Going to Philly this weekend and going to test out the cheesesteaks of course. I know they are on the corner from each other, but I thought it would be fun to start a poll on this all important issue! Also, can someone explain pizza fries and are they good? And what is the best type of cheesesteak to get? I heard something about cheez whiz being used - my kind of junk food! And I’ll add my thoughts after we get back from our trip!
Ahem! Notice my location and hear me well. Geno’s is DA BOMB. Tastier, less greasy and more filled sandwiches you won’t find. It’s curious though, invariably the waiting lines at both places are of equal length. Order a provolone cheesesteak with fried onions[put on your own cherry peppers, if you must] Cheese-Whiz will give you the best mouth feel though. Don’t know from pizza fries, sounds like it should be marinara or pizza sauce and melted cheese on top of an order of fries. I’m a purist, so I’d skip 'em. Have fun in Philly, we are experiencing a most un-seasonable spate of weather: in the 70’s, light breezes and DRY!
If you want the classic Philly cheesesteak then you want the Philly cheesesteak that made the Philly cheesesteak “The Philly Cheesesteak”. It’s what Rocky ate.
And that’s Pat’s.
Pat’s steak’s are better than Geno’s by far. They both use the same ingredients: beef, cheez, and bread. But the bread at Pat’s is so much better. Cheez is cheez as is cheez. And the beef is cut better at Pat’s, IMHO.
Order it “cheez wit”, which means that you want a steak and cheez “wit” onions. Its the standard. I prefer mine “double cheez wit”, but since you only visiting I suggest that you should get the real deal and judge it on its own merits. No ketchup, no cherry peppers. At least for your first one, as a control: “cheez wit”.
Something that you should keep in mind is that while the concept of the cheesesteak centers in south Philly, the farther you get away from there the more likely you are to find wonderous variations. For instance, while Pat might dish out the best meat, cheez, and bread that Man can offer, down here in Delaware our steaks often come with a salad of lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot/sweet peppers on top. I like mine with mayo.
It’s all up to you, of course. They’re right across the street from one another so who’s to say you can’t try both? But if the only choice you have is Pat’s versus Geno’s I would say “Go real, go Rocky, go Pat’s!”.
Which is exactly why you shouldn’t stray too far. Lettuce on a cheesesteak, man? Abomination! The only things which should ever go on a cheesteak are beef, cheese (of course), onions, and, if your tastes run that way, mushrooms. At the very outside, you might conceivably put peppers on it, but that’s pushing it. But lettuce?
That said: Pat’s is one of the tastiest things I’ve ever wrapped my mouth around. Unfortunately, I can’t make a fair comparison, since I’ve never tried Geno’s. I always wanted to be fair and scientific about it, but I mean, if I’m at that intersection, and Pat’s is right there, how can I resist?
In any event, however, do not go to Jim’s (downtown). I have tried the steaks there, and a comparison to cardboard would be apt. How in the world they’ve ever won the “Philadelphia’s Best” award, I cannot fathom.
For how to order it, definitely get onions. Everyone agrees on that. And Whiz is the original, but I personally prefer American. If the grease is a turn-off, order provolone, since it’s much less greasy, and most of the grease in a cheesesteak comes from the cheese, not the beef.
Qualifications: I went to school in Philadelphia for four years, and partly paid my way by making them (on campus, not at either of the two establishments under discussion).
As a transplant to the Delaware Valley, I felt it was my duty to perform a scientific test comparing the two Passyunk rivals. So, about 10 years ago, four of us went to Geno’s, split two steaks, then went across the street to Pat’s and did the same. While it was close, we all came out preferring Geno’s. I’ve eaten both on various artery-clogging occasions since then, but the initial judgement holds.
And for the record, my order is usually Provolone mushroom wit’, but YMMV.
I’ve only been to Philly once, and ate at Geno’s. I just got a plain. Bread, beef, and cheez whiz. If I go again, to either place, I’ll be sure to get a cheez wit. man, now I want a Philly cheesesteak bad…any Philly dopers want to put me up for the weekend?
I would lean towards Pat’s, but I think they’re both pretty good. Despite my username, I don’t get down to Philly much and haven’t had a real cheesesteak in a year! :eek:
Pat’s, IIRC, has their meat cut a bit thinner than Geno’s. I hear Pat’s doesn’t give you as much meat, but I prefer the thinner cut, and the bread is very good. By all means, have one of each and decide for yourself! For your first ever authentic cheesesteak, I’d go with a “Whiz wit onions!” from Pat’s.
Yes, you can go with a cheese instead of cheez, but there is something unique about the drippy, greasy, salty mess you get with the whiz. It’s an experience you should have at least once.
Call me prejudiced, since I lived there, but I prefered Reading’s variant over anything I found in Philly. One of quiltguy154’s variations sounds similar:
Meat, provolone, fried onions, and tomato sauce.
The last has herbs in it so it’s more like a spaghetti sauce, but not so rich as marinara. You can get 'em on a ‘hard or soft roll.’ I like hard better.
I worked at Sammy’s so I thought those were best (being free and all) but my brother, who worked at neither, swore by V&S.
DD
OK, I’ve ordered cheesesteaks my whole life at Florida sub shops, but not a single one ever had Cheez Whiz (not even as an OPTION!). I’m sure they’re not Philly-authentic, but thin-sliced steak, melted cheese, and onions always make a good sandwich no matter where you are.
Now let’s say I want to make my own authentic Philly cheesesteaks at home. What do I need? Can you buy “Steak-Ums”–those frozen thin slices of steak? If not, what cuts of meat do they use? Is the cheese actual name-brand Cheez Whiz? And for those who mentioned provolone, is it just sliced normally? What do they fry the onions in, olive oil or butter or what? And what kind of rolls? Long sub rolls? Something crustier like French or Italian bread, or what?
Pat’s! Pat’s! And skip the pizza fries, man (which I’d never heard of before now, but sound kinda gross): go for gravy fries instead. 
(I went to college near Philly.)
Tony Luke’s you pikers!
Ow! Stop hitting me!
Another vote for Tony Lukes!
Cheese wiz??
Just for the record, a cheesesteak with lettuce & tomato is called a cheesteak-hoagie and a steak with sauce & provalone is a pizza steak.
I wasn’t sure if that was clear but we have all of those variations in Philly.
I’ven’t been to either, but I agree that Jim’s is awful. We decided to go there instead of the other two because it was ranked the best- I was pretty disappointed. (There’s a subway across the street, and I think I like theirs better!)
In addition to your foodstuffs, you’ll need a flat cooking surface with a fair bit of room and a couple of long-bladed metal spatulae. For ingredients, you’ll need some sort of thin-sliced beef, the cheese (or cheeze) of your choice, onions, and rolls. The rolls should ideally be Amaroso’s, but if you have to ask how to make a cheesesteak, you don’t have access to Amaroso’s rolls. They should be about 6-8 inches long, like a sub roll, crusty on the outside, soft but firm on the inside. You should be able to hold an eight inch long cheesesteak full of meat and grease with one hand, without it falling apart. And the rolls should not be sliced all the way through, but left together at the bottom, sort of like a hot dog bun.
To make the cheesesteak, you slap your meat onto the grill, and while it’s cooking, you chop, pull, and shred it with your spatulae. Onions and mushrooms, if you’re including them, should be fried in butter. When your meat and onions are done cooking, you mix them together, and form it into a long pile with your spatulae. If you’re using American, Provolone, or other solid cheese, at this point you spread a few slices (three is usually about right) over the top of the meat and let it melt on (squirting a bit of water on the grill will melt it faster). Then you turn a bun upside-down over the meat and cheese, slip a spatula underneath, and flip the whole thing right-side-up again. If you’re using Whiz (and yes, Pat’s does use genuine Cheeze Whiz), you add it at this point. I wouldn’t recommend making pizza steaks (mozzerella cheese and pizza sauce), but if you do, you also add the sauce at this point. But you’d be better off having your steaks and your pizza for separate meals. You want variety in your junk food, after all.
I’m a native of the Philly area, unfortunately currently living in junk food exile in northern New Jersey.
For my money, there are thousands of places in Philly and the Delaware Valley where you can get a cheesesteak as good as, almost as good as, or better than either Pat’s or Geno’s. It’s not worth the trouble to go to that one particular spot when you can walk across the street from where ever you’re staying and be transported into gastronomic delight. If you’re unsure, ask a local on the street whether or not your random pick has good cheesesteaks, and they’ll let you know if you should go to the other place two blocks down instead.
Also, Cheeze Whiz is just ugh! Most places you can ask for provolone, American, anything you like. Cheeze Whiz is too gooey and drippy. It’s the meat’s job to be greasy and drippy.
It’s an unfortunate truth that the failure to find superior cheesesteaks outside of the Philly area is a direct result of being unable to obtain Amoroso rolls.
Damn, now I’m hungry.
Just found this thread now, and I just quickly wanted to weigh in.
Work had me on a trip to Philly a couple of weekend ago and, since I’m such a fan of regional food, the first thing I did when I got my Avis rental was head down to the city to check out Pat’s, birthplace of the Philly cheesesteak.
To my pleasant surprise, Pat’s ended up being in a part of town where parking was easy to find, and right next to the famous Italian market. While Geno’s had the more overwhelming presence on the corner, what withall its neon shine and size, I had to taste the original.
I was impressed. Pure simplicity at its best. I ordered the “Whiz wit,” chomped on some cherry peppers in between, and soaked in the atmosphere. Then I walked down to the Italian market (was it 9th Street?) and bought $26 worth of sausages (a link of hot soprasetta and something else) and sharp provolone. I was skeptical about the staff’s recommendation of the provolone (I know it as a fairly bland cheese), but my trust in them was not misplaced. Great stuff.
Anyhow, I meant to try Geno’s, but my appetite would not allow it. A few hours later I found myself in some bar near U Penn. I asked the bartender about cheesesteaks and his first words of advice were: “Don’t go to Pat’s or Geno’s.” OK, so what are the best? “Go to Jim’s. It’s at 4th and South. Ask for a guy named Mitch, tell him John sent you. He’ll hook you up.”
So me and Traveling Companion headed on down to Jim’s. I was pretty excited to get the inside scoop on cheesesteaks. When I got there, there were about three dozen people in line ahead of me. This place must be good if so many locals are here, I though. As much as I wanted to meet Mitch and bullshit, the assembly-line efficiency of the line didn’t allow me the luxury. So me and Traveling Companion split a Whiz Wit for comparison.
Both her and I agreed that Pat’s was the better of the two. Personally, I think the cut of beef at Pat’s (ribeye) was tastier than Jim’s (top round), and Pat’s was a little more generous on the cheese as well. While I wouldn’t compare Jim’s to cardboard, it was lacking in beefy flavor.
I loved Pat’s so much that tonight I went out and got a pound of thinly sliced ribeye, Cheese Whiz (normally forbidden in my kitchen) and fresh Italian bread. If I do say so myself, I think I pretty much recreated a very close facsimile of an authentic Pat’s cheesesteak. Go Philly!
I, for one, would be interested to hear how the OP’s trip turned out, and what sammich he liked best.
This girl at school is from philly and her family owns a deli. She keeps telling me she will make me an authentic philly cheese steak, but I am dubious. I asked her if she took hers with Cheez Whiz, and she said “No, I like american”.
:dubious:
But I’ll try anything once…