# Do people really put mayo on Philly cheese steak sandwiches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662 "2014-06-26T01:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/81 "2020-07-23T00:14:28Z")
A Hot Cuban is supposed to contain both ham and roast pork. As when buying a Philly Steak, the choice of condiments varies from joint to joint. Some offer mayo, some mustard, some both. Those are all the variations I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/82 "2020-07-23T05:34:41Z")
On a plain cheese steak, no. Steak, cheese (provolone is a must for me), maybe some salt and pepper, that’s it. I eat this most often. Usually a couple times a week. On a cheese steak hoagie, yes. The vegetables require it, in my opinion. I don’t eat those very often. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/83 "2020-07-23T12:15:09Z")
There’s a local pizza/Italian chain with a location really close by to the house. Whenever I get a cheesesteak there I always ask for just the onions, and they _always_ look at me weird and triple-check: “Just onions, that’s all?” Yup. “No mayo, no tomato, no lettuce?” No thank you. Just the onions. And then when I get it, the masking tape on it is clearly marked: ONIONS ONLY. As far as I’m concerned, when you put mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes on a cheesesteak, you just ruined it. Sometimes I also get a cold Italian sub as well, ordered plain, because I’m going to stick it straight in the fridge and eat it later. When you do that to a sub with mayo and vegetables in it, it just gets soggy and gross. Sometimes I explain this to them when they look at me weird, sometimes I don’t. They don’t need to know; I’m paying for it, I’ll order it how I want it, for my own reasons, whatever they might be. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/84 "2020-07-23T14:57:47Z")
Raw onions I assume. Fried onions on a cheese steak is not unusual at all. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/85 "2020-07-23T17:29:54Z")
Yes, I would and often have. There’s nothing I can think of gastronomically that makes adding mayo to steak, onions & cheese repulsive. It’d only be tradition/culture based. “That’s just not how it’s done” is not the same as “that sounds disgusting and incomprehensible.” I’m from Miami and you don’t put fancy flavored creamers in Cuban coffee. Not that there’s anything wrong with the flavor, it’s just not the way. Gauche and gross are two different things. I guess the real question with a Philly cheesesteak is the Ship of Theseus thing… how many elements can you swap out and still have it be a Philly and not something else. Like, if someone puts mayo on a roast beef sandwich with lettuce and tomato and no cheese, _most_ people would say that’s a “you be you” acceptable choice. But that’s also not a Philly. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/86 "2020-07-23T18:37:25Z")
I think the point was that the people he was ordering it from found “just onions” to be unusual on a cheesesteak (in Philly, it’s normal. Other parts of the US, they want to put everything and anything on your cheesesteak. I’ve ordered one here at my local hot dog joint, and they also gave me a triple check and a look of incredulity that I wanted only griddled onions on my cheesesteak. Yes, there’s plenty of places that know that’s standard, but not this one, and I’m not surprised others are similar.) ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/87 "2020-07-23T19:24:37Z")
Yeah, I’ve yet to get anything resembling an authentic philly cheesteak outside of the northeast US. I recently ordered one at a family restaurant in Utah on a lark and it was basically an Arby’s french dip sandwich minus the aus jus. A philly cheese steak does NOT have roast beef in it. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/88 "2020-07-24T01:01:16Z")
I’m honestly not a big fan of mayo in general; I’ll almost never add it to a sandwich on my own. But I actually think a Philly cheese steak is one sandwich where it works particularly well. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662/89 "2020-07-24T01:18:53Z")
I love the taste of mayo, onion, tomato. Put that over fried, thin sliced beef on some decent bread and I’m in 100%. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-put-mayo-on-philly-cheese-steak-sandwiches/691662.md?page=4)