I lived 40 minutes outside of Philadelphia for more than 32 years before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 12 years ago. This summer, though, I returned for a visit and my family and I decided it was time to settle the big Philly cheesesteak debate. Whose sandwich is the best?
So, with my best friend and his family, along with my husband, teen, and tween in tow, we set out on a mission to crown our favorite Philly cheesesteak.
Would it be Jim's, Pat's, or Geno's?
Jim's South St.
I swore for YEARS that Jim’s South St. was my fav for a Philly cheesesteak, but in hindsight, I never tried the trifecta of steak places all in the same day. So I decided to go into this challenge with an open mind. We arrived at Jim’s to find a long line wrapped around the building. But we stayed, deciding the kids had to experience the waiting in line and anticipation of getting closer to all of the cheesesteak action. After 40 minutes, I was starting to regret our decision, but we were too invested in the wait to give up. After finally reaching the front of the line, we watched the impressive orchestrated preparation of our sandwiches — the freshly sliced meat making its way to the grill to be chopped, then pushed into the roll with cheese, grilled onions, and our toppings of choice. We opted for the traditional Whiz Wit and an American Wit. That meant we wanted our sandwiches with cheese whiz and American cheese with (WIT in Philly vernacular) onions. By the time we ripped open our steak sandwiches, we were famished. The sandwich was exceptionally fresh and cooked to perfection with the perfect steak to cheese to bread ratio. The onions were chopped a little bigger than I remembered and the sandwich overall lacked a little salt, which we could have added ourselves, but still. We enjoyed every single bite. |
Next up: Pat's and Geno's
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Pat's (the King of Steaks since 1930) and Geno's (The Best Cheesesteak in Philly) is the Rocky vs. Creed rivalry of cheesesteak places.
They are located diagonally across from each other on the corners of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue and your visit to Philadelphia would not be complete without visiting these famous cheesesteak destinations.
We strategized and split up to get our steak sandwiches at the same time. I was off to Geno's and the rest of our crew headed to Pat's. We apparently weren't the only ones with this idea: it seemed everyone around us had a Pat's and Geno's sandwich in each hand and was snapping pictures or taking videos proclaiming their favorite.
So there we were — in the final moments of our trifecta taste test.
First, we dove into our Philly cheesesteaks from Pat's. The meat was perfect, onions were the right size, and the bread amazing, all served in just the right ratio. It still lacked a little seasoning in my opinion, but still very good.
Then we ripped into our Geno's steak. The big difference between the two: the meat. Geno's was not a chopped meat like the others -- more of a thin-sliced beef. Again, the meat, cheese, and bread ratio was great at Geno's and although the onions were the right size, they were a little undercooked.
Because we clearly hadn't had enough to eat, we splurged and shared a side of fries from both places. Everyone loved the fries from Pat's, but I was a fan of the skinny fries from Geno's. This girl likes a skinny fry.
The verdict
For us, it came down to the meat and the sautéed onions — both integral parts of a Philly cheesesteak.
The steak was the most flavorful and fresh at Jim’s, but the onions were chopped a bit larger and took a bit away from the steak.
Pat's had the best roll with chopped meat and the onions were the right size and ratio.
The steak at Geno's was good — if you like your steak meat sliced and not chopped. Reminds me more of a French dip without the au jus.
But what about the onions? Jim’s and Pat’s were our top contenders here, and we felt Pat's onions had an edge.
So for us, Pat’s took the crown. It just had the perfect ratio of all ingredients.
To be fair, we are fans of the chopped steak in our Philly cheesesteaks, so if you like your steaks sliced and not chopped then Geno's is your place.
After sharing our pick, other Philly friends and family chimed in and said we should have also included Tony Luke's (The Real Taste of Philly). I guess on our next visit we will have to add Tony’s to the challenge. Not sure we could do four Philly cheesesteaks on the same day, but it's a challenge we’d be willing to suffer through.
That day, after all was said and eaten, we swore off cheesesteaks for life — until the next day when we visited a favorite local joint in West Chester, Pa., and ordered a ... you guessed it... cheesesteak. We decided right then and there that you can find your favorite cheesesteak anywhere — even in a small local deli. Heck, we even have a few places in Cedar Rapids we love for Philly cheesesteaks.
Homemade beats them all
But maybe I'm the real winner of this contest. Even after all of our taste testing at famous Philly cheesesteak restaurants, my family still swears my homemade Philly cheesesteaks are the best.
So, no matter where you live, bring Philly into your home and give my recipe a try. It's super easy, and it's the perfect food for the football game! #GoBirds
Char’s Philly Cheesesteaks
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup of chopped fine onion
- 6 servings of frozen sliced sirloin beef (we use Steak-EZE)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 12 slices of American cheese (the white kind!)
- Fresh hoagie rolls
- Ketchup (optional)
Directions:
- In a large skillet, saute onions over medium to medium-high heat until translucent.
- Add frozen or thawed steak to the pan and with two metal spatulas, pull the meat apart and chop fine as it cooks through.
- Mix in salt and pepper.
- Turn down heat to low and top with American cheese slices. As it starts to melt, fold meat and cheese together in the pan.
- Slather into sliced rolls and enjoy!
Six servings.
Serve with ketchup if you wish (I like to dip mine) ... and enjoy a taste of Philadelphia!
