Cheesesteaks
 

I am reviving this thread, being both the King of Torresdale and a cheesesteak conoisseur.

Another entry for superb cheesesteak...along with being the cheapest cheesesteak I've had yet: Pizza City--Red Lion & Academy Rds. Chicken cheesesteak, no onion or peppers, ketchup, mayo, footlong, full of chicken and cheese--$3.05.

Worst cheesesteak I've had since living in the city of Philadelphia: New Station Pizza--3804 Morrell Ave. Tartar-style sauce for mayonnaise??? On a cheesesteak? Blecch!!!

For some reason, I have developed a cholesterol and sodium-filled obsession with cheesesteaks. They're quite a unique experience...much like toasted ravioli and pork steaks in St. Louis.

Toasted ravioli...blech! Ravs are either boiled and served with a healthy dollop of sauce made by an old woman who's name ends in a vowel and uses the phrase "sonamumbitcha", or pork-stuffed and fried. There is *no* other way.

Bite your tongue! ;)

Toasted ravioli is one of the greatest accidents of the 20th century...one that has paid handsome dividends to all the Italians back home on the Hill. :)

My $.02
 

IMHO, you'd be hard-pressed to beat Jim's Steaks on South Street. Maybe it's the black-and-chrome decor, maybe it's the South Street location, maybe it's the Cheez Whiz... Whatever it is, it's the best I've ever had!

Amusing story: I once drove from Baltimore to South Street on a Friday night solely for the purpose of getting cheesesteaks from Jim's. I had to pay off a bet I'd made w/ a buddy of mine, you see. Silly me... I thought Green Bay's defense would be able to stop the Vikings on the previous Monday night.

Re: My $.02
 

I've had Jim's I think...not bad. A friend of mine from DC had them Saturday night as his first ever steak...not a good experience for him.

I personally think that the 3 best places to check out if you're a rookie are:

--Geno's (9th and Passyunk)
--Phillip's (24th and Passyunk)
--Jimmy's All American (Ridge Ave. near the Wissahickon Rail Station)

I had PhilaDeli (5th and South) a few weeks ago...not bad, but poor service.

I am generally a chicken kind of guy, so I'm also a big fan of Ishkabibble's (4th and South).

Quote:

Amusing story: I once drove from Baltimore to South Street on a Friday night solely for the purpose of getting cheesesteaks from Jim's. I had to pay off a bet I'd made w/ a buddy of mine, you see. Silly me... I thought Green Bay's defense would be able to stop the Vikings on the previous Monday night.

You from Bawlmer?

y'all can't get those here
 

I reckon it was about four years ago that me 'n my kinfolk packed up the pickup truck and headed on down to a new life in North Carolina. It's a beautiful place to live, and we haven't looked back since, but there are just some things you can't get here.

Gone are the days of soft pretzels sold at a busy intersection, by a man who probably just urinated in the woods and didn't wash his hands. Gone, too, are the cholesterol sandwhiches native to Philadelphia. That's right, though there are many stores that profess to sell a delicious "Philly Steak-N-Cheese", those heaping piles of meat dripping with a cheese-like substance on an authentic Amoroso roll are long behind. Sure, I get to drive up once or twice a year to visit family and partake of the holy cheese steak. But it is no longer a regular part of my diet.

Yes, I can get Tastycakes and Habberset Scrapple here. We're not totally uncivilized.

Incidentally, those sandwhiches they sell here as "Philly Steak-N-Cheese" are more closely related to the cheesesteak hoagie (and a poor knockoff at that).

North Carolina is not without its own culinary secrets. If any of y'all ever come down, look me up, and I'll point you to the best of the best log-burning backwoods barbecue places. Forget what you think you know about BBQ. Real BBQ comes from a pig, not a cow. Real BBQ is slow cooked over hickory or oak coals for upwards of 18 hours or more. Real BBQ is served with a vinegar based sauce. And that slop they serve at Red, Hot, and Blue is about as close to BBQ as a cheese steak you'd buy at McDonald's.

Hey wow! Welcome back, Wart-man!

old BBS farts reunion
 

Mellow greetings, Reverend Wonder Toad. Imagine my surprise when I tried to telnet into cellar.org and didn't find waffle waiting there. I'm glad to see that the BBS merely metamorphosed into a butterfly (I never liked waffle anyway, but I digress).

So here I sit in the land of duct taped pickup trucks and PhD's who say "y'all", working on the preliminary steps of writing a Renegade BBS clone in Perl. It got me to wondering if any of the old school BBS's in Philly that I used to visit are still around.

I know most of the others are gone. Did IoAI finally disappear?

Verily I say unto you (yeah we have a lot of southern baptists here too) it warms my heart to see that you are still keeping the torch lit. If my own BBS were still up (taken down in 1994 or 1995), 2003 would be the 20 year anniversary. Makes me feel so Geeky (yes, with a capital "G").

Geeky? Naw man, you were actually ahead of yer time.

As far as IoAI - Institute of Artificial Insanity, for the uninitiated - I know that Craig kept things going longer than just about anyone else, but I don't think he's still going. He does have a website up at www.bulldada.com, but it's nothing but typical Craig stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Craig is more entertaining than most human beings out there.

Being the Suburban Boy that I am...

The best cheesesteaks I know of right now are from Drexel Hill Style Pizza in (logically enough) Broomall. It's on West Chester Pike right near its intersection with Route 320.

Get the Royal Steak - two kinds of cheese, sauce, mushrooms, onions and peppers. Killer.

There used to be a good cheesesteak place in Raleigh, NC (TJ's Philly Grill), which was run by an expatriate from Chester. This was back in my late-college years ('92-93), though, so it's probably long gone.

jeff. who contributed a big picture of John Kruk to their walls...

And just for the record...
 

Vinegar-based barbecue is tolerable, but a sad substitute for REAL BARBECUE BEEF WITH REAL TANGY TOMATO-AND-MOLASSES-BASED BARBECUE SAUCE FROM REAL MOOING COWS.

Been there. Came back. Liked it here better.

jeff. "Bring me a live cow! I'll eat what I want, and ride the rest home."

You might be a Yankee...
 

...if your idea of barbecue includes the charred flesh of a cow served with a catsup based sauce.

Now being a lover of all sorts of cooked meat, I do have to say I enjoy eating charred cow with the catsup based sauce. But that still doesn't make it Barbecue.

I refer you to The Lexington Collection, written by North Carolina native Dave Lineback. That's my Mustang you see in the writeup for Allen & Son BBQ, one of the premeire log-burning BBQ joints in the Old North State.

Allen & Son doesn't have the best BBQ in the state but they do have the best hush puppies. Golden brown and crispy on the outside, shaped like a golfball. The inside is a soft cornbread mildly sweetened and with little bits of onion as a bonus.

Damnyankees!
 

(Yes, one word, just like my grandfather taught me.) :)

WHAT is all this talk about beef? A true southerner knows that real BBQ can only be made from a pig!

I used to have this "discussion" all the time with an ex-girlfriend from Ft. Worth: Texans believe that "beef barbeque" is a redundancy, whereas TRUE southerners KNOW that it is an oxymoron.

BTW warthog- thanks for the link. I enjoyed it!

Actually, I forgot to add my newest steak offering here...which occurred at *gasp!* The King of Prussia Mall on Tuesday. I went to the Starlight(?) in the Cafe Court and decided to order the Chicken Cheesesteak Hoagie. First, I saw it was $5.50, and second, this WAS a mall after all. But then I got the sandwich. Folks, this was NOT a sandwich. There was a bun at the bottom, with cheese, ketchup, mayo. lettuce, and mayo. But then came the chicken...I kid you not, there was a mountain of chicken on this puppy!!! I couldn't really even it as a sandwich...more like a fork and knife!!! I was left with a plateful of chicken at the end. Well worth the $5.50!

(On a side note, I hit Philip's on Passyunk this afternoon...excellent as usual, with enough grease "to make it honest" (as my fiance would say).)

Re: Damnyankees!
 

And you haven't had real BBQ until you've had a barbequed pork steak (which I believe may only be a St. Louis and Chicago thing).

For some reason, a bbq'd pulled pork sandwich is sounding delicious right now...

If you want a cheesesteak at the Mall, you can't go to the foofy food court. You gotta go to the original food court, to the place just called "Philly Cheesesteaks". You'll still pay too much, and it's not the best cheesesteak, but it's definitely a legitimate cheesesteak.

Of course, if big mounds of chicken are your thing...

Cheesesteaks
 

D'Allesandros.... awesome cheesesteaks. I have to find excuses to send the ambulance out there from time.

Also, I must recommend Amadeo's Too in Norristown ... not quite up to the D'Allesandro's standard, but tasty!

Re: Cheesesteaks
 

For some reason, the Amadeo's (both original and Too) cheesesteaks always make me feel queasy. Not the usual "I've just ingested a large quantity of grease" queasy, and it usually hits even before I've finished half. YMMV

Re: Re: Cheesesteaks
 

The BIG advantage (for me) of Amadeo's Too is that they deliver to Building 50 ... I'm kept prisoner during my shift (no breaks for the suicide hotline/commitment office), so I guess I've developed a tolerance.

Re: Cheesesteaks
 

We had Amadeo's for lunch on Saturday. Although a bit pricey, it was absoultely delicious! I highly recommend the Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak.

Also, a nod to another steak I had a few weeks ago from Victoria's Pizza in Morrell Plaza (Frankford and Morrell Aves.). I highly recommend the Northeast Special Steak, with imported ham and tomatoes. They actually erred on the order, as I ordered it as a chicken steak. But in any case, it was excellent...well worth $4.75.

A new steak review
 

As I walked into my apartment building Thursday, I happened to see a new fast food menu laying on the carpet...apparently, one of the lone ones Rho and I don't have.

The place is Old Country Pizza (3209 Willits Rd. in Torresdale). At first glance, it appeared to be another pizza/Italian joint located on just about every corner in this part of the city. But I took a gander at the menu and saw some different menu items. Being the cheesesteak b**ch that I am, I went for the Buffalo Chicken Steak, with hot sauce and bleu cheese. Not bad, but not the best I've had, and certainly not worth $5.50. However, it was brimming with chicken. Unlike any other steak I've had, the meat was actually shredded, not chopped fine or in strips...unusual. All in all, our meal was not too bad, although a bit on the high side for a cheesesteak meal.

A lot of folks like to start Christmas Club accounts, but I'm thinking I'd like to start a Cheesesteak Club account. I put my savings into the account, then when I find new cheesesteak establishments, I can withdraw a small amount to fund my meal.

Like I need to gain any more weight here. ;)

The end of an era???
 

It would seem that after only living in Philadelphia a year (as of Sept. 30th), my days of cheesesteak connoisseurship may be severely curtailed, if not over.

Off and on for the past few months, I've been experiencing chest pains. I wasn't having symptoms of a heart attack, more like bronchitis. I also figured that maybe I had pulled a muscle, or slept on my left side wrong. In addition, I was without health insurance from the beginning of July until September 1st, so I was hoping to hang on until then. The pains would come and go, but nothing serious...until noontime today.

As I was taking a claim, a severe pain hit me in my chest...I then felt a head rush so intense that I felt as if I passed out for a second. The pain lessened, but I felt very woozy. I then went on my lunch and figured I would see how I felt afterwards. The pain and wooziness continued...by this time, I was in tears. For the first time I can recall, I was truly terrified of dying. By 1:30, I decided this was enough and left work. Given that my doctor and hospital are within 2 blocks of my house, I decided to make the 45-minute drive back home. Trying to call my doctor was useless--couldn't get through. Since I have the option of going to the ER directly (w/o a doc's authorization), I chose to do so.

To my surprise, I was seen rather quickly, and the staff at Frankford-Torresdale Hospital were very courteous. At one point, they had to wheel me from the ER over to radiology. Rather than use a wheelchair, they wheeled my whole bad, which was actually fun.

Fortunately, I was told that I didn't appear to have a heart problem. When I went in today, I had a pulse over 110 and a temperature of 100 degrees. (Which could probably be attributed to my fear.) My EKG looked okay and my rhythm was normal. But then I got the bad news:

--First, they tell me that my heart may be abnormally large. They say it could be proportional to my size (b/c I am a big guy), but they're not sure. More tests will be needed.

--Secondly...the obvious:

RN: "Do you smoke?"

Sycamore: *looks guilty* "Yeah..."

RN: "Well, I smoke, so I'm not going to give you a big lecture. But we noticed that you have diminished lung capacity, which could be due to your smoking."

As I said, the obvious. I've only been smoking for 6 years, but I smoke...a lot. I've tried to quit on several occasions, most recently in January. I've seen people with voice boxes and have seen the pictures of emphysema-damaged lungs. I already know that they're bad for me.

But for some reason...something went off inside. I'm not sure what to call it...an alarm, a sign...I dunno. After being released from the hospital after 3 or so hours, I decided to have a bit of a gorge:

--one 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper
--one 2-liter bottle of Sunkist Orange
--one pack of Marlboro Milds
--one king size Almond Joy
--a $9 buffet at the Farm (at Franklin Mills)

I will probably have a cheesesteak tomorrow...preferably from Philip's in South Philadelphia.

I can't say for certain that I can easily kick my bad habits. I may even cheat along the way. But I already had one alarming situation in June, when Rho was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure. I knew my time was coming...and that time was today.

I certainly feel I have a right to enjoy life to its fullest, including surveying the world for that next awesome cheesesteak. But I'm only 2 weeks shy of 26, and I'm not ready to wreck my body so easily. It's time to not take it to such excess...

Good news...sorta
 

Well, they can't seem to figure out what exactly is wrong with me, but it seems to be a muscular problem. But this is what shocked me...

I live in the 2nd fattest city in the US. My diet has only gotten healthier in the past week and a half. I have gained 20 pounds in the past 2 years, and I am a rather large man. However, all my blood tests came back normal, so it appears that I am still relatively healthy. Then I got my cholesterol score:

208.

208?!

Are you shitting me?! That's all?! Granted, it needs to come down, but I figured it would be over 300. All those cheesesteaks were not for naught. ;) But at least I'm trying to clean up my act before I completely fall apart...

Syc,

I'm really glad to hear it wasn't your heart.

Best of luck to you.... I hope you don't have to give up the cheese steaks completely!

- Pie

Me? Give up cheesteaks? I'll die with one in my hand!
 

I haven't tested out any new ones recently...I've been hitting the usual spots. Until tonight. And so, I present my newest offering:

Speedy Pizza (Fairdale and Knights Rd., NE Philadelphia): Their white pizza is to die for, but I decided to go with a chicken cheesesteak tonight. The steak is reminiscent of Ishkabibble's in South Philadelphia, with huge chunks of chicken crammed into a standard hoagie roll. Quite tasty, and well worth $4.65.

I gotta go down to Phili to get some cheese steaks. mmmmmm :) :D :) :D ;)

where do you live scampo?

I could mail you one, but I don't think the Postal Service would appreciate that...especially at a time like this. ;)

lol
 

lol. i live in southampton, ny.

The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Cholesterol be damned!!! :)

Moffett's--On W. Tioga St., between Broad St. and Germantown Ave., across the street from Temple University Hospital: An accidental discovery. Hospitals creep me the hell out, so while Rho was undergoing minor surgery last Thursday, I stepped out for a smoke and saw this hole-in-the-wall. Went for the standard chicken cheesesteak with ketchup and mayo. Quite good, with enough grease to make it honest. $4.50. Bonus with this place--they sell beer. While you're polishing off a steak, wash it down with a cold one.

Hmmm...I wonder how many places in the city of Philadelphia alone sell cheesesteaks. I can think of 8 places in my own neighborhood that will deliver one to me. And this is Northeast Philadelphia...the foo-foo part of town. I can only imagine the numbers in South Philadelphia. Time to do some research...

Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Ex*CUSE* me? This must be some other meaning of "foo foo " with which I'm not familiar. :-) Old City...Chestnut Hill...the Main Line...but the *Northeast* is "the foo foo part of town"? Somebody needs to show you around town, Syc. :-)

Amadeo's Too rocks hard. I live about three minutes from there. Amadeo's (one, presumambly) catered lunch at Micro Focus for most of the time I worked there. I can confirm they deliver to Building 50, because there's a note on the wall at the restaurant behind the register about how the Norristown State patients aren't allowed any caffinated drinks. :-)

But seriously....your heart is enlarged, your lung capacity is dimished...and you're worried about *cheesesteaks* and blowing off the smoking issue? You really *don't* believe in statistics, do you? I wouldn't worry about concealed carry by citizens--you're still a bigger danger to yourself than any handgun.

Re: Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

After working around South and West Philadelphians, it IS the foo foo part of town. ;)

Re: Re: Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Which demonstrates the truth of what I said about neeeding to get out.

Oh...I need to second that D'Alessandro's endorsement too. In my salad days I lived in Roxborough, where D'Alessandro's was but a stone's throw away. *Wonderful* steaks there. And Monahan's Irish Pizza (IV-3-1110, "It's an easy number to remeber", it said on the box).

Damn, that *was* a long time ago...

I'm going to hammer the smoking point again, Syc, you blew it off too easy. That's real denial there. That shit will kill you.

My dad did his damnedest to kill himself with his diet, and he *almost* succeeded; we were certain the adult-onset diabetes and strokes were going to kill him. They sure made him suffer.

But he smoked like a chimney nearly all his life...and during one hospital admission for the circulatory problems they noticed his liver was enlarged--not an easy thing given his >340lbs weight..

It was cancer. He was gone within two weeks. The biopsy indicated the cancer probably seeded from his gut. And I remain convinced the original carcinogen there was in swallowed saliva from his tobacco habit.

He never made it to 60.

Re: Re: Re: Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Believe it or not, I've been fortunate enough to see quite a bit of the area since I moved here. I am well aware of the actual foo-foo parts of town...at least here in the city.

Quote:

I'm going to hammer the smoking point again, Syc, you blew it off too easy. That's real denial there. That shit will kill you.

WHERE was the denial?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Ah! Now that I have your attention...:-)

The denial is sweeping something you don't want to think about off your mental stage, to avoid the cognitive dissonance. Like "I've only been smoking for six years..." as if that was just day-tripping. or "I smoke...well...a lot, really". I won't ask you how much "a lot" is--it's so much that you don't even want to put a number on it.

But you've had a wake-up call. Now you've been told the problem is "something muscular" ...presumably because there's no conduction defect showing up in your cardiogram. (Of course, the heart is a muscle, too...)

Maybe the nurse wouldn't lecture you because he or she smokes hirself. But I quit many years ago, so I don't have that problem.

You heard an alarm go off when you were told you have an enlarged heart and diminished vital capacity. But now they've told you your strip is clean and cholesterol is low, so it's bring on the cheesesteaks...

That alarm was real. It's telling you *you* know the smokes are killing you. And now that the immediate emergency is over, you're ready to sweep that alrm back under the carpet again, because the thought of breaking the tobacco addiction is too scary. "It's too hard" you tell yourself..."I'll never get though it, and it will just make my weight problem worse. I need something to smooth me out when I get nervous. It's my only vice, leave me alone..."

Sound familiar?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Again, I must ask, WHERE was the denial about the smoking?

I live outside of Atlantic City and the best cheesesteaks has to be the White House Sub shop just off of the AC Xway. I think a lot has to do with the bread.

You're not the first person I've heard this from.

I was chatting with a co-worker the other day. He mentioned that he went to a cheesesteak place in Altoona, PA one day while he was out there. He said it was the worst cheesesteak he ever had...and he said it was the bread that did it.

The bread is indeed a prime component of the cheesesteak. The tastiest cheesesteaks I've had have been on Amoroso rolls.

lisa took me to that White House many years back, and it WAS great (for hoagies anyway), and I made the mistake of not remembering the exact location. How do you get there?

There was a story a few years back of a NJ state police hit, where they were monitoring the conversations of mobsters. And after listening to their conversations, they decided that "hoagies" must be code for "drugs" and "white house" must be where they were going to pick up the wholesale stash in Atlantic City. The cops were embarrassed when they stopped the cars on their way back only to find out it WASN'T code and they were in fact transporting HOAGIES.

(And for our east-coast-illiterate friends, "hoagies" are sandwiches made with delicatessen meats and cheeses on long rolls, typically by folks with Italian ancestry who bring their love of food, and lots of it, to Philly.)

If you should go to the White House sub shop and if you do like the bread, you will find a bakery just down the street from the sub shop called Rando's bakery. They supply most of the sub shops in the area and they will sell to people off the street. Let me know if you ever go there. I would love to hear your opinon.

Heh...
 

Apparently, the place is well-regarded.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The cheesesteak crusader returns...
 

Nowhere. It doesn't exist. Never did. Move along, nothing to see here. You are perfectly justified in denying that you're in denial. :-)

This a bit like the old "Nathan Therm" bit back on SNL...."Defenseive? Who's being defensive! *I'm* not being defensive---*You're* the one who's being defenseive..."

So, having been duly alarmed about smoking, now you're now going to continue with it until you have actual explicit physical symptoms *again*, right? At which point it will be too late to panic.

Again.

In the meantime, you won't engage on the topic of smoking, because you'd rather play "red herring" about denial.

Ah, addictive behavior, gotta love it...:-) A bit like the five stages of grief, but postdated.

Does your lady smoke too?

------------

And with both cheesesteaks and hoages, it is most assuredly the bread.

Best theory I've heard on the "hoagie" name was that it was how the shipyard workers down on Hog Island used to carry their lunch to work. How we get from "Hog" to "hoag" I'm not sure. It's a damnfine portable meal though.

Originally posted by Undertoad Tony,

I need to pick you up on my way there next time. (I've already been there twice since moving back to PA). But, in case you go before I do they're on Artic Avenue near Arkansas (I think). Best way to get there is to head a little downbeach (West or South) of Trump plaza on Atlantic Avenue, turn away from the beach, then turn right on Artic and it will be on your left within a few blocks.

And, yes, I still think they are the best hoagies that I have ever had.

Wow...meaning they're better than Michael's Deli. Pick me up on the way too. :-)

The last GOOD hoagie I had in Philly was at Slack's off the Arimingo/Girard exit of 95. That was ca. 1996 so I'll qualify that.


On the same topic, for those who are caught out of Philly, Dave and Busters offers a pretty good cheesesteak. The roll is close to an Amoroso roll. They claim the rolls are flown in from Philly. Most of the steak sandwiches offered in the South and West are a joke and based upon Pat's and Geno's. provalone cheese and green peppers/mushrooms. I break balls on those who try to represent that as a Philly steak.

As for the White House, I recall it being on the SW corner of Mississippi and Arctic avenues. That was well over 10 years ago (late 80's), so don't hold me to it.
Kevin.

I'll bet you're right. Mississippi rings a chord in my brain. :)

Okay. So I have a question -

Not being in Philadelphia, but more in the Northern Virginia/DC area, where can I find a decent cheesesteak that is at least somewhat representative of the quality that would be found in Philly?

I know sycamore can help me out with this. Or maybe not. :)

Anyway. One of these days I'll come up to Philly. We should get some cheesesteaks or something. Must get car first. Man. Always something to spend money on :)

Damn...that's a toughie. Even after trying in several distant locales, I can't remeber *ever* having anything that truly captured the essence of either a cheesesteak *or* a hoagie anywhere else on the planet. Conventional wisdom is that it is largely an issue of the rolls used, and I'm loathe to disagree.

There's also the influence of a certain native wild abandon towards fat, oils and starch that is the perfect local blend of German and Italian cultures.

Ah, this is where being a former resident of DC actually pays off.

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory on Baltimore Ave. (Rt. 1) in downtown College Park, MD. If you don't have anyone to take you over there, take the Green Line to the College Park/UMD station. Walk under the tunnel and walk up Calvert Rd. to Baltimore Ave. (about 4 blocks). Hang a right at Baltimore Ave., stay on the right hand side of the street, and it's about 2 blocks up. Truth be told, it doesn't compare to anything in Philadelphia, but it's not half-bad.

Word up, G. Since I have never experienced the Philly cheesesteak, I cannot compare - but I did hit a really good cheesesteak somewhere around here. They are apparently a place that has a shop open in Philly, but I don't remember their name. Friend of mine and I went there for lunch one day. It was pretty tasty. And yes, the bread was great.

The guy downstairs in our cafeteria also makes what I consider to be a pretty tasty cheesesteak. It's not the best one I've ever had, but it beats a hot dog any day of the week :)

Hmmm. I'll hgave to try it if I'm ever down that way again. But I usually regard the word "Philadelphia" in a cheesesteak offering to be the kiss-of-death.

If it doesn't compare to anything in Philly, they should call it the "College Park Cheesteak Factory". :-) College Park does have a cute little airport, though...longest continuously operating one in the US, I beleve.

If it's not in Philadelphia, it really doesn't compare. :) Just like going to the grocery store and buying the Philly Steak. Ummm...no.

Quote:

College Park does have a cute little airport, though...longest continuously operating one in the US, I beleve.

Correct. I believe they have antique planes there as well. I remember passing by it on Metro's green line as you head towards Greenbelt.

One time though, that place completely fucked up my order. I believe I ordered a chicken cheesesteak hoagie...and I wanted nothing on it (i.e. no peppers or onions). When I got home, all I had was a vegetarian hoagie. Lettuce and tomato...that was it. Man, was I pissed! I promptly drove back over there (b/c it was only 10 minutes from our apartment) and got it corrected...fucking moron. If I remember correctly, it's in a building that used to be one of the Little Taverns that used to be all over the DC area.

Well. Lunch time is starting, and the guy downstairs makes a pretty good cheesesteak. It's pretty cheap ($2.90, + $.90 for fries). Lotsa cheese, pretty alright bread... I get peppers and onions on it, and i'm pretty generous with the mayonnaise. I think I shall be having one of those for lunch today :)

No, that's HORRIBLE! It is NOT a real cheesesteak!! And if you ate it, you have FUCKING lost what little brains you have left!!! MORON!!!

Sorry...I was in a bit of a dham moment there. ;)

You're a boner.

To each his own, man. But I can back up the goodness of the $2.90 cheesesteak. At least, I could have. George got fired, which means he's not making it anymore. Oh well. But it was a pretty fine sub.

Perv. :-)

Mayo is good. Really really good. Though I prefer dipping my sandwiches in it and then eating, instead of just spreading it on the whole thing. You know - dip, bite, dip, bite. It's all good :)

Yeah, you gotta have the mayo, particularly on a chicken steak. And this is one of those situations where Miracle Whip will not do.

I'm still appalled at the one place I went to that used tartar sauce...blecch!

I just have to note at this point that the best commercially available mayo is Trader Joe's. It's more like hollandaise than mayonnaise. That is all.

I haven't tried it, but there's a TJ's right near my house. I'll have to have Jenni pick some up and make it into a sandwich.

Personally, I do appreciate the taste of Hellman's. I think it's still really damn good, even after all these years of eating it. Mayo goes good on a lot of things.

Ah, good choice. I'm a Kraft Real Mayo gal myself, even though I'm not suppose to have that. *grins*