Philadelphia Cheesesteaks

-We were near Philadelphia recently and decided we had to have cheesesteak for lunch of course. My last cheesesteak was in 1989, in Philadelphia, when the kids were just wee little ones. The sandwich must not have been too great because I didn't find myself craving another until 20 years later.
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So we grabbed Kath and Kel and headed into the city.
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Look at the photo. Right above Kath's head is the blue "Pat's" sign and behind/above Kel's head is the Geno's building two blocks away. These are by far the Kings of Philadelphia cheesesteak, although the locals stay away, calling them tourist traps. The locals eat at Tony Luke's, Delasanndro's, Pagano's or Jim's. -


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We opted for Geno's and determinedly walked towards it. I was at that time quite sure I would have a sandwich from both Pat's and Geno's.
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Pat's is the quiet, shy, mousy sister while Geno's is the brassy, saucy, flashy come-hither sister. Both had tourists lined up 20-30 people deep. Pat's is older, opened in the '30's and Geno's didn't open til the '60's.
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There's nothing shy about the flashy sister, she had her secret ingredient right out there for the world to see.

Cheez Whiz.

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You heard me.

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I hesitated. Did I really want cheez whiz? Like when I was in Hawaii and the delicacy there is Spam. Screech. No Mahalo. Or Peru - the delicacy there is guinea pig. No gracias.

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But the chef lured me closer. He looks like he knows cheesesteaks, doesn't he? And he was concentrating so hard, making each one the best ever, I just knew it!

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And thus Genos stole my heart.

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There is no inside seating and very limited outdoors seating, right on the street, in the gutter and car fumes. Another drawback: the line is rough. It moves fast. You have to know what you want and be bold about it. I sent Tom; I knew I couldn't handle that soup-nazi line. I'd have been sniveling "whatever! whatever you want to give me!" You need a TypeA, outspoken yankee to handle the line for you. -

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I secured our fine seating and left them to handle the fierce line.

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As you can tell, Geno's was awesome. Incredible. Way better than my last cheesesteak 20 years ago up by Independence Hall. It's well worth the drive (10 minutes?) to south Philly to get one of these babies. -

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Patti, what do you think??

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I never made it to Pat's. From what I've heard, it's just like Geno's. Go for the samich, but the fries are nothing to write home about. I'm still afraid of the ordering line though. Sometimes I have nightmares about it.
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