoff down a Philly cheese steak, pick up dinner's main course from an amazing array of seafood just off the boat, and take home any number of other local specialties. There also are sit-down restaurants and lunch counters if you want to enjoy a meal at the market while people watching the local diversity. No one should leave Philadelphia without visiting Reading Terminal Market at least once.

2. The buildings and monuments: Philadelphia is a grand, old-school kind of city. It's big into monuments and monumental buildings. Perhaps the most monumental building is City Hall. It looks like it could more at home in France, except for the statue of William Penn sitting atop its tower. Another monumental building is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Aside from housing one of America's greatest art collections, the museum building itself is a work of art, perfectly perched at one end of Benjamin Franklin Parkway on one side, and fronting the Schuylkill River on the other side. I never leave Philly if I can help it without a run that includes making the trek up the "Rocky" stairs of the museum, looking back over Center City and pumping my fists (at least if no one's looking) just like Mr. Stallone.

Of course, Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were written, and which served as the seat of government in the newly independent United States from 1790 to 1800. A very modern, monumental addition to this hallowed ground that is essential to explore when in town is the National Constitution Center, which offers a fascinating and interactive story of "We the people."

Philadelphia, like many cities, used to be a regional financial center with monumental bank buildings. As a banking lawyer, I find it interesting that visitors today can experience several former banking temples in Center City because these buildings have been reborn as hotels. The Loews Philadelphia Hotel occupies the former, spectacularly art deco headquarters of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society. A few blocks away and facing City Hall is the former Girard Bank headquarters, one of the nation's first banks. Today, it serves as the grand public space portion of the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia.

3. The countryside: If you live outside or have never visited the Northeast Corridor of the United States, you might imagine that, with Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington all located within such close proximity to each other, there would hardly be a blade of grass unoccupied. Such is not the case. The third thing I love about Philadelphia is how close it is to so many beautiful and bucolic retreats, each just a short drive in any direction. If you head east across the Delaware River to New Jersey, there are several beautiful smaller towns and suburbs worth exploring. A few of my favorites are Haddonfield, Moorestown and Princeton, home - of course - to a certain famous university. Heading south of Center City, you will shortly enter the Brandywine River Valley, which straddles Pennsylvania and Delaware. This region is home to some amazing cultural institutions, including the Brandywine River Museum, featuring the art of the prolific Wyeth family, and the DuPont family wealth extravagantly on display at Winterthur and Longwood Gardens.

One of our favorite destinations is the countryside north of Philadelphia in Bucks County, centered on the charming borough of Doylestown, in which local boy-made-good James Michener's private art collection is now on display. Finally, the drive west from Philadelphia takes you past Valley Forge National Historic Park and into the verdant and historically beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch region centered on Lancaster County.

There is so much to see in and around Philadelphia that it's difficult to choose. So, these are my three suggestions to help with such a happy task.