Say Cheese(steak)!

I love cheesesteaks.  The closest I have come to a great cheesesteak is Subway or Dominoes Cheesesteak Pizza.  I do like their cheesesteaks for the most part, but I feel I am missing out on how a REAL cheesesteak is supposed to taste.  I decided to hit the rail in search for the perfect Cheesesteak.  Where else to find a perfect Cheesesteak, than Philly?

This is me, waiting for the train. (I realize I should not be standing on the rail when the train arrives.)Did you know that if you place your ear on the track….you cannot hear the train.  Or at least I couldn’t…even when I could see the train, I couldn’t hear it from the rail.

Anyway, I digress.  Promptly after arriving in Philly at the train station, I went straight to the information desk where a real Philadelphian could direct me to the best cheesesteak restaurant in town…or so I thought.  This guy was terrible.  Where did they find him? He wasn’t even able to direct me out of the train station.  It was as if, he had gotten off one of the trains and was pretending to be from around there.  I mean, come on, the information desk was a misnomer….I renamed it the “Lack of Information Desk”.  Seems to fit.  I just asked for a map and took my chances.  After walking…and walking….and walking what seemed to be a marathon (26.2 miles), I came across a line of people that extended from the door of an eating establish  to WAY around the corner.  COULD THIS BE IT? Could it be that I found THE FAMOUS CHEESESTEAK?

I crossed the street and found my way to the back of the line.  As I waited impatiently with other tourists and some locals, I discovered that some were very loco!  There was the homeless Jesus guy throwing scripture at everyone.  I tried to turn and look distracted with others in line, but I couldn’t help to stare and made eye contact.  I hate it when I do that.  I was sure that he was going to come over and start talking to me.  Lucky for me, it was my turn to approach the corner.  It was then, that I could peer inside.  I could see the cheesesteak chefs…taking pride in their steaks, fulfilling every order to satisfy each customer.  It was ordered chaos. 

Yippee, I was nearing the door!  I could smell those cheesesteaks!  As I crossed the threshold, I noticed the zig-zagging line of people .  The line when back and forth and back and forth as if they were in line at an amusement park.  Except, I didn’t find this amusing.  THESE BETTER BE GOOD!   

Finally I am next to order, suddenly I felt like I was in an episode of Seinfeld.  You know, the one with the soup Nazi? People were ordering, then stepping to the side, not saying a word. I didn’t want to appear like Elaine and lean on the counter while trying to decide what I wanted.  I didn’t want to get turned away by the Gourmet Cheesesteak Chef saying, “NO STEAK FOR YOU!”  The choices. There was so many ways to order these.  Did I want onions? Peppers?  Provolone? Whiz?  I carefully watched the couple in front of me order, then step aside without saying a word.  They were successful.  I did the same.  Whew! I did it.  I successfully ordered a cheesesteak!!!  Now for the wait.  I watched as he sliced and diced and slapped the meat and onions on the bread and chunked it towards me.  WOW.  He is good!

I then headed up stairs to eat my world famous cheesesteak!  There was the couple that was in front of me.  We had become quite friendly.  We did spend almost an hour in line together.  She was BA.  She had muscles.  She looked very feisty and could definitely kick my ass.  At one point, I feared for my life.  

Anyway, I politely said “Hi” again and sat at the only available table.  The place was packed.  I had to wait no longer.

WOW, it was everything I expected and more.  Definitely not disappointed!  If you ever go to Philly, go to Jim’s Steaks (http://www.jimssteaks.com/index.html).  I recommend the Steak with onion (and peppers if you like them) and cheese Whiz.  Yep, cheese Whiz.  I know it sounds gross, but it tastes fabuloso.   If you can’t get to Philly, no worries, they ship their steaks too!  I had some sent back home for my friends and family.  With shipping, it was about $20 for each sandwich.  For the record, it is worth double that.