Camacho Watcho

I love steak…I love cheese…I love bread…so when in Philly I KNEW I had to try a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Better than that, along with two friends, I tried three Philly cheesesteak sandwiches at three different restaurants…all in one day.

It sounds worse than it was. But, even though we split a sandwich at each place, it was still a lot of cheesesteak in one day. I will admit that the third sandwich was not by plan; it was a last minute airport munchies decision using the rationale of my friend Andy who said, “when will we be in Philly again?”

The two places that we tried first were Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s King of Steaks. We had gotten the recommendation from a friend who said that Pat’s was the original, best place for cheesesteak. In fact, Pat’s is credited with creating the cheesesteak sandwich in 1930 and opening the sandwich stand in the location that still stands on the corners of 9th Street, Wharton and Pussyunk Avenues. A little over 30 years later Joe Vento, the founder of Geno’s, decided to go into the cheesesteak business. He decided that he would open on the corner directly across from Pat’s on the same intersection. I like Joe’s spunk.

Although we didn’t know the whole history when we went to this intersection of cheesesteak magic, it was immediately apparent that the competition was tight when we got out of our cab…Pat’s to the right and Geno’s to the left. Pat’s is a more understated structure, with a white and blue theme and two simple, although quite large, signs that advertises the name. Geno’s, on the other hand, is a mass of orange, white and black with flames and lightbulbs highlighting the large signs and the simple statement that says “The Best.” Both sandwich stands have outdoor seating only, walls covered with pictures of celebrities who have tried their cheesesteak, a cash only business, and a strict policy on how to order.

How to order a Philly cheesesteak? First, have your cash in hand and ready. The sandwiches cost $7.50 each, so be prepared. Second, all they want to know is what kind of cheese (provolone, American or Cheese Whiz) and with or without (wit or wit-out) onions. Wait for your sandwich and then step down to the next line for a drink and fries or other side orders. That’s it – sounds simple, but you’d better be ready.

Pat’s King of Steaks Cheesesteak

Geno’s Steaks Cheesesteak

So what was the verdict? The three of us agreed and preferred Geno’s over Pat’s cheesesteak sandwich. Although we did not order the exact same at both (Geno’s was the Cheese Whiz wit onions and Pat’s was American with onions), the bread and meat were still different enough to compare. All of us were very skeptical of putting Cheese Whiz on our sandwich, but we agreed that it was best cheese we tried for this sandwich. Regardless of the cheese, the deciding factor for me was the meat. Geno’s was juicy and perfectly cooked and Pat’s was a little dry and had little flavor. All in all, Geno’s wins the Best Philly Cheesesteak Award from me.

Tags: Food, steak, Travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.