As everyone knows, no trip to Philly would be complete without a cheese steak, and being cheese steak enthusiasts, we decided to check out the dual meccas of the 'steak world- Pat's (the purported inventor of the the cheese steak,) and it's sibling rival Geno's.
Despite their poor reviews on Yelp for being over priced, less than spectacular, and staffed by greasy men with the unique streak of arrogance borne of notoriety, we felt that experiencing the origins of the 'steak would be more rewarding than tracking down steakeries more highly regarded by the on-line community.
So off to South Philly we ventured. We had been warned by other steak hunters that the area inhabited by the legendary steakeries was dilapidated and dangerous- so we were happily surprised to find them located in a vibrant community reminiscent of the San Francisco Mission (except with a lot less Latinos and a lot more Italians.)
Arriving unmolested, we broke into teams to procure steaks from each of the shops (without out having to stand in both the long winding lines sequentially.) Our team went to Geno's, while Priscilla, Tammy and Sam went to Pat's to pick up our steaks.
Geno's was interestingly decorated in photo's of the owner and his son posing with scantily-clad, skanky looking women and various celebs, as well as over the top pro-American propaganda and anti-immigrant rhetoric. I was warned by a woman in line that I must order our steaks with the whiz. Apparently it caused quite an uproar when John Kerry failed to order the traditional "South Philly," from Geno's- note that Pat's doesn't serve the whiz, so apparently the style only represents the north corner of the intersection, rather than all of South Philly.
When I returned to our seats, team 2 had already procured our steaks from Pats. Apparently some confusion had occurred during ordering, and we now had in our possession 7 steaks- 4 from Pats, and 3 from Genos.
Both steaks were pretty basic- thin strips of steak with onions on bland French rolls; Pat's came with the traditional Provolone and Geno's with the aforementioned Cheese Whiz.
I started by eating one half of a Pat's steak. It was decent, but uninspiring. Several members of the expedition complained that Pat's Steaks were too dry. While not overly moist, I didn't share their concern; however the flavor was lacking in my opinion. Pat's Steaks were very bland in flavor, reminding me of my own creations before I got down with Montreal seasoning and fresh garlic. The cheese was also lacking in flavor.
Next, I moved onto a Geno's steak, with the Whiz. I was intrigued by the flavor and consistency of the Whiz; the steak was juicier than Pat's and the Whiz and grease mixed into thin cheese-gravy that soaked the otherwise bland roll. The meat was similarly bland to that of Pat's, but the flavor of the Whiz compensated for the most part.
I ended up consuming about 2.5-3 steaks in various portions in the sitting, as a excess had been ordered and various members of the expedition were unable to complete their missions, so I feel that I am qualified to end the age old debate as to who makes the best Cheese Steak:
(Drum roll, please...)
None other than the Bay Area's own Cheese Steak Shop! Honestly, neither of the famed locations could hold a candle to the Bay Area franchise. Consensus amongst the group was that Geno's made the better steak of the two, but Geno's lost points due to the quasi-racist vibe, and at least 1 member of the expedition didn't care much for the Whiz. If we had spent more than a single night in Philly, we would have undoubtedly searched for less famous, but more delectable competition, but unfortunately we left the City of Brotherly love disappointed by the over-hyped, over-rated 'steaks.
Mike's Ratings: (On a scale from 1-5, 5 being perfect and 1 being inedible.)
Cheese Steak Shop: 4.5-5 (Great tasting, but pretty expensive. I require a 15' to fully satisfy my hunger)
Geno's: 3-3.5 (Tasty, also too damn expensive)
Pat's: 2.5-3 (Very bland, I can do better at home.)
Vanessa's Ratings:
Cheese Steak Shop: 5 ("Yummy!")
Geno's: 3.5 ("I wouldn't go out of my way to stand in that line & he's racist.")
Pat's: 2 ("It was too dry.")
(Written by M.A.F.)
