Philly cheese steaks are healthy. As proof, consider this historical fact:

".....Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790 at age 84......"

At that time his 84 year lifetime was about twice that of the general western population.

MisterNice

For those who are interested in joining a fellow FT'er for a cheesesteak and roast pork sandwich, I'm going to be at this Tony Luke's location on July 5 around 6pm. See this thread for details, all are welcome: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=572711

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I wish I could be there... I'm craving a real cheesesteak! I guess it's really time to plan a Philly road trip!

So I finally made a trip to PHL to try some of PHL�s sandwiches, the legendary cheesesteaks and pork sandwiches.

I received a lot of suggestions via pm and here in this thread, thanks.

Due to time constraints I was only able to hit two spots: Tony Lukes (Oregon location), Pats King of Steaks. I know Geno�s is so close but after the grease sandwich at Pats I had no more appetite.

Tonly Lukes Experience:

Pork Sandwich Italian rocks: good bread, tender tender pork slices, with aged Provolone cheese and broccoli rabe. ^

Cheesesteak: good bread, tender slices of steak and ...!!! Cheese Whiz!!??!! I couldn�t imagine that the PHL cheesesteak whiz was the crappy yellow, no-flavor, crappy, nachos junk, crappy cheese but it was. STAY AWAY from the Whiz, incredibly gross stuff, American Cheese is almost just as bad.

Pat�s King of Steaks Experience:

PROVOLONE Cheesesteak wit (with onions). Nice sandwich but not great. Not really slices of meat but bits n chunks, saut�ed onions helped. I don�t expect a sandwich like this to be grease free but this thing was dripping in grease, I�m guessing a cups worth, so much so, I didn�t finish the end of the sandwich where the grease had completely soaked the bread.

My conclusions, the pork sandwich was great ^ and I look forward to trying out some of the other roast pork places mentioned.

I was disappointed, partly my fault, as I had elevated the PHL cheesesteak to a holy grail food item, it was good and I will for sure try some of the other places mentioned but I don�t think it will attain that high level of enjoyment I�m expecting.


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Whiz and little bits of steak is the way it's supposed to be .

Slices of meat? What do you think all that clanging is for?

Ugh. The spoils of being a novice. At Tony Luke's, you MUST follow the proper procedure,

"Sharp provolone, without."
translation, cheesesteak with sharp provolone, no onions.
if you don't specify your cheese, you'll get that glop they call Whiz. You MUST specify your cheese.
The ONLY thing worthwhile at Pat's is their ordering instructions
available here http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/order.htm
I still cannot comprehend why anyone would order anything at Pat's. What a dump.

No kidding, my enthusiasm came to a screeching halt w/the whiz junk!

The Sharp provolone is a wonderful cheese!! ^ ^

I noticed Pat's doesn't serve aged provolone, do any of the other places?

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I am pleased that I put Sweet Willie on the right track by suggesting to him that he try TL's Pork Italian, but I'm sorry that I forgot to tell him how to order the cheesesteak. There's always next time. That place is so near to the airport that he'll hit it again some day.

I believe Steve's in the Northeast does.
TLs actually has sharp and mild provolone, and they grate it into your bread (rubs tummy).
You'll get 'em next time, tiger I do believe they ship!

Agree. I don't know anyone who goes there but the tourists. Of the well known places, I can only tolerate Jim's. Good quality, neat pictures on the wall, great location.

As with most anywhere, if one is after simply the best quality, I actually believe the best [fill in the blank] are in the mom and pop joints the locals favor. But then what would one have to brag about to their friends back home?

They ship???

Ewwwwww, not for me.

Actually I do seem to recall that the White House in AC really did ship some sandwiches to Bill Cosby when he was working in California.

I lived down there for quite a while and can vouch that there are some seriously good places. For some reason, AC is the only place in the whole world other than Philly where the bakers can produce a hoagie roll worthy of the name.

I've been that desperate for real cheesesteaks at one point, that I've had friends order the meat and bread packaged separately, then I toss everything together when I get it. It keeps the bread from becoming soggy, and well, it works in a real pinch. I would guess that shippnig it would come in a similar manner.

I love the white house in AC.. it is a bit expensive, but worth it.. YUM!!! Grew up during my summers 3 blocks away and would love the cheesesteak!!!

Ahhh only 3 more weeks and in AC and Ocean City.. YuMMMM!