Frank and Unk,

Although it has been many years since my departure from Philly I have a lifelong Jones for the native cheesesteaks and hoagies. Like you two, I will get a bite and just have to get my hands around a fried onion combo. Frank, you were correct on both countsDelassandros is on the corner of Henry and Ridge with another great place, Chubbies, on the opposite corner. If you have ever had a Philly Cheeser you understand the addiction and if not you must experience this unique bit of gourmet eating.

Ive traveled all over the world and Im here to tell you that you just will not find cheesesteaks anywhere like in the greater Philly area. The natives have their own favorites and there are well over a hundred superb cheesesteak houses to choose from. Many will argue that Leos, out on the Chester Pike in Folcroft is the best but that is a never-ending debate. The truth of the matter is they are all good!

NOW FOR THE GREAT NEWS!!!

Just got to get one you say. This is for you Unk. Call 1-800-846-2443 or go to www.tasteofphiladelphia.com and order up to your hearts delight! They will put you in cheesesteak heaven overnight. ENJOY!

-- Willy (from@old.Philly), May 31, 2000

Answers

I used to know (honest) but now I've totally forgotten. What is a "Jones"?

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), May 31, 2000.

There is a God afterall. My eternal gratitude Willy, your next round is on me.

One thing, does the above mentioned Cheesy come on an Amoroso roll?

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 31, 2000.

Willy,

Yeah, I remember Chubbies too, and they always had a cooler full o' beer!

The last time I was in Philly they were closing the Clover on Henry and... and... east of... Dang! First thing when I get home I'm gonna break out the map!

Anyway, have you tried the Tasteofphila. cheesesteaks? Any good?

And how bout the Flyers? Living up to form I see.

Poor Lindros, we hardly knew ye,

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), May 31, 2000.

What is that famous cheesesteak place in Atlantic City? Damn those were killer!!!

Lars,

A 'Jones' is an addiction and the craving for the said addiction.(Jonesin' for a fix of...)

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), May 31, 2000.

I dunno capn, but there was a place down in Cape May that was worth the 2 hr drive just for the food, monster hoagies and cheesteaks. I, being a suburb boy, used to get my fix at a place called Ninos, at the corner of Rt 611 and Horsham road. Though I did spend a lot of time with some of my NE Philly buddys, one in particular who lived on Oxford Circle. There was a bar there...Frontinac Bar (sp?) that was ummm....er...somewhat lax about carding the locals.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 31, 2000.

Frank

TasteofPhilly is the place for Willy. Order a couple of dozen and freeze-um when they arrive. When the urge grabs you just heat and greet.

Unk

The two big specialty bakeries in Philly are Amorosos and DeAndreas and they both have a loyal following regarding their world class rolls. The Amoroso rolls have a lot of cornmeal in them and dont ship well. Personally, I prefer the DeAndreas roll as they are handcrafted. Amorosos is a production bakery and they produce everything by machine.

-- Willy (from@old.Philly), May 31, 2000.

Unk,

This place was called "White???... (and not castle) Just off main drag in Atlantic City.I'm not from up yonder but my biz partner is and he turned me on to many great places,but that one sticks out.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), May 31, 2000.

I've never been to Philly for a cheesesteak, but I've been to Pittsburgh a few times. The place to go in Pitt -- though they don't exactly make cheesesteaks -- is Primanti Brothers. I think they have several locations around the city.

Order a cup of soup and a sandwich with whatever kind of meat you like on it (I'm partial to the pastrami). What you get is two _thick_ hand-sliced slabs of bread, thick-cut onion slices, tomato, slices of meat and cheese in a heap like an edible deck of playing cards, a fried egg, and cole slaw and fries _inside_ the sandwich. I'm a big guy with a big appetite, and just _one_ Primanti's sandwich and a cup of soup is all the damage I can do. Heck, I can barely wrap both hands around one of these monsters.

Dagwood never had it so good.

Don't bother asking them to leave any of the ingredients out. Primanti Brothers' sandwiches "come like they come." And don't take your wife or girlfriend. This is serious "guy food." :)

-- Sal Monella (too.much @lawschool.org), May 31, 2000.

If you are truly 'Jonesin' for a cheesesteak try this link:

<<>a href="http://www. mnsinc.com/johnruss/chsstk.html "<>>Cheesesteak Link<<>/a<>>

If you can get some decent rolls, frozen Steakums actually can make a decent cheesesteak if you are not in Philly or suburbs. The low fat steakums actually give off less grease and taste great. For rolls just buy good bagettes (pardon my French). No better way to drown out the sorrow of a Sixer's loss than to stop for a couple of cheesesteaks on South St.

QuietMan

-- QuietMan (quietjohn2k@hotmail.com), June 01, 2000.

Unk

There is a God afterall.

There is hope for you after all. ;-)

-- I believe in Him (Jesus is King@Kingdom.come), June 01, 2000.

Quiet,

How do you turn Steakums into cheesesteak? What kind of cheese, etc.?

Thanks.

-- (retired@nd.happ), June 01, 2000.

How to turn Steak-ums into psuedo Philly Cheesteaks.

The roll is of extreme importance, get a good fresh Italian style foot-long sub roll from a bakery. Slice the roll down one side without cutting all of the way through and cut up to, but not through, the ends of the roll. You want to create a kind of a boat for the meat, cutting the roll completely through into two pieces ruins it.

Cut up some good onions (I like Vidalia) into slices and fry them on a griddle or in a pan with plenty of Steak-ums. Lots of em. You can add green peppers if you wish, but it is not then a "pure" cheesteak, IMHO. While the mix frys keep chopping it up with the spatula.

While the meat and onions are frying carefully open the sliced roll along the cut and with your fingers press out a valley for the meat. Then take a knife and use it to apply Cheez-whiz to both inner sides of the roll.

When the meat is well done make a pile of meat and onions in a long pile that matches the size of the roll, and add plenty of slices of American cheese to the top of the pile. When the cheese is melted use your spatula to transfer the meat to the roll. Then, enjoy the closest thing to a real one that you can make at home.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 01, 2000.

How do you turn Steakums into cheesesteak? What kind of cheese, etc.?

One of, if not THE biggest secret to making a Philly style sub is putting a vegetable oil/oregano mixture on the bread instead of using a miracle whip salad dressing or something similar. DON'T soak the bread, but liberaly 'dowse' it.

As far as cheese goes, whatever you like eating.

-- The Secret Is (Vegetable@Oil.com), June 01, 2000.

Cheez-whiz???

Sounds more like a "let's use the crap from our Y2K preps" cheesesteak.

Unk, you just lost whatever tiny amount of respect I had for you. I know you must be devastated.

Hrumph!

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 01, 2000.

Cheez-whiz???

I must admit, I NEVER had a Philly cheese steak with cheez-whiz before. Sliced american cheese is the norm, but any cheese you like is ok.

-- The Secret Is (Vegetable@Oil.com), June 01, 2000.

The Secret Is (Vegetable@Oil.com),

Isn't Cheez-whiz one demented step beyond sliced American cheese?

{Deedah,

You're not a closet cardiologist are ya?}

-- flora (***@__._), June 01, 2000.

fauna,

American Cheese breakdown by class: American Cheese, Cheese Product, Cheese Food, Kinda Cheese-like, Fromunda Cheese, Tie-dye Cheese, Cheese Whiz.

Surgeon General recommendation: the last three classes of cheese are not for internal use.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 01, 2000.

one demented step

LOL! Yea I guess so.

I thought the FDA banned this stuff along with saccarine back in the late 70's early 80's. Which brings up another question. Just how many years ago did Uncle Deedah start stockpiling for Y2K anyway?

-- The Secret Is (Vegetable@Oil.com), June 01, 2000.

I dunno-

but he does appear to be well preserved!

-- flora (***@__._), June 01, 2000.

fauna,

The term is pickled.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 01, 2000.

{Bongo,

I hear that Fromunda stuff is full of heavy metals.}

-- flora (***@__._), June 01, 2000.

Make the sandwich....eat the sandwich, then come back and be a food critic.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 01, 2000.

Cathedral!

Although no one probably cares, they closed the Clover on Henry and Cathedral.

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), June 01, 2000.

Cheez-whiz? I think that is banned around here.....

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), June 01, 2000.

The Secret Is (Vegetable@Oil.com)

Yo! Secret, you got that wrongo!

For hoggies, he secret is OLIVE OIL with oregano, not any ol' vegetable oil.

Great idea for dinner tonight, too hot to cook hot stuff.

-- (philly@girl.here), June 01, 2000.

For those of you seeking ways to use up your inventory of edible preps I would like to suggest the Doomers Cheesesteak:

(1). Using great care, make a lengthwise incision on 20 or so Twinkies, creating an opening to the center pocket containing the white sugar crhme.

(2). Without destroying the outer shells remove all of the crhme filling and flush at once.

(3). You may now layout the prepared Twinkie buns on some aluminum foil to toast naturally in the sun. NOTE: If you live East of the Mississippi River a heat lamp is a recommended option.

(4). In a cast iron skillet over a $17 Korean made propane stove fry up at least 20 lbs. of thinly sliced Spam. NOTE: when fully cooked and drained this should yeald about 1 lbs. of edible (meat?). The drained juices from the cooking should be flushed at once.

(5). Now is your best opportunity to use some of the 250 lbs. of dehydrated onion flakes from your #10 can storage units. This is also a great time to tap into some of the blue 55 gallon drums of water that are taking up half of your available garage space. Use a 2 to1 ratio of reconstituted onions to Spamtrust me on this one.

(6). NOW is the time to break out the Cheez-Whiz and grease up the inner walls of the Twinkie buns. Throw a little extra into the skillet while you are at it. Finish with your frying before the little can of gas is empty. Changing this can on the fly can be extremely hazardous.

(7). Stuff the Twinkie bun chock full of your cooked vittles and get after it.

This might be the moment you want to break out those expensive chem- gas masks you paid so much for. Just imagine the satisfaction you will get from using all of those Y2K goodies and the looks of admiration forthcoming from friends and family.

-- Willy (from@old.Philly), June 01, 2000.

*choke* ROFL!! *barf!* *wheeze* *cough*

You've turned me into a polly for life with this one!

-- (philly@girl.here), June 01, 2000.

I made myself hungry writing that description, made a homemade cheesteak tonite, and it just ain't the same. Nope. Drat.

*sigh*

-- Uncle Deeah (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 02, 2000.

I bet the recipe is more than good enough for us Californios who might not ever get close enough to the real thing.

{Just funnin' with you above}

-- flora (***@__._), June 02, 2000.

Unk,

Had to reread your post, the first time I thought u said WILLY'S description made you hungry!

Willy,

I'm going to call tasteofphila. soon, I'm getting so I can't stand it. Will post on it when they show up.

Good luck to me,

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), June 02, 2000.

Frank,

Please let us know the phone number, too. Some of us uninitiated folks might like to try a new delicacy!

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), June 02, 2000.

I know what ya mean Frank. It's a shame that it is so pricy to have them overnighted. Of course they do come with some of your famous Black Cherry Wishniak soda, which is a plus. And Herr's potato chips, Mrs D has a real hankerin for Herr's. Oh yeah, and the Goldenburgs peanut chews and Tastycakes would be lovely, but the 25 dollar shipping charge curdles the Scottish blood in my veins. Still...

Willy,

You seem to be a real expert in this dept, do you know what cut of steak is used to make a cheesteak? I'll go buy a good cut of it at Publix, have the deli dept slice the meat up nice and thin, and continue my quest for the perfect homemade cheesteak. Many thanks.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 02, 2000.

A taste of Philadelphia

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 02, 2000.

I hesitate to answer any question posed to our illustrious Willy. BTW Willy, I have a cup on my desk brimming with warm urine, reserved just for you. Care for swig? Chase down that cheese whizilicous cheesesteak, bubba. Might get a buzz off it as well.

Sorry folks - thin skin. Back in NJ, when I wasn't stoned, a hell even when I was fried, I purchased chipsteak to make my cheesesteaks. This is any cheap cut of beef sliced thin. Haven't found it in any grocery stores anywhere except NJ, NY, PA. Ask your local butcher to slice up a hunk of roundsteak or similar about 1/8" to 1/4" (max) thick.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 02, 2000.

Unc, Thanks. Looks YUMMY!

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), June 02, 2000.

Thanks, Uncle.

-- (retired@nd.happy), June 02, 2000.

Philly Cheesesteaks

Serves 4

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup sliced green bell pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 pounds prime rib, sliced thin

8 Swiss cheese slices

4 French bread rolls

In a skillet sauti onion and bell pepper with salt and pepper to taste in oil until wilted. Reserve onion and pepper and add prime rib to skillet. Cook until medium rare, add onion and pepper, and combine well. Separate mixture into 4 portions and top each with 2 cheese slices. Cover skillet and let cheese melt. Place each portion on a roll.

-- Ra (tion@l.1), June 02, 2000.

Not bad Ra. I prefer green & red bell peppers. Also prefer portuguese roll to italian or french.

Salivary glands working OT here.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 02, 2000.

Flash,

Thank Willy for the number, as he is the one who posted it, but here it is again:

Call 1-800-846-2443 or go to www.tasteofphiladelphia.com and order up to your hearts delight! They will put you in cheesesteak heaven overnight. ENJOY!

BTW, personally I can't STAND bell peppers on a cheesesteak, but think onions are a must. My advice for the first one would be to get just meat & cheese, you wouldn't want to get turned off to something because of an option. Mushrooms are good too, as are whatever version of "hot" pepper you like to add on top.

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), June 02, 2000.

I can understand th ebell pepper thing. They really don't belong on a cheesesteak. I grew up on sausage, peppers & onions served on italian & rolls.

God I miss those Italian Feasts! Anybody for lemon water ice?

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 02, 2000.