Cheesesteak themed weekend in Philly 2008

Hey Cheesewit ,

Thanks for the advice on Little Johns , we may check that out due to its proxinity to the Franklin Institute .

May have to cancel our Sunday trip for a few weeks due to the htree year old being sick , but if all is well we will be off to Phily on Sun morn .

By the way the cheesesteaks would be for the wife . Just had the lap band surgery and hard to keep anything of substance down . Including Hot Dogs !!!!! Down 35 so far though

Benzee

Damn now I'm up to 1001 posts , did not stay on 1000 long .

quote:

Originally posted by Bluemaxx

WJ - this is the single greatest post of all time (in my humble opinion, of course). I think I will start pulling my hair out now and screaming at the top of my lungs! Man, do I miss really good cheesesteaks (chopped, not sliced of course). Crying now...

I agree with Bluemaxx. I love cheesesteaks, and Philadelphia, yet, there is so much I learned reading this post. What a great read. I can tell you I've never been to any of these places, though I have heard of Lorenzo's.

I will definitely use this post as a valued resource the next time I visit the area. I can't thank you enough for the words and pictures.

Oh, that bread from Cosmi's was just beautiful. Great report. Thank you! Never had a real Philly cheesesteak from Philly. So, this is surely a great pleasure for me to see. Everyone of those sandwiches looks better than anything I've EVER had.

I just love seeing all those people standing in those long, long lines at those most famous places in the heart of Philly. Amazing. My cash register mind is going a mile a minute! I love to see people making money! Thanks again WJ.

I'm adding to this post because I wondered if any of you Philly cheesesteak experts can tell (me/us) something about the actual meat being used. I'd heard that Gino's gets their meat from Australia. Can anyone confirm that? That they are using a rib eye. That it comes in frozen(of course),they defrost it just until they can shave it and then they slice it thin.

I have to believe with the low value of the dollar that this might now be a pricing disadvantage, if in fact I am right about where they get that meat. Unless they are using something like a "good" grade of rib eye here in the USA, how can they afford to sell that sandwich at a reasonable price? Even Choice graded rib eye costs a lot of $$. So, maybe they all use a different cut? But, in the interests of competition, I'd have to believe Geno's and Pat's are using the same type of meat albeit from different sources?

Thanks for any info on this...Sorry, if it's already been discussed (probably)

WJ, what an excellent report! I love the details and all the great photos for comparison!

Amy & I watched an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives last week that featured the Pat's vs. Geno's debate. Both looked delicious, but now I won't be in such a hurry to try them, thanks to your suggestions. I think I'd favor the one from Campo's anyway... Chris

quote:

Originally posted by ellen4641


I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks Pats, Geno's, and Jim's are way overrated. (and not even particularly good). (IMO, Geno's tasted like horsemeat, way too tough)

And you've got a good memory, regarding my reporting that Jim's Steak tastes like "air".
And even though they came right off the grill, they were just "warm", instead of being "hot and juicy"....

So... how does horsemeat taste?

I noted with interest that both you and wanderingjew do not like Pats, Geno's and Jim's. I was then surprised to find all three listed in the new 2008 Roadfood book.

FYI, the Philadelphia restaurant listings are those three, Lorenzo's Pizza (for cheesesteak), Tony Luke's and Center City Pretzel Company.

As usual, awesome report WJ! We actually just missed each other (yet again ) by a weekend. We took a spur of the moment trip to Philly Friday into Saturday. We had our cheese steaks at Gaetano's on the Jersey side since we were staying in Mt. Laurel. They were excellent and can't thank you enough for the advice in a prior post. I'll post more about our trip soon. Thanks for yours - when we go again we'll be sure to look back here and take your advice again! Sue

p.s. we were disappointed the brew pub we went to wasn't there anymore, either!

Sue: There you go again. Coming into the area and not touching base. I get the picture now.

Hey..If Geno's and Pat's and Jim's are not that good, what is the best place to get a Philly cheese steak in Philly? Is it Tony Luke's? Is it possible that you can get a better cheesesteak outside of Philly?

quote:

Originally posted by Baah Ben

Hey..If Geno's and Pat's and Jim's are not that good, what is the best place to get a Philly cheese steak in Philly? Is it Tony Luke's? Is it possible that you can get a better cheesesteak outside of Philly?

That's a real subjective question, Baah Ben... so far, I really like John's Roast Pork (for cheesesteaks) on Weccacoe Street

But I've yet to try places like Chinks, D'Alessandros, Leo's, etc.
I may have a new favorite real soon!!!

If you ask 30 different people , you will probably have about 25 different answers.

I discovered a cheesteak website today, with lots of subjective e-mail opinions by the public. It's www.bestcheesesteaks.com.
It's a nationwide directory of sorts.

And I'm so glad I have the support of W.J in our "just say no" to Pats and Geno's. (just our opinions, of course) I hate being the only dissenter ; and I'd like to think there are even more out there.

--ellen--

p.s. Hey, Miami Don, you ask how horsemeat tastes.
Well, for many folks, late at night after the Phillies game, it hits the spot for them. Or at 3 am after a night out at the bars.
It certainly did'nt do anything for me, though.

quote:

Originally posted by CheeseWit

Sue: There you go again. Coming into the area and not touching base. I get the picture now.

NOOOOO! Don't take it personal!! lol- Seriously, it was totally spur of the moment. Woke up early on Friday - Bob was on vacation (and I'm still on semi-permanent vacation) - and Bob just said "DiNic's" - who craves a pork sandwich at 7 am?? We both did! It was karma-had to go. I went on Priceline, booked a hotel, called the neighbors to make sure they could take the dog out, packed some clothes - and we were off. We even commented on the way down that we wish we had a laptop so we could email you. I PROMISE we'll be going again very soon, as we've eaten everything that we picked up already, and I'm having Amish Sticky Bun withdrawl.... Sue

See, now this is gonna be a bit difficult, as George's and Lorenzo's are right next door to each other. I'm taking a vacation day next Tuesday, the 22nd, and Brian and I are first going to the Fleisher Art Memorial to view one of my co-worker's silkscreen paintings. That's at 7th & Catherine. Then we're walking down to the Italian Market. Well, Brian's never been...and is that boy in for a treat. Now, I vividly remember chowing down on a sublime roast pork at George's with some of my friends from here. Vividly. But then I want to try a cheesesteak next door at Lorenzo's. Oh, this is not good, this sort of decision. Hey! I've got it! We'll split one of each at each place!

If anyone wants to join us, let me know! I might steer Brian towards that Mexican Coca-Cola, too, at Taqueria la Veracruzana.

Ellen - GREAT website. Thanks!!

I have been to a few of the places listed here. His reviews seem to be right on. http://www.610wip.com/pages/351421.php