1st up, Pat's which was founded in 1930 as a hot dog stand, and this cheesesteak was fan-freakin-tastic! We ordered it "Wit" (with onions) and the standard cheese is cheese whiz so thats what we had. It was gooey, cheesy, meaty and everything a Philly Cheese should be.
Next up we had Geno's started by Joe Vento (his son Geno works as a manager there with him) in 1966 and while theirs was delicioso too we ordered American cheese instead of cheese whiz and that took away from the yummy warmth and gooeyness of the sandwich and I think the bread was more dense which added to the dryness.
The meats from both locations were really well cooked, tender and nicely seasoned, though thinner sliced at Pat's. Also note worthy they are directly across the street from one another and both get packed all the time and both are open 24/7. Talk about local competition...If your in south Philly you must stop here and try them both but make sure you know how to order or you may get sent to the back of the line when they are busy. You may even spot some celebs pickin up some famous cheesesteaks!
If you will be there for another meal and like me you would like a healthier option or you have a Vegetarian with you, Philly actually has food other than cheese or steak (*a gasp from the audience) I know crazy huh?. I tried a yummy little place called Maoz Vegetarian. It is a international chain so you may have tried it somewhere else but as far as I know, not in SoCal. They are known for the falafel but they have salads and more. The general idea is simple they have an open salad bar with all kinds of yummyies where you fill your hummus or falafel filled pita, flatbread or salad, kind of like a vegetarian pita sandwich version of subway.
Those philly cheesesteaks look pretty good! That Geno's place looks familiar, not that I've been. But me and my boyfriend like to watch the show Man vs. Food and I believe he's been there on his show. I also think theres a place across from Geno's that also sells philly cheesesteaks, which is funny. If you don't already watch the show Man vs. Food you should. It's pretty interesting and yummy. It always makes me hungry though.
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