Would I get run out of the restaurant for asking for no bell peppers?
I have never been able to eat those things without horrible heartburn. Even in college, nothing gave me heartburn then except bell pepper.
I love provolone. I always request it on sandwiches and pizza.
I haven’t eaten Cheese Wiz since childhood. Used to squirt it in my mouth straight from the can. I was 11. 
Ah, the Cheez Whiz Paradox, or as we connoisseurs call it, the Whizadox. It’s a culinary conundrum where provolone’s prestige and price tag lose out to the siren call of Cheez Whiz in a cheesesteak showdown. Of course, you may be shot if you attempt to put Cheez Whiz in an Italian hoagie.
Your taste buds aren’t swayed by the allure of ‘au naturel’—no, they’re after that bold, unapologetic flavor that only a slurry of long-chain polymers and polyfluoroalkyl substances can provide. Who knew chemistry could be so delicious?
It’s not part of the “classic” recipe, so no. They are acceptable to some, but absolutely not required.
Here’s a question: it had never occured to me to ever try in my forays up to Philly, but can you ask for Whiz and provolone? Is that thing? Like here in Chicago, for an Italian beef, the usual accompaniment choices are a spicy, oily pickled vegetable concoction called giardiniera if you ask for it “hot”. But you can also get roasted green pepper, if you ask for it “sweet.” However, there is a third option: “hot and sweet” for the best of both worlds (my usual order is “dipped, hot and sweet” for Chicago Italian beeves.)
What say you Philly? Is asking for both Whiz and Provolone a thing? I mean, I’m sure they’d do it for you if you ask, but is it done at all?
i’ve not heard of anyone doing that. i guess you could… provolone next to the roll, whiz on top like a condiment.
whiz on the sandwich and on the accompanying fries. full experience.
If you believe Big Secrets, a few musicians actually did put backwards messages on records for their fans to find. One was “it doesn’t take a genius to know the difference between chicken sh^t and chicken salad”. If you don’t put Cheez Whiz on your T-bone, the magic alchemy you claim between steak and sh^t ain’t there, and you might as well eat it with Kool-Aid if you have already drunk it.
The whiz on the cheesesteak is not always Cheez Whiz. Some places mix their own cheese sauce. I never ever get it so I can’t break down which places make their own.
I also never get peppers. I don’t mind peppers in moderation but usually too many on a cheesesteak. Fried onions is the more normal topping but onions and peppers are not unusual. No one would look at you funny if you order it either way.
I make my own Whiz every morning. Not as thick as the standard. Probably about as nutritious and palatable as the original.
But…I don’t put any kind of cheese on my T-bone. Do you put provolone on yours or something? And a steak is different than something shaved is different than something ground and different toppings or condiments are more or less appropriate in different treatments of the meat.
You could put Whiz on your T-bone, and you still wouldn’t have put any cheese on your steak.
Ok this thread made me go get one at my local sandwich shop. Thanks for the inspiration!
As far as the topic (or off-topic a bit), I’ve never been to Philly, never experienced the real thing, but I do want to recommend, if ever in Northern California, try “The Cheesesteak Shop” franchise if you can. Amoroso buns, hot and sweet peppers, grilled onions.
Their Bio says that it was created in 1982 by two east coast transplants, but now that I read it, It doesn’t say they are from Philly, nor that these are authentic:
Founders Keith and Kathy Layton opened the first “The Cheese Steak Shop” in San Francisco in 1982. East coast transplants with a love for authentic cheese steaks, we’ve made it our mission to bring the real-deal, Philly-style sandwich to our new home in the Bay Area.
The best sandwich I’ve ever had (coming from a west coast native point of view, though). Has anyone here from Philly tried these? Opinions?
Authenticity is slightly overrated. That said, I also ate a cheesesteak for lunch. The hoagie roll was perfect, but I doubt Canadians can (or should) specifically buy only two American brands of bun.
Mine came with Swiss cheese, quality shaved ribeye and grilled peppers, onions and mushrooms. I added hot peppers and uncooked onion. It was outrageously good. I could eat another one now. The one I had in Philadelphia at a popular tourist spot was not as good; similar bun, cheaper ingredients. But I regret not trying the roast pork sandwich, or visiting the market there.
There are lots of gatekeepers who say things like it’s not a real cheesesteak without whiz. That’s just dumb. The well respected Donkey’s Place (the one Bourdain said was the best in the world) doesn’t even use sub rolls. It doesn’t have to be a Pat’s clone to be a real cheesesteak.
I mean ok, if it strays too much then it naturally becomes something else but it doesn’t have to be exactly the same as the others.
Oh, God no. It’s like matter and antimatter. Lives would be lost.
You said it! We were there about 1pm on Sunday, and wowweeee was it crowded! 18 of us trying to find food and a place to sit was a challenge.
We had a few scouts who weren’t interested in the available wares, but we had scouts trying cheesesteaks, sushi, something called a cheese boat, noodles, and other stuff. I wound up spending so much time wrangling and helping that I couldn’t spend a half hour plus waiting for Spataros to get me a sandwich without busting our schedule entirely.
Yes, I went to Philly and didn’t get a cheesesteak. Who woulda thunk it?
no cheesesteak for cheesesteak?!? that is a catastrophe.
You’re thinking of Easy Cheese.
There’s a can of that stuff at every dog training class.
You might get looked at funny, because why are you even mentioning peppers? If you don’t say anything about peppers, you won’t get any.
Never tried it, but if they’re going to the trouble to use Amoroso buns, they’re probably staying pretty authentic overall. Like I said before, the cheesesteak is not a difficult sandwich to get right. And the bun is the most difficult part.
Yeah, here in Chicago, we’ve had a place since the late 80s called Philly’s Best that uses Amoroso rolls and Liberty Bell steak. There’s also a place called Monti’s that ships Amoroso rolls in, as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s others.