In rec.food.drink.beer Scott Kaczorowski > wrote:
:
: How 'bout another one: The Philly cheesesteak (disclaimer: I've never
: been to Pat's or Geno's). There's a reason you can't get a "real"
: Philly cheesesteak outside of, what?, two venues at the source? It's
: just a stupid ****ing mess of a sandwich. Not a hard sandwich to make -
: give me 30 minutes notice and I'll whip one up for you. And yeah, I
: can. I'll have to go scare up the ribeye, Cheese Whiz, and "Italian"
: roll (I suspect Italians have the same opinion of Geno's roll as you do
: about BJ's pizza). Onions I have, and it seems to me that they should
: be required rather than optional. The roll *might* be the only thing
: that gives me trouble.
:

Cheese Whiz is a relatively recent addition, done to maximize profits
now that Fulufia has become a tourist destination. When I was living
there it was never evan an option on a decent steak and certainly was
never the default. The places on South St. started that crap.

A real steak is made with provolone. You also need to slice the meat
while it's frozen in order to get the right consistency. The roll is
probaly not all that hard, some neighborhood places use standard deli
hard rolls (unseeded) and it works. The gold standard for the roll is
made by Amoroso's. The other item of note at the truly great
neighborhood places is, of course, the peppers -- you need an assortment
of peppers on the counter -- the standard italian cherry peppers both
whole and sliced, pepperoncini, fried sweet green peppers, red devils,
chile sauce -- it all belongs and needs to be there for you to add
yourself. Also, tomato sauce, fried onions and mushrooms are frequently
chosen options.

Pat's and Geno's don't come close to being great steaks -- they're OK.
That said, a trip to the original Pat's on Passyunk Ave. at 2:30 AM is
something anyone visiting Fulufia should plan for.

There are dozens, hell maybe hundreds of little places that still make a
really good steak. Everyone has a favorite. If you ever get out there
I suggest you make it out to Walnut Lane and Henry Ave. and have a steak
at D'Allesandro's. Follow it up with a trip aound the corner to "The
Custard Stand" at Ridge and Richter for dessert.

There's a small chain called "Philly's Best" up in your neck of the
woods -- they have a pretty good simulation going barring the poor
selection of peppers -- just ask for provolone instead of whiz and
you'll get a decent steak on an Amoroso's roll (flown in daily). They
have TastyCakes and Frank's Sodas (get a Black Cherry or Cream with your
steak).

--
Bill
AT DOT
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