During my recent trip to Philadelphia for work I had the opportunity to enjoy Cheesesteaks from the mother land. Here is my review in order of consumption…
Embassy Grille @ Embassy Suites Hotel Philadelphia-Airport
After arriving in Philadelphia and checking into the hotel we headed to the hotel restraunt for lunch. A nice atmosphere and we had a good waiter. Unfortianatly for him it was his first day, the register was down for a while, I belive he was the only server that was working and we think he might have been the cook too. It took forever to get our food. The cheesesteak was nothing special. Just chopped steak, onions and Provolone on a toasted hoagie roll. It was a little dry, reminded me of the cheesesteak you can get in Cincinnati from Frisch’s.
Pat’s King of Steaks
Recently featured on FoodTV’s “The Best of…” I had Pat’s all steaked out. Chopped steak and onions on a toasted hoagie roll loaded with cheese whiz. And a paper cup crammed with fries and cheese whiz pumped over the top. If you haven’t had a cheesesteak with cheese whiz, then you haven’t had a REAL Cheesesteak!
People! If you are in the Philadelphia area you MUST get to Pat’s! Make sure you read the “How to order” sign. And make sure you get in the stance eat your cheesesteak from Pat’s or else it will be on your shoes! This place is the best!
Geno’s Steaks
Geno’s it right across the street from Pat’s. The steak isn’t chopped up though. It is in slices like you would get roast beef from the deli. Layed flat on the hoagie roll, again with Cheese Whiz and onions. Geno’s does have a table to the side with peppers, mustard, ketchup and hot sauce. Being the hot sauce junkie that I am, I put a shot of hot sauce on the cheese fries. The hot sauce was really thick, and knowing that that is a good sign, I put a totally of three pumps of hot sauce on my cheese fries. We got back in the car and I stired the hot sauce in with the cheese and the fries. Mental Note - If the hot sauce curdels the cheese sauce you better have something to drink nearby! I made it back to the office but I almost drank the coke we got to take back to a guy at the office. The hot sauce had a similar flavor to flamin’ hot cheeotes but a bit stronger.
Geno’s Cheesesteak was ok but I prefer the steak to be chopped not sliced.
Jim’s Steaks
Jim’s is on South Street in Central Philly. A very busy part of town, not easy to find a place to park. Sandwich was pretty good, chopped steak, onions and cheese whiz again, but not as good as Pat’s. However I got a veggie hoagie for one of the guys at work and he said it was the best veggie hoagie he has ever had.
Unknown street cart by SunGard
Saturday morning I didn’t eat breakfast at the hotel. So I went down to the street in front of SunGard and ordered a CheeseSteak from the street cart in front of the office on Broad Street. It was fresh and I stood there while the guy in the cart made the whole thing. He asked if I wanted mayo or ketchup. Never thought about putting ketchup on a cheesesteak. I said no to both but should have had the mayo. Cheese was white american slices. I wish he had had cheese whiz, but it was better than Embassy Grille but again about the same thing you can get at Frisch’s.
All things considered, in September when I return to Philly, I will be visiting Pat’s again. And trying out some of the other local establishments. I had hoped to get to Rick’s Philly Steaks on Saturday afternoon but it was too crowded. The best thing to do it ask the locals for recommendations. And make sure you get to Pat’s!
