The Blogmaster Speaks

I remember the first Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches I ever had. I lived in Trenton, New Jersey and our neighborhood had picnics during the summer and they served up cheesesteaks there and they were pretty decent. But then again, I was only around 12-13 years old at the time and I probably hadn't tasted that one-great-Philly Cheesesteak yet and didn't know one from another. They were good and I recall that they had these large kegs of Birch Beer and I would drink that along with eating.

I've lived in California now for the past 35 years and take trips periodically back east. The best darndest Philly I ever had has to be from Pudge's in Blue Bell. Gigantic, delicious and overflowing with peppers and onions. A number of years ago, I found that there was a place (gone for quite a while now) at the Farmer's Market in L.A. that served up one almost as good as that. I live in the Bay Area near SF and great cheesesteaks are hard to find.

Pat's King of Steaks - Philadelphia

Pat's King of Steaks, 1237 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia - (215) 468-1546 Menu, website

Pat's King of Steaks® was founded by Pat Olivieri in 1930. Pat had a modest hot-dog stand at the base of the famous Italian Market in South Philadelphia. One day he decided to have something quite different for lunch, so he sent for some chopped meat from the butcher shop. He cooked the meat on his hot dog grill, placed the meat onto an Italian roll, and dressed it with some onions. Just as he went to take a bite, a cab driver who ate a hot dog everyday asked what he had there. Pat said that it was his lunch. The cabbie insisted that Pat make him one. The cabbie took one bite and said to Pat, "Hey.....forget 'bout those hot dogs, you should sell these." The steak sandwich was born. As the years passed, both employees and customers alike demanded change..cheese was added.

Philly Cheesesteak on Starving Vendors

For more info and stories, videos about Philly Cheesesteaks, visit our website. I have several pages you can view.

http://www.starvingvendors.com/philly_cheese_steak_sandwich.html