My first cheesesteak in Philadelphia was at Pat’s in 1989 or 1990 and the guy taking my order told me whiz was the original and usual. Again, he may have been pulling the leg of the high school kid from Maryland. 
No, he was just full of crap. Maybe it was the original at Pats, but these sandwiches were made for decades, and I think before commercial cheese sauces were available. Pat’s and Geno’s have done well off their competition, I don’t begrudge them that, but it’s damn difficult to get a decent cheesesteak outside of the Philly area, I can’t stand what they’ve done to change the definition of one of those perfect dishes.
Reheating and serving up in Cafe Society. From IMHO.
Exactly!
Any place that is the one that everyone says you have to visit is, at best, mediocre to bad. Pat’s and Ginos for cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, Uno and Gino’s East for pizza in Chicago, Bryant’s and Gates for BBQ in Kansas City - generally if it’s famous and filled with people from out of town, it has been coasting on it’s fame forever.
Best cheesesteak I had in Philly was at the train station.
I like Pat’s just fine. With, Whiz. Works for me. But Philly’s roast pork sandwiches are where it’s at.
Uno’s is fine. (Not much of a fan of Gino’s though.) I’m a bit contrarian when it comes to this. While I can point you to a number of places I like better than Uno’s, it is a solid pie, the progenitor of the style, and a bit of Chicago history. I find that the most famous places are never as bad as some locals may tell you. Pat’s was my favorite steak in Philly, though locals pointed me to Jim’s and some hole on the wall I forget. I was assured that Anchor Bar’s wings in Buffalo were not very good, but I preferred them to both Duff’s locations, and the local pizza joint ones. They were solid wings and it was worth the pilgrimage. I find that a lot wherever I go-- there’s a backlash against the well-known spots, that they’re “tourist traps” (even though you see a ton of locals there), etc. I find it’s worth trying the famous place, especially if it was the progenitor of the food, and work outward from there. I’ve never been disappointed. Even Rendezvous in Memphis, which has an odd idiosyncratic rib that really isn’t barbecue but more some kind of grilled ribs, was awesome.
This.
When I was working in NJ a few years ago, I drove the 70 miles down to Philly and got one of each and brought them back ( I went to Philly to go to the Mutter Museum and then I decided to get a cheesesteak). Both were pretty average.
I have had better cheesesteaks from restaurants elsewhere around the country.
You need to go to NYC for the best cheesecake. Namely Junior’s or Greenberg.
cheese steaks outside of philly in general seem to suck
American with. Provolone will be a lot less greasy, but I like greasy.
I’ll be fair and say that I’ve never actually tried Gino’s, but Pat’s is significantly better than any of the other cheesesteaks I had in the Philadelphia area. Jim’s, which is the name that comes up most often when people say “Don’t go to Pat’s or Gino’s, they’re tourist traps”, seemed to have missed the memo that food is supposed to have flavor. The ones at the Villanova on-campus place (many of which I made myself) were decent. The dive just off campus was better. Pat’s, though, was better than either.
Only once have I found a place outside of the Delaware Valley that made a decent cheesesteak, a sandwich shop in Montana called Pickle Barrel (though they default to adding barbeque sauce, that you have to tell them to leave off). Ironically, they’re also the only place I’ve seen outside of the Delaware valley that doesn’t call their cheesesteak a “Philadelphia cheesesteak”. I really don’t understand: It’s a very simple sandwich, and you can’t really screw it up without trying pretty hard.
Paoli? I used to live there:) It is a rarely mentioned place.
I lived in Strafford from 1970-78. Part of that time at the infamous Devon-Strafford apartments.
I’ve been places where they put lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a cheese steak. Never in PA, though, but in OH and points West.
The White House in Atlantic City, with provolone and grilled peppers and onions. It’s the cheesesteak of my childhood! (My grandparents lived 10 minutes down the shore.)
I’m with you.
Rendezvous is pretty much barbecue, but it’s just cooked over charcoal. They aren’t particularly smokey, but I think they’re unique and delicious.
It’s in a really weird middle zone, depending on how strict you want to define barbecue. It’s cooked directly (although far away) over charcoal, so many will consider it grilling. They taste more grilled than barbecued. That said, I love Cozy Corner BBQ’s spare ribs as well, and they are also cooked over charcoal (in an aquarium-type smoker–the only aquarium smoker I’ve seen outside the Chicago and Milwaukee areas). Regardless of whatever you call them, they are pretty much unique, and I loved them. But it is one of those polarizing joints. So many people told me “oh, only tourists go there” or “it’s not barbecue” etc., etc., and even though I can be a bit of a barbecue purist at times, I really enjoyed their product and crave it every so often. I’m so glad I ignored the people and didn’t just assume because it’s the famous joint in town, it’s overhyped and not worth going to.
When you go to Philadelphia you need to get the “philly Taco” really. It’s a slice of Lorenzo’s pizza wrapped around Jim’s cheesesteak. Yummy. (FTR I’ve heard rumors Lorenzo’s may be no longer I’ll find out this weekend).
By the way, you should have made that a bit bigger. 
I don’t understand the absolute disdain that people feel towards Pat’s. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly that it is a tourist trap. But, so what? It is a tourist trap, partly, because the sandwich is delicious. I don’t think it is the best in the city. (I’d probably go with Joe’s. I’m interested in seeing how their new location in Fishtown works out.) But, I do think it is a tasty bite. Going there is almost always a fun experience. Is it right after the Phillies games? You’re going to see some fellow fans there, or perhaps fans of the other team. Middle of the afternoon? The line will go around the block. (no thanks.)
As far as Whiz goes. It wasn’t even invented when cheese steaks first came about about in the 30s and 40s. The first cheese steaks didn’t even have cheese. (I don’t know how they got away with calling them cheese steaks without having any cheese on it. That’s the depression for you.) Eventually they added cheese, but not Cheez Whiz until the '50s.
I always order mine Whiz Without.
Pat’s beats Geno’s for cheese steaks by a country mile.
Geno’s beats Pat’s for cheese fries, though.
They were closed for awhile after a fire, but they are open again. I’ve never experienced that flavor combination, in fact I haven’t heard of it until recently. That’s a lot of food!
My general rule: If the menu calls it a “Philly Cheesesteak,” it will suck. The real thing is just called a “Cheesesteak.”
And, yeah: The best ones to me are found at Tony Luke’s…provolone wit fried onions and long hots. Many neighborhood places will make a good one too. That said, it’s been years since I’ve been to Pat’s or Geno’s. So, no vote for me.