Food & Drink (OT)

[zambonir]

Delassandro's is where Montco people go when they want a Philadelphia cheesesteak without going al the way into Philadelphia.

Yup that would be my family if not for the South Philly roots.

I always tell people near CC that Campo's and Sonny's are fine too if they are not being precious about it. I'll admit I'm sometimes curious to try Pat's and Geno's just to see how they truly measure up these days but I don't really want to give at least one of them my money ever.

[BostonRoss]

In the early 1980s, I was sitting in a bar with a bunch of friends, one of whom was from Philly. We were lamenting the inability to get a decent cheesesteak in Massachusetts (which you still can't). One thing led to another, and we decided to drive to Philly to get a cheesesteak. Interestingly, the guy from Philly backed out, but three of us decided to go for it (after my girlfriend wisely delayed us until we were in better shape for the drive). We arrived at 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and we went to Pat's only because I knew it would be open.

After that, we were pretty tired; so we went to my Mom's apartment. She wasn't home; so we crashed on her living room floor. My friend Mike had driven, and I had sold him my beat up old 1966 Valiant. My Mom came home, saw what looked to be my former car outside, with Mass. plates. She found us asleep on her floor.

Now that our sleep schedule was messed up, we went to the Phillies game on Saturday night and drove home overnight. Fun times!

[xogfog]

The only Jim's still run by the original family is the one in Springfield, that's my go to spot. The original classic cheesesteak is provolone, but more people seem to like whiz, not a fan myself. I like D'allesandro's, but you can't get regular provolone there, only sharp provolone, so I usually go with american cheese when I'm there. John's is very good, but Jim's is still the best in my book.

[zambonir]

Well, nobody is the original family (as in, Jim himself), or the first generation of these owners. The Proettos originally bought West Philly and then opened South with the Silvers. Now those children still have Delco (which opened in '99) having closed both West and NE even before the pandemic, while a Silver still runs South (which opened in '76). For me South is still the classic; I'm sure people who grew up going to West Philly felt otherwise. Some say the new "Jim's West" (which was the subject of a lawsuit after the Proettos sold the building) is great.

I've been to Springfield a few times (and even ordered it on the Internet once, they were doing that long before Goldbelly, which they're on now).

Unlike Pat's and Tony Luke's and I'm sure a few others at least Jim's seemed free of drama until this recent thing involving a third party.

[julio]

The original classic cheesesteak is provolone, but more people seem to like whiz, not a fan myself.

I'm with you. Provolone is cheese. Whiz... well, y'all should go to the supermarket, find the stuff, and read the ingredients list. When Kraft officially refers to something as a "processed cheese food," that should tell you something.

[zambonir]

No one is pretending otherwise. I don't especially enjoy ballpark nachos either, but could you imagine them actually using Colby Jack there?

For me the meltineess/emulsification of American-style cheese can't be beat on a cheesesteak, which is why house made cheese sauce or Cooper Sharp have gotten so popular (saw a sign for the latter at Geno's today, even they have to keep up with Angelo's now). They are just different preferences same as pepperoni vs. sausage or Sicilian vs. Neapolitan (or American-style) pizza.

What's interesting is that when Pat's first served it there wasn't even cheese on it at all.

[julio]

For me the meltineess/emulsification of American-style cheese can't be beat on a cheesesteak, which is why house made cheese sauce or Cooper Sharp have gotten so popular

If you're making your own, you might try an English cheddar.

I suppose Brie would be heresy?

[Philsmania]

American cheese...another disgrace to our nation.

Give me some sharp Vermont cheddar, darnit! If that's not available, I take the provolone.

[zambonir]

I have made both cheese sauce and American cheese out of English cheddar. It is a delicate balance, you don't really want it to be too sharp. You can do it with Bleu cheese too. Cooper pretty much nails the balance and right level of sharpness I think. There is also a new "artisan" American cheese company that is carried at DiBruno. Velveeta and Whiz are a different animal entirely (or not an animal at all!)

Sharp aged cheddar is nice on a burger, and in Mac and cheese for sure. Can't really imagine it on a cheesesteak or nachos.

[Sabin]

For me the meltineess/emulsification of American-style cheese can't be beat on a cheesesteak, which is why house made cheese sauce or Cooper Sharp have gotten so popular

If you're making your own, you might try an English cheddar.

I suppose Brie would be heresy?

Definitely on board with the English Cheddar. That would pair well.

Have you actually tried a Brie with one? I'm a little skeptical with that. I have thought of trying a gruyere/provolone mix, maybe a sauce, but i like gruyere.

I whipped up some grilled mushroom buttons stuffed with gruyere and Parmesan (the good stuff ) that were quite good.

[dicemen99]

Any suggestions of putting brie on a Philly cheesesteak is just heresy.

It could possibly taste good, but that doesn't justify doing it - or even thinking about doing it.

[zambonir]

Yeah swiss cheese is the much more classic choice

[julio]

Any suggestions of putting brie on a Philly cheesesteak is just heresy.

It could possibly taste good, but that doesn't justify doing it - or even thinking about doing it.

Agreed, actually. This would be a terrible waste of good cheese!

[allentown]

We had Brass Rail cheesesteaks for lunch today. Not their traditional with spicy tomato sauce, these had mushrooms and sweet peppers along with Cooper Sharp cheese. Very tasty, next time I'm going with the traditional Brass Rail version.

[bkox]

Im in the middle of Illinois and you all are making me miss having a good cheesesteak so bad right now.

[Sabin]

And here I thought you were being serious for a second.

Happen to have a favorite type of brie? Around the holidays I'll make a baked brie,. Take an 8oz wheel, wrap it in a puff pastry (I rub with Kerrigold butter) and top with a good raspberry preserve and sliced almonds (also optional: slice the wheel in half and add some of the preserves and almonds in the middle). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, let sit for five.

That's normally a pleaser.

[schillingfan]

My top priority for a good cheese steak is that the cheese be mixed in with the steak and not just poured or melted on top. When I come down to Philadelphia my go to is always a pork with broccoli rabe from Tony Luke’s or whatever it’s called these days. It’s what I get at the ballpark. A good ualitynSHARP provolone is mandatory.

[Purduke]

I'm already looking forward to going to Subway this Sunday to get my cheese steak with raw green peppers, provo and chipotle sauce, just like I did on Feb 4, 2018.

Hey, CT you know -- home of great pizza, crappy 'que and Sysco cheese steaks.

[bkeich]

I'm already looking forward to going to Subway this Sunday to get my cheese steak with raw green peppers, provo and chipotle sauce, just like I did on Feb 4, 2018.

Hey, CT you know -- home of great pizza, crappy 'que and Sysco cheese steaks.

Please do so just to make CERTAIN we win.

Also please never use the words Subway and cheesesteak in the same sentence if it doesn’t involve the Eagles winning a Super Bowl

[zambonir]

We're refusing to do anything we did in 2023 or anything we've done for the Phillies.