gather round

The secret ingredient in Philadelphia's lauded food scene? The empathy of the locals behind it

- Osayi Endolyn

You could call it the perfect Philly afternoon. The weather at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park one Saturday last spring was damp, drizzly, and gray, but no one at the Southeast Asian Market cared. There was too much-fresh-pressed sugarcane juice, papaya salad, charcoal-grilled chicken hearts on a stick, crab-fried rice, shave ice in countless flavors, and noodles upon noodles to be bothered by a little rain. Assorted languages flowed as groups of senior citizens and families with infants milled about the vendors. A quintuplet of teenage girls in black, white, and gray '90s-era hip-hop-meets-grunge outfits performed a choreographed dance to K-pop with age-appropriate enthusiasm on a covered stage. A vendor waited attentively as an elderly auntie adjusted her order from 15 to 17 to no, wait-she turned to consult with her friend and count heads-21 lumpia.