If you're flying to New York, head to Pennsylvania, widely acknowledged as the diner capital of the US. You can do day hikes in the mountains, see some pleasant if not beautiful cities (Philly and Pittsburgh) and eat classic diner food (scrapple, cheesesteaks, mounds of pancakes). Not too far to drive, and also home of the birth of the American interstate. Also much cheaper than staying anywhere near New York.

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This South Street sushi house is the kind of place I'd imagine one could find in Japan. It's rather small, so it's not geared towards romantic or fancy dining. It's more of a great lunch, quick dinner, or, as it generally closes at 11pm (or 11:30 pm on the weekends) late night sushi spot. As for the sushi itself, it's very good and the prices are reasonable. They offer the best spider roll (a soft shell crab maki roll) I've ever had. You can get it in 12 peices for just over $10, which can be a meal in itself. And if you live close by, they even deliver.

240 South St, Philadelphia, PA.
Maki House on Citysearch: philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/37946380/philadelphia_pa/maki_house.html

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Higher Grounds has been around for less than a year, but is already a staple of the Northern Liberties neighborhood. The people are friendly, the food is tasty, and the atmosphere is great. Complete with free Wifi and good music, this is a place you can hang out in for a while. Especially since they're open until 11pm on Friday and Saturday. For something different, try their green tea latte.

631 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Via Septa: Take the Market-Frankford El to Spring Garden. Walk to 3rd then head north. URL: www.highergroundscafe.com

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This Japanese restaurant in Center City, close to the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, is fantastic. It features two floors of Japanese cuisine, with a cocktail bar on the third floor and karaoke bar on the fourth. The food is great, and the kitchen is open until 1:30am every night of the week. A friend sent me the link to their site as we were searching for late night sushi, and I was amazed at what he'd found. For late night dining, they seat you on the second floor, with its subdued lighting and intimate atmosphere. I love this place. Can't recommend it enough.

2030 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. URL: fujimt.com

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It is THE shopping street of philly. There are some shops which are difficult to find even in Manhanttan since they are shops that originally started out in Philly, eg Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, etc. An added bonus is a branch of ING bank right on Walnut that offers free internet and where refreshments are served - a perfect hiatus from all the shopping to catch up on your emails. Weary shoppers can round off their day by getting their well earned rest in Rittenhouse Square, one of the most pleasant green spots in Philly. Walnut Street also has some of the best and most expensive restaurants to boot. One of my favourites is a Japanese restaurant called Shiroi Hana just off Walnut street on the 15th.

philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/ 8946424/philadelphia_pa/shiroi_hana_restaurant.html

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Much of Philly is still at a human scale. Part even feels (a bit) like Bloomsbury in London - tree lined, georgian terraces. My favourite US city, so far.

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This is a Chinese restaurant in Hatboro, just outside Philadelphia. It's a little bit off the beaten track but the unique blend of Korean and Northern Chinese food is well worth it. Northern Chinese-style sweet and sour pork and black bean noodles (jjajangmyeon) are just two of the highlights.

Ming's Chinese Restaurant, 121 S York Rd, Hatboro, PA 19040-3232
Tel : (001) 215 674 8804

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A Burmese restaurant located north 9th Street just to the north of Arch Street. Something unique but satisfying for almost anyone who likes either curries, Chinese, or Thai or all of the above. Try thousand layer bread with potato curry dip and chili shrimp.

112 North 9th Street, www.phillychinatown.com/rangoon.htm

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It's what's left of the famous old historic Bucks County. Most of the county has been paved now, but there still is this chunk north of New Hope and Doylestown and east of Quakertown. The best towns in the area are actually across the Delaware River in New Jersey - Frenchtown and Milford, where the best restaurants are (almost anything in those towns).

It's a really nice area, not all sprawl and subdivisions and traffic, like the rest of the county has become. Lots of great historic parks, areas and villages, also wild places like Haycock Mountain, the Nockamixon state game lands with Lake Warren, Lake Towhee and the Tohickon Creek (which has whitewater rafting sometimes). And don't miss Ralph Stover park High Rocks, near Point Pleasant, for the grand canyon type view.

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It is a posh B&B in Bucks County, PA just outside Philadelphia. The owner Christine is a lovely proprietress of the establishment and she has overlooked no details (in addition to the usual LCD/Plasma TVs, you have the Egyptian cotton linen, Bulgari toiletries, period antique furniture hailing from different corners of the world - Louis XIV meets Pekingese wedding bed).

There are 3 main buildings which comprise this establishment - the 1740 Manor House, the 19th century stone barn and the Guest cottage. The property once belonged to George Kaufman and each room/suite is named after one of his plays. Kaufman used to entertain his guests here including John Steinbeck to name but one.

The view from the "Dancing in the Dark" suite was breathtaking. Breakfast was healthy yet hearty. With the exchange rate the way it is, with a little over 200 pounds, you can stay at a spacious suite with free drinks (soft/wine) and snacks galore - which is a bargain in these parts. The surrounding countryside is reminiscent of the Cotswolds - which is a pleasant surprise in the mall-ridden, heavily industrialised NE USA. However if it is the stereotypes you're after, there's mall shopping available within 15 minutes' walk in the town of Lahaska. For those with kids, the place is child friendly with farm animals and a junior Olympic size pool. Overall, a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Philly and New York with breathtaking European scenery and US convenience.

www.barleysheaf.com/

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This is a wonderful Tuscan BYOB (bring your own bottle) in a pretty area. It's an unpretentious, friendly neighborhood place with simple, fresh dishes. Very reasonably priced for such high quality, with entrees between $12-20. Also outdoor tables in summer. But they don't take reservations so it's best to get there around 6. Closed Mondays and August.

2201 Spruce Street (corner of 22nd St), Philadelphia, PA. (215) 875-8116

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If you start from Philadelphia City Hall, it takes less than 10 minutes to cross the Delaware River (traffic permitting - which isn't that bad if you avoid the rush hours) into South New Jerey, by car via one of the 4 main bridges or by PATCO train then bus. The locals usually cross the river to South Jersey to do their shopping too. There's a huge number of malls - Cherry Hill, Echelon, Moorestown, Deptford to name but 4. The latest addition is the Promenade Shopping Center in Marlton, NJ. Besides the mandatory Banana Republic, J Crew, Hugo Boss and Benetton, a must for a lot of musically inclined Brits would be the Apple Store where you can get iPod related goods/accessories galore. There is a Bose store nearby as well. Hearty soups served in sourdough bread bowls at Panera Bread should nourish most shopping weary visitors.

www.thepromenadenj.com

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The approach to the Reading Terminal indoor market – part city centre farmers' market, part vast deli – is not too impressive. South to north you cross Market Street at 12th Street, keeping the giant guitar of the Hard Rock Cafe hard to your right, and enter through pavement level glass doors with a municipal look to them.

Inside it is a different matter. Aisles upon aisles of juice bars, fish mongers, Thai soup and sandwich stalls offer one of the most diverse eating experiences you can have in the city. If you so wished, you could lunch here daily and never get bored – soaking up the well-fed atmosphere under the multicolour hues of neon signs displaying such legends as "EAT FISH LIVE LONGER" and "Rick's Philly Steaks".

The Philly Steak - supposedly popularised when a passing cab driver smelt the original Rick adding melting cheese and fried onions to his steak sandwich and asked for one himself - is something of a Philadelphia institution. To my tastes, it was less than the sum of its parts, but the similarly exulted hoagie (multiple Italian cold meats wrapped around onions, tomatoes, oil and vinegar in a long bread roll) was a snack without parallel.

You can get a good hoagie across Philadelphia, particularly in the delis around the outdoor Italian Market below South Street. But what you get in the indoor market are real life Pennsylvania Dutch (the group that includes the Amish) who make the trip from Lancaster County to the big city three times a week to sell their farm and farmhouse produce. One of the overlooked advantages of maintaining an 18th-century lifestyle is the quality of cream you can get when such practices as pasteurisation and other contemporary methods of dairy farming are regarded as among the worst of the modern world. Try a dollop with some apple pie. Then go for a long walk.

12th and Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

www.readingterminalmarket.org

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However, even if you're not a literary scholar it proves to be a great way to spend a couple of hours. They have thousands of original drawings and manuscripts from Maurice Sendak - Where the Wild Things Are. They also have lots of things you might not have a chance to see anywhere else. Journals of poetry written by slaves, Nathaniel Hawthorne's personal copy of Moby Dick. All in a very gracious (and eclectic) townhouse filled with interesting antiques. See how the other half lived.

OK, writing this, it doesn't really sound like the destination of choice for a young hipster. But, ponder this. It's Sunday morning in Philadelphia and you were out enjoying the nightlife until the wee hours.

Clean yourself up (please) and wander a couple blocks from your hotel to this very conveniently located and manageable museum for a tour of the house. The museum docents are learned and funny and helpful. You can learn without even trying, you lucky dog. And emerge a little more erudite than you went in. All before you could probably decide on where to have brunch. You clever clogs. The museum is free on Tuesdays and $8USD for adults other days. Closed Mondays.

2008-2010 DeLancey Place Philadelphia, PA 19103;
tel: (215) 732-1600;
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday 10am-5pm Wednesday 10am-8pm Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm Closed Mondays and national holidays;
www.rosenbach.org

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Bump is a gay/mixed bar and restaurant in Center City. Go for happy hour (5-7pm) when all cocktails are $3, or go later for dinner. I recommend the crab cakes with remoulade, rice and wilted spinach.

1234 Locust Street Philadelphia 19107;
www.bumplounge.com

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Giovanni's Room is a three-floor extravaganza of lesbian and gay literature, spread over three floors in the heart of Philadelphia's Center City "gaybourhood".

345 South 12th Street;
www.giovannisroom.com

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Philadelphia is where the US Constitution was written and signed, making it a major tourist attraction not just for school parties. The area around Independence Hall, where it was actually signed, is devoted to telling the history of the site and the constitution. Most attention is focused on visiting the Liberty Bell and being guided around the historical buildings, but I enjoyed the museum devoted to the constitution much more.

'Museum' makes it sound dusty and antiquated, but what this is, is a multi-media festival, charting the history of the United States through the constitution, its upholders and detractors, and the battle to amend it. The experience starts with a live-action show, telling visitors about the circumstances that led up to the signing of the Constitution. You then go up to the gallery, where interactive displays allow visitors to be sworn in as President or become a Supreme Court Justice, and there are sound and visual displays alongside more traditional glass cases of artefacts. The story is told through the battles of the times - about slavery and states' rights, votes for women, prohibition, desegregation and civil rights, the Equal Rights amendment, right up to the present-day debate about gay marriage.

After travelling through the displays, visitors get a chance to add their names to the constitution, in the giant visitors' book, standing among the statues of the original signers. I can't think of a UK museum that so powerfully demonstrates the impact of politics and political decisions. This is a must-see on any visit to Philadelphia, for adults and children alike.

www.constitutioncenter.org/

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