My only experience of Philadelphia so far has been from the inside of a train station, but thanks to a friend of ours who is a native we recently got to sample its most famous culinary creation, the cheesesteak. This is a sandwich (in the American sense, which encompasses a broad church of bread-based foods, in this case it means it comes on a long roll) filled with thinly sliced steak and cheese, at the very least, with added extras depending on who makes it.
Our friend was kind enough to bring us two different kinds, one from Pat's, which has widespread reputation for good cheesesteaks (and is supposed to have been founded by one of the inventors back in the day), and one from Max's which is her personal favourite.
Max's was modestly wrapped in paper, Pat's was more promotional.
Having tried both of these I can honestly say that they were both fantastic but Max's clearly blew Pat's out of the water. Apparently Pat's use processed cheese (only in America!) while Max's uses real cheese, and it really makes a difference. And while Pat's added only onions Max's added some kind of tomatoey sauce which moistened everything up delightfully. Here's a cross-section, Max's on the left, Pat's on the right.
Max's reminded me very much of eating a good steak and cheese pie back in New Zealand, which isn't surprising because there are many similarities. Given that meat pies are almost entirely lacking in this part of the world, it's obvious that things like the cheesesteak fill the gap.
It's also clear that the City of Brotherly Love knows what its doing. I've ordered cheesesteaks before in other parts of the country, even the state, and the genuine article is just in a league of its own. I certainly know what I'll be eating next time I go to Philadelphia!
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