Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When: January 5, 2014
With: Dave
Despite several weekend trips to Philly, many of which revolved completely around food, I am embarrassed to say that I had never had a Philly cheesesteak before. Not that this is the ONLY type of food the Book entry mentions as part of "Philly Food", but seriously? Philly cheesesteak? That's like a staple, come on.
To make this even more embarrassing, a few years ago, I had totally been to the site where two of Philly's most famous cheesesteak shops (Pat's and Gino's) sit across the street from each other, vying for the attention of potential customers. I did this at the end of a night of drinking, and somehow didn't order anything! What was wrong with me?? Of course, this was a few years ago, before the obsession with the Book had truly taken hold, but even still. I'm ashamed.
This ridiculousness needed to stop. After parting ways with our British friends at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dave took me to one of his favorite cheesesteak stops in Philly that is also highlighted in the book: Jim's Steaks.
When: January 5, 2014
With: Dave
Despite several weekend trips to Philly, many of which revolved completely around food, I am embarrassed to say that I had never had a Philly cheesesteak before. Not that this is the ONLY type of food the Book entry mentions as part of "Philly Food", but seriously? Philly cheesesteak? That's like a staple, come on.
To make this even more embarrassing, a few years ago, I had totally been to the site where two of Philly's most famous cheesesteak shops (Pat's and Gino's) sit across the street from each other, vying for the attention of potential customers. I did this at the end of a night of drinking, and somehow didn't order anything! What was wrong with me?? Of course, this was a few years ago, before the obsession with the Book had truly taken hold, but even still. I'm ashamed.
This ridiculousness needed to stop. After parting ways with our British friends at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dave took me to one of his favorite cheesesteak stops in Philly that is also highlighted in the book: Jim's Steaks.
Ordering cheesesteak in Philly is actually quite the experience. Waiting in line with the hardened Philadelphia patrons, the process is no-nonsense. It is understood you'll be ordering a cheesesteak, so don't waste anyone's time by saying it. Instead, there's just two questions to answer: the type of cheese on your steak and whether you want onions. This has led to a shortened ordering approach where you simply state the cheese type and "with" or "without" onions.
While there are a couple types of cheese you can get, the classic is cheese whiz. I was advised that whiz with onions is the way to go. So I bravely stepped up to the counter, looked the gruff man behind the grill in the eye, and confidently stated my order: "whiz with". With the joy of successfully communicating in a new language, I was glad to see I was understood as he went about making my sandwich.
The cheesesteak was incredible and way better than any non-Philadelphia one I may have ever had. The meat was so well seasoned, and with the cheese whiz oozing between the chopped steak and grilled onions, I sat there pondering how I've missed out on this for so long. It was so good, I wasn't even grossed out when I saw the giant crates of Cheez Whiz in the back of the store!
Many more cheesesteak shops to try, but at least now I'm not embarrassing myself anymore! Plus, I will be a total pro at ordering.
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