Last weekend was a continual game of ‘Will it/Won’t it Rain?’
I’m not a fan of this game…especially on my weekend.
So even though my heart was calling me to outdoor activities, I knew we needed to find something to do that would keep us indoors and away from the temperamental weather.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to you that what we ended up doing was dictated by where we decided to have lunch.
And while I know I’ve emphasized here that I am not a Philly girl…Philly is where our stomachs took us.
Anybody can go to the staple Philly cheese steak spots, the Pat’s vs Geno’s cheese steak war has been around for decades, but what so many seem to forget is that there are literally TONS of amazing cheese steak places in Philly that aren’t situated tauntingly across the street from one another.
The only downside about Philips Steaks was that they had absolutely no seating*. We were a little early for the average lunch rush hour and it was raining, so there was plenty of standing counter space for us to comfortably enjoy our Italian hoagie and cheese steak hoagie.
*But if you’ve ever been to Pat’s or Geno’s on a warm summer day, you know that seating there is limited.
I won’t tell you who wins the Pat’s vs Geno’s debate in my opinion, but I will tell you that Philip’s was better than the loser. The cheese steak was a rich compilation of thinly sliced meat and evenly laid cheese. And while I would rather of had fried peppers and onions, the raw onions, lettuce, and tomato didn’t detract from the meaty goodness.
While the meat and cheese are crucial to a Philly cheese steak, the thing I think truly makes or breaks it is the roll. With our hoagie, the roll was exactly what is desired in a meaty, yet slightly wet, Italian hoagie. It didn’t fall apart from the oil and vinegar, but held up with each bite.
Our cheese steak roll had just a slightly tougher bite than the hoagie, my guess is it was an Italian roll that was just having an off day. All in all, Philips stood strong as a great contender for ‘Best Philly Cheese Steak’.
Alright, East Coast friends, time for some class participation. Tell me…
What is your favorite Philly cheese steak place that isn’t Pat’s or Geno’s?
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