In Philadelphia, legend made Pepper Pot soup popular and easy to find around the city. It was sold as street food and in taverns because it was known as the stew which kept George Washington's troops alive during that cold winter. Its popularity meant that it became the symbolic food of the city, "It was a dish to try if you were an out-of-towner. It was a hangover cure. Diners treated the soup sort of how we treat cheesesteaks these days."
