SNACKTIME's Five Essential Philly Snacks
SNACKTIME's fave snacks (Band photo by Nick Pedro, snacks by SNACKTIME)
Philadelphia's SNACKTIME is headed to Sony Hall in New York City on November 11 for FUV's "An Evening with Devon Gilfillian, SNACKTIME and special guest Danielle Ponder." (Tix on sale now for this benefit concert for FUV.)
No question that SNACKTIME is one of Philly's most exciting, fast-emerging bands — with a new single, "Can't Imagine Why You'd Stay," and a debut album due out in 2027 — and the guys have a lot of hometown pride. In addition to cheering on the Eagles (sorry, Jets and Giants), SNACKTIME's Nico Bryant (vocals), Sam Gellerstein (bass), Austin Marlow (drums), Larry Monroe, Jr. (guitar), Eric Sherman (trumpet, guitar), Michael Spearman (trombone, keys), and Ben Stocker (tenor sax) happen to be connoisseurs of tasty cuisine to be found across the City of Brotherly Love. FUV asked the septet for their five faves — and now we wanna discover their great local hangs 'n' eats!
As far as we’re concerned, SNACKTIME is a state of mind, not a specific dish, so here are our "Five Essential Philly SNACKS! - SNACKTIME, October 2026:
John’s Water Ice
Classic, affordable, timeless, and beloved by all. John’s Water Ice is not only a good way to cool off from brutal Philly summers, but also a unifier of all parts of the city around one thing: beautiful fresh fruit water ice. We also enjoy strange combos like lemon cookies and cream.
Gritty Wings from Circles and Squares
Circles and Squares are widely known for their incredible pizzas, however they also have one of the greatest wings in the city. The "Gritty Wing" is a scientific phenomenon, combining the classic flavors of a buffalo wing, garlic parmesan, lemon pepper, and honey for the ultimate snacking wing. Straight up sucking the sauce from the BONE!!
Chicken Thigh from Chuan Kee Skewer
On the topic of chicken, Philadelphia’s Chinatown has no shortage of amazing snacks. That being said, the best snack, and maybe the best chicken-based item you can get is the grilled chicken thigh from Chuan Kee. It’s basically an entire chicken quarter grilled to crispy perfection, seasoned with ample chili, sugar, salt, MSG, and cumin. It’s our platonic ideal for a snack.
Fresh Chicken Pho from Café Nhan
This is a snack that, unfortunately, you have to be in the right place at the right time for, but we can promise this will be the best bowl of soup you will ever have. The most pure golden chicken pho, with beautifully poached chicken, herbs, onions, and black pepper. This can fix any and all ailments.
Rippers from Rutt's Hut
To be honest, this isn’t in Philly (it’s close to New York City), but we can promise on our way up to play our show with Devon Gilfillian and Danielle Ponder in November at Sony Hall for WFUV’s big bash, we will be stopping here as a family. A perfect, deep-fried, natural-casing hot dog, on a basic white bun. We'll be pouring a metric “shit-ton” of their beautiful golden relish on it, as well as getting some onion rings and root beer. See you at the gig!
