Bell Peppers = I ban you from Philly. Come back ONE YEAR!
Joey Vento of Geno’s steaks died yesterday of a heart attack: Eatery owner who once told customers to order in English dies - CNN.com
So that means Pat’s wins, right?
RIP Joey V.
OP checking in.
Just got back from Philly today. Had zero time to seek out a cheesesteak, but I vowed I would grab one on the way out of town. This means I pulled up to Geno’s at 0830 this morning. I chose Geno’s simply because there was a convenient parking spot right in front.
Turns out, that is an excellent time to go. Walked right up to the window and ordered. “One Whiz wit.”
I felt a little disappointed that the counter folks were semi-polite.
The sandwich was over-priced, but outstanding. Loved it.
That said, I had recently popped into the new ‘authentic’ Philly Cheeseteak joint that just opened a few miles from my house. This sandwich - which seemed identical to the Philly one (aside from being a tad juicier) - was equally awesome. And it cost $5 vs. $9. And it’s about 585 miles closer to home.
By the way, I loved Philadelphia.
mmm
Bookmarking another thread for our trip next April. Writing down Tony Luke’s.
The wife and I tried both Pat’s and Geno’s two months go. We both agreed that Pat’s has an edge on Geno’s, but Geno’s ain’t too shabby either.
OP checking in again.
So…I’ve been a vegetarian since January.
Don’t miss meat at all.
Until re-reading this thread, that is. 
mmm
I’ll tell you what was a crappy cheesesteak, and that was at Jon’s Bar & Grille on South Street. It stands on the former site of the home where Larry Fine was born. That’s Larry as in Moe, Larry and Curly. We stopped there on a Saturday night to view the sttreet action, and since it was on the menu, I ordered the cheesesteak. Not very good. You just have to go with the real deal or not at all.
I flew through Philadelphia via Southwest Airlines a couple of years ago. I had a couple of hours before my connecting flight and so I wanted to try an authentic Philly cheesesteak. I asked someone (as I remember, either a security guard or a tourism volunteer), assuming that one of the well-known local restaurants would have a location at the airport. I was told, no. They suggested, if I had time, that I could leave the airport, go to one of the famous locations and get back, but I didn’t want to risk it.
That was disappointing. I think every city should try to make sure that its local specialty is available at the airport.
It would never have worked. Part of what makes the traditional rivals good is the fact that they’re using decades-old equipment that has been used continuously to make the product. Setting up a shiny new location at the airport isn’t going to produce the same quality.
Well, you would have been able to get a cheesesteak somewhere at the airport, but there’s no guarantees as to its quality. Most of the best places are single-location, not chains, so it’s not a trivial matter to just open up a new branch at the airport.
Actually, I’ll go further: There probably is somewhere in the airport that does serve a good cheesesteak (even if not quite as good as one of the greats). But it’d take trial-and-error to find out which place that is.
The thing about cheesesteaks is that they’re not hard to make, but easy to get wrong. It’s a very simple sandwich: roll, steak, cheese.
You absolutely need the correct type of roll. A soft hoagie roll will get soggy from the grease and is too bready. A crusty roll with a chewy interior is needed. This is probably the biggest problem when you get a cheesesteak away from Philadelphia. The roll style isn’t common outside of Philly.
The meat has to be from a steak-type cut of meat, preferably ribeye. It stops being a cheesesteak when you use deli cuts like roast beef.
Cheese is normally not a problem unless something crazy is going on. American, provolone, whiz = fine. Swiss = ok. Brie = what?
Actually, I’d say the biggest problem is that most places try to make it too complicated. The basic ingredients should just be meat, cheese, and roll, and even the cheese can be omitted. Onions and mushrooms are fine. Peppers are really stretching it, and lettuce, tomatoes, or other vegetables, or any sort of condiment, are right out.
But yeah, the roll is important, too.
And you know you’re going to get a substandard product from any place that lists on its menu a “chicken cheesesteak” or “chickensteak.”
Even if you were going to concoct such a comestible, you should call it what it is—grilled chicken sub or something like that. Or even a “cheesebreast” if you need the parallel. But “chickensteak”? No way.
A lot of chicken cheesesteaks are actually made from chopped and formed chicken breasts. They’re formed into thin sheets and cooked much the same way as a beef cheesesteak. Pizza shops and food carts typically serve these, along with cheesesteaks using similarly formed beef.
The point is that there’s no “steak” in something made from chicken.
And you guys talked me into it. I just had a cheesesteak for supper. There’s a sandwich shop around here that gets it almost right.
There are TWO Chickie’s and Pete’s at PHL. I was just at the one in Terminal D last week. I don’t know how their sandwich is viewed by the locals, but it is certainly possible to get a cheesesteak at PHL
I am not changing my handle to SteakSandwich, the cheese stays.
With that out of the way, you are totally right, cheesesteaks are like pizzas. You have a simple dish with just 3 ingredients. Make it right, it’s fantastic without any toppings. Toppings should be used to add a little twist, they should not be the main attraction.