A Tale of Two Cheesesteaks


On April 9, 2005, Amir Kenan and I, Anthony Robinson, left our temporary lodgings (a beautiful apartment on the third floor of an ancient lovely house in Philadelphia’s “University City” neighborhood) with one thing on our minds: cheesesteaks. A short subway ride and a walk through Italian Market (Philly’s “Little Italy”) later, we arrived at our first destination: Geno’s.

Ever since Rasheed Wallace answered a reporter’s question “Can you get a good cheesesteak in Portland?” with an assertive “Aw, hell no!” I’ve fantasized about making a pilgrimage to Sheed’s hometown and seeking out the real thing.

First the ground rules: We would order one sandwich from warring cheesesteak purveyors, Pat’s King of Steaks, and Geno’s. Each sandwich would be “wit whiz,” which in Philly steak parlance means “Give me a steak sandwich with onions and Cheese Whiz.” Other options are available, and some folks swear by American or Provolone cheese, but the legendary cheesesteak of my dreams, the cheesesteak of arcane power, the cheesesteak vilified by dead child molester and frugal gourmet Jeff Smith, the cheesesteak I’ve spied numerous times dancing across my always-tuned-to-the-Food Network television screen, has the bright yellow goo, the almost-dairy product that Kraft Corporation christened Cheese Whiz. I don’t even like Cheese Whiz. But authenticity was the first principle of this competition.

We would sample each cheesesteak, adding condiments as necessary and sipping Pepsi or Birch Beer as needed. We would then evaluate. Points would be awarded for taste, appearance, service, and general satisfaction.

With some trepidation, we ordered steak number one from Geno’s. Contrary to what I’d witnessed on television, the man at the window was rather nice. The woman who gave us our sodas, however, was as rude as they come. Satisfaction!

Onto the steaks!


Geno's very tidy cheesesteak.


Amir, "tucking in" to Geno's.


Enjoying a birch beer in front of Geno's, post-steak.


Pat's King of Steaks menu


The very sloppy and bountiful Pat's cheesesteak


Almost finished. Note the pretty red pepper.


The Verdict: while similar, there were some important differences between the two steaks. First of all the ratio of filling to bread was vastly different. Geno's sandwich was tidy and moderately filled. As many Philly enthusiasts will tell you, it's all about the bread--slightly chewy and crusty on the outside, soft, almost insiped and fluffy on the inside. Geno's sandwich was a near-perfect melding of bread, cheese, steak, and onions.

Pat's, on the other hand, won points for sheer abundance. This thing was big. And messy (see photo). With about twice as much filling as Geno's, the flavor of the steak took center stage. I found Pat's to be a bit tastier, probably because the beef flavor came through more clearly. However, the bread was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed too, with Cheese Whiz, mostly. Too much of the whiz is not necessarily a good thing.

I gave a marginal win to Pat's on the basis of bounty, (and because they had a better selection of condiments and ruder staff), but I would really need to eat a few more steaks to decide on a definite favorite. Right now, Geno's sounds pretty good.

Amir, perhaps the more insightful eater of the two of us, immediately declared a resounding victory for Geno's, citing a more balanced sandwich experience. And they had delicious birch beer.