I have a love hate relationship with the city of Philadelphia. I love the Philadelphia Phillies. I hate the blistering cold. I love the grittiness of the city. I hate the cold. I love that Philadelphia is a sense of pride to every person who comes from the city (including my boyfriend Carl who could out-Philly almost anyone when it comes to his hometown). Did I mention I hate the cold? If there's one thing about Philly that I love, it's Philly Cheesesteaks! I know what you're thinking: "how does she keep such a fabulous figure when she loves to eat things like Philly cheesesteaks and pizza". Ok, I jest! However, I do enjoy a good Philly cheesesteak, and on my second trip to Philadelphia I was determined to try two of the famous institutions of Philadelphia Cheesesteaks- Pat's and Geno's. If you've ever watched the Food Network or the Travel Channel, then you're most likely familiar with Pat's and Geno's. Pat's is one of the oldest Cheesesteak restaurants in the city, but Geno's makes sure that Pat's won't outshine their restaurant- literally. The two restaurants are located across the street from one another. Pat's is an otherwise unassuming cheesesteak joint built for the blue collar working class cheesesteak aficionados. Across the street you have the can't-be-missed production that is Geno's. Geno's boasts hundreds, if not thousands, of watts of bright neon lights proudly displaying the "Geno's" lightshow that you could probably see from outer space. If you pick out any Philly native and ask if they prefer Pat's or Geno's you'll definitely get a difinitive answer. Pat's and Geno's are like the Capulets and Montagues of Old Verona. It's a town divided amongst cheesesteaks! As you can imagine, I was eager to find out what the friendly rivalry was all about. After a flight headache., Carl and I arrived in Philadelphia around 1:00am (about 4 hours later than we'd originally hoped). When his sister and brother-in-law picked us up, they insisted upon fulfilling my cheesesteak craving and took us directly to Pat's and Geno's. I was surprised that on a Tuesday morning at 1:00am we were not the only folks hanging out in the near freezing temps to try out a cheesesteak. We divided and conquered, separating into two and ordering one cheesesteak from each place. Candidly, I was a little nervous that the Geno's staff would kick us out of their benches after learning that we had a sandwich from their rival neighbor Pat's, but I find it hard to believe that we were the first to do so! Each sandwich was delicious. Upon first bite, I thought that Geno's was by far the superior steak. Upon further eating, the meat on the steak from Geno's started to taste funny. It didn't taste fresh, almost like it had a freezer burn to it. None of my other cheesesteak companions tasted the "freezer burn" taste, but once I caught onto it, I couldn't let it go. Both steaks had fresh Italian rolls that quite literally seemed to melt in my mouth. After both steaks were devoured, I had to pick Pat's because their meat tasted of a higher quality. Unlike those proud Philadelphia natives who grew up on either Pat's or Geno's I don't know if I could stand steadfast behind the Pat's cheesesteak. Who knows, next time I may return to try a steak from both and I might just pick Geno's. To me, it's all about what I'm feeling that day. To Philadelphians it's about pride!
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