Over at Eater, Rob’t Sietsema clearly has some feelings to work out about Philadelphia sandwiches.
Reviewing G’s Cheesesteaks (Houston and Ave. B), he musters a surprising defensiveness towards Philly’s dour cheesesteak police, while simultaneously mangling his account of how the sandwich is made and enjoyed in Philadelphia.
A basic Philly cheesesteak has about three ingredients, so it’s funny that Sietsema opens by getting one of them wrong (aged provolone is for cold hoagies, not cheesesteaks; it’s too crumbly and funky for frying), before swinging in the other direction to wrongly imagine that commonplace options – like a whiz-and-Cooper Sharp cheese blend? – would break the brains of Philadelphia’s grim-faced griddle governesses.
Cheesesteaks are a local specialty in Philadelphia, so of course there’s a canonical version alongside the many riffs and variants that naturally arise in a town with tons of passionate cooks and eaters. Philly has an overabundance of absurdly delicious sandwiches, and Robert should really consider hopping on a train and checking out a few of them. Meanwhile, his review has that tone of strangely provincial condescension that crops up regularly in NY food writing; he sounds like a Manhattanite Paul Hollywood, confidently explaining how to improve some classic Asian or Middle Eastern dessert he’s clearly never eaten.
by GDswamp