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Sunday, 1PM: NFC: Cheesesteaks vs. Cheesecake

Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle , January 10, 2009 00:55

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New York’s Mayor Bloomberg has put up one of The Big Apple’s best: a Carnegie Deli cheesecake (photo above left from the Carnegie website; see the Roadfood.com review). Philadelphia Mayor Nutter has matched him with the pride and joy of The City of Brotherly Love: five cheesesteaks from around town (that’s a Pat’s steak pictured above, from the Roadfood.com review). Those are the steaks, er, stakes as the Giants and Eagles meet up Sunday afternoon (not in New York, not in Pennsylvania, but in the Garden State of New Jersey). If we’re not mistaken, we think there’s something else at stake in that game too… something about football… Read about it on the NY1 website.

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Comments

1/10/2009 12:20:07 PM #

Alright Bruce, that cheesesteak looks entirely too good. On my next trip to Philly, I must have one! So, if I had time for only one (okay, two), where would I go?

ayersian |

1/10/2009 2:58:26 PM #

I would have wagered a Jimmy Buff's Italian Hot Dog against the Pat's cheesesteak. Both sandwiches, and both places making them are the originals. Then I remembered that Mayor Bloomberg is from New York, not New Jersey, where the Italian Hot Dog was born and where the "New York" Giants play. He probably never heard of one. Nevertheless, I think an Italian Hot Dog, or at least some rippers from Rutt's Hutt would be more appropriate. Some of the Giants actually eat at Rutt's. Go Giants!

John Fox |

1/10/2009 5:44:33 PM #

My current favorite is Steve's Prince of Steaks, especially the original one on Bustleton.  It's an old-style steak: modest amount of beef, left in flaps, not hacked into a hash, and greasy.  In the January '09 issue of Gourmet, the Sterns referred to it as "soulful," but it was not among their favorites.

I know practically anyone with an opinion on the subject would strenuously disagree with me on this, but I would choose the Pat's/Geno's combo as second choice.  Why?  They also serve old-style steaks, they are really good, and the surroundings are perfect.

Alright, so I happen to like old-style cheesesteaks.  What about the others?  They have huge amounts of hacked-up beef and appeal to more modern tastes.  They also feel like you're getting a lot more for your money.  My favorite of the type is probably Dalessandro's.

Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle |

1/12/2009 12:18:48 PM #

I haven't been to Pat's but I've been to Geno's. I will not return. The sandwich was poor -- I've made better using Steakums. The fries were blah. The ratio of sandwich contents to bun was laughable. The surroundings were horrible. The building is completely plastered with anti-immigrant propaganda (laughably, there are grammatical errors on the "please order in English or don't order at all" signs). The tables were covered with photos of Geno and women in various states of undress. If the sandwich had been decent, the rest would've earned an eyeroll. Instead, the poor sandwich combined with the sandwich added up to one of the worst eating experiences I can remember. I would encourage people to skip Geno's.

wally east |

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