Philly Cheesesteaks: Two-Whiz-Wit

                                                                           © 2018 MarcaRelli

My recent post about the Cincinnati Chile way code is a good platform for me to segue into a tribute to the South Philadelphia Cheesesteak culture, so this is that.

I have been to Philadelphia many times on business so I know my way around a cheesesteak pretty well.  Pat’s and Geno’s restaurants, located in South Philadelphia where Passyunk and Wharton Avenues meet are both iconic cheesesteak purveyors – and conveniently located right across the street from each other. While the locals will tell you that there are better cheesesteaks to be had elsewhere, for the purposes of this post, I’m going to focus on Pat’s because they are, after all, the “King of Steaks.” 

Now if you go to Pat’s you better know what you’re doing before you get to the ordering window.  There is usually a long line and the order takers have no time or patience for someone stepping up to the window only to then start thinking about what they want.  Know what you want before you get to the window. Trust me on this one.

Once you make it to the ordering window don’t even bother to say hello, that takes up too much time, just place your order using the Philly Cheesesteak shorthand code:  First indicate the number of cheesesteaks you want followed by whether or not you want cheese on it and finally whether or not you want onions on top. If you want two cheesesteaks with cheese and onions on it all you need to say is: two-whiz-wit.*  Say it fast and step aside.  This will get you two cheesesteak sandwiches gopped over with runny yellow cheese whiz and fried onions sprinkled over the top.  Find an empty picnic table, sit down and tuck in.

We’re not going to say that our cheesesteak sandwich recipe below can rival a Pat’s King of Steak cheesesteak, but it is a good enough approximation and can be had for less than 1/2 the cost of a Pat’s (expect to pay between eleven and twelve dollars per sandwich at Pat’s – but totally worth it).

Need This
½ pound of deli sliced roast beef – preferably rare and sliced thin
1 medium size onion – chopped
1 jar of Cheese Whiz
2 soft hero rolls
1 tablespoon of butter
Salt and ground black pepper

Do This
Course chop the roast beef up into pieces

Put the tablespoon of butter into a large fry pan.  Put a high heat under the pan and melt the butter.  When the butter is just melted add the roast beef to the pan and quick fry it on high heat, turning it over, until it just starts to brown (don’t over cook it).  Remove the beef from the pan.

Add the chopped onions to the pan and fry them until light brown, then remove from the heat.

Slice the two hero rolls down the side.  Divide the browned beef between the two rolls and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Lather a gnarly glob of Cheese Whiz over the beef, then sprinkle the fried onions over top.

Cut the hero rolls in half with a diner cut.  Serve immediately with a good quality coleslaw on the side.

Makes 2 cheesesteak sandwiches.  My cost approx. $ 6.99 total  – about $ 3.50 per sandwich.

*I have actually witnessed people nervously rehearsing the Pat’s ordering shorthand while waiting on line.  GMN