Name: Syreeta Martin
Occupation: Journalist. On-Air Personality. Talk Radio Host.
What is your connection/relationship to Philly? I’m from Pittsburgh and came here by way of Delaware. I arrived to the city on a mission in 2006, hungry and determined to grind my heart out. I was a teen mother who graduated high school a year early while pregnant. And was then living on campus in family housing with my child while going to school full-time and working however many jobs I needed to survive. I came here to achieve the impossible so my relationship with Philly will always be that… The city that gave me a shot but left it up to and consistently tested my willingness to give it everything I’ve got. When it swung, I swung back. I learned its system and ring just as fiercely as it discerned my heart and sharpened my mind. We’re both still standing. Cheers.
Favorite restaurant in Philly? My favorite restaurant? That’s a hard one, man. It depends on what I’m in the mood for, quite honestly. Green Soul, which has since closed due to the pandemic, was an absolute favorite of mine. Relish, uptown, is a staple and showed mad love as I was building my career in journalism and talk show hosting. With Relish comes Warmdaddy’s… They just go hand-in-hand. On the soul food tip, there’s Victoria’s Kitchen & Catering uptown and then Charlie’s Country Ribs North.
I love a good hood-esque bar and some good wings… New Barbers Hall in North is home in that way. The Hoagie Factory and the Liberty gas station where M & J Market & Deli resides uptown are some of my favorite spots to grab hoagies. Can’t forget Ishkabibbles on the cheesesteaks. Byblos coming through with the Lebanese cuisine in Center City. There’s Honey Grow (chain), Vegan-ish (West Philly), and Memphis Taproom (Fishtown) on the healthy and semi-healthy tips. Go-to’s for Bae and I on date nights are always Devon’s and Yakitori Boy. Sheesh, the list goes on. We ain’t even get into caterers like Her Catering, Asia Ketur Intimate Events, Kia Denise, and more.
MYRA BAZELL: CONNECTED
Best place to shop in Philly (food, clothes, gifts, jewelry, etc). Select one? Best place to shop in Philly? Black-owned. Period. Support ’em all. Marsh + Mane. Dviniti Skin Care. Dillon’s Lemonade. Ms. Passion Art. Bloom Bold Co. Heres2CoolStuff. Optimistic Observations. Gynger Tea… G’aahhhh… Support ’em all!
What is your one favorite “best kept secret” about Philly? Something that you and only a few others know about but everyone should… I can’t give a best-kept secret without compromising its status as being such. I’ll say this: this is a big city with a small-knit network. The higher up you get, that six degrees of separation becomes one. Act and move accordingly. And know that you can smell inauthenticity a mile away.
What makes Philly your Philly? What makes Philly my Philly is that I’m an “outsider.” Folks know it soon as they talk to me. I’m okay with that. I’m comfortable in that. My focus has always been to put in the work while letting it speak for itself. And don’t ever abandon where I’m from. Pittsburgh. Where I’ve been. Delaware. And what I’m here to do… Work and make the quality of life here better for my people.
I was who I was when I got here. I’ve bled, sweat, cried, loved, sacrificed, grew, and built here. I planted the newest roots of my family here and I put it all on the line every time here. I learned this city from the bottom up. That’s how much I loved it. I wanted so badly to know it like the back of my hand. Now I look across it and in my own way… I see my hands in it. Oh yeah, you damn right, this is my Philly.
Social: @SincerelySyreeta
Images: Dope Photography, Zamani Feelings Photography
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