A long way from Philadelphia.

[LoboGunLeather]

Made cheese steak sandwiches for dinner today. Had to improvise just a little bit.

No sirloin to be had, but about a pound of leftover roast beef with the pan drippings.

No hoagie buns in the store. No French or Italian bread that I could slice up. Had to use some nice fresh croissants.

Sliced up some fresh onion and bell pepper, set it to simmering in the pan drippings from the roast. Pulled the nice tender roast beef apart and let it simmer in the skillet with the onion and pepper.

Sliced up the fresh croissants, layered in some nice baby Swiss cheese with a good serving of the beef, onion, and pepper.

Served with a nice Amish potato salad (sweet pickle and egg recipe). Finished off with fresh cantaloupe.

All you Philly guys can laugh at me if you want to. I enjoyed a very nice easy meal, even if it wasn't a traditional Philly cheese steak.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Sounds good to me.
Can I come over and try one????

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Sounds good to me.
Can I come over and try one????

Sure! Leftovers for at least 3 more, if you get here before my midnight snack.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Rules? In a food fight?

 

[paplinker]

I bet it was good!

I live smack in the middle of the cheese steak wars here in the phila suburbs where hundred vie for bragging rights for the Tri county area.

I will fill everyone in, most places make very average sandwich. A few are incredible and most visitors will likely not find most spots.

What we do have here is great rolls. I mean really great. Soft but a little bit of pull to them. This way the roll does not disintegrate when dampened.
If started off with a nice sliced rib-eye it has great potential. Ad any quality cheese and a little fried onion for sweetness and your looking at the real deal.

Many tourist shops use less quality cuts and try to hide it by cutting it up to smithereens. Good places cook it real slow and rarely cut it.
Many use block cheese or even whiz which is basically glue. Great places have a nice blend or a few you can pick from. I use a couple kinds depending on the place offering.

Next time try some rib eye and buy that frozen dough you put in the oven. We grew up on that when we lived in the country. Comes out great.

 

[Rudi]

That's what I'm making tomorrow for game day!

 

[31FordA]

The key to a good cheese steak really is the roll, and those of us here in the Philly area have access to some great bakery’s. When I make one at home I use chipped steak, American cheese, onion, and sliced cherry peppers.

The genius of the cheese steak is that you can improvise a good one with a variety of ingredients, as Lobo has demonstrated.

 

[zeke]

sandwich steak from the grocery, any decent roll to be found. Fry up some onions, peppers and mushrooms. Melt some decent cheese on top. And for some more pleasure, add some marinara sauce on.

Long time ago had cheesesteaks from the dueling shops in Philly, and was not impressed in the slightest. Won't use my good manners to describe em, least not to offend any Philly people as still have good friends there.

As noted above, most places use chopped up (something?), with cheese wizz.

The last decent roll i had on a sandwich was from Mother's subs in hbg, again long ago. Crusty with soft interior.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Both Pat's and Gino's claim to go through 8-10 cases of this every day.

 

[coltle6920]

Made cheese steak sandwiches for dinner today. Had to improvise just a little bit.

Lobo...Tell the truth. You made a delicious roast beef sandwich...Period!

My first 37yrs were spent in Delaware County...S.E.Pa. Sandwich shops were abundant. I certainly had my favorite goto shop but when they were closed there were others that satisfied my craving.

Whether it is an Italian sub or cheesesteak the bread of choice came from Amoroso's in Philly. The roll was always fresh that day. Crusty rolls are for soaking up sauce when eating pasta.

The best ingredients were always bought at the Italian marketplace down by the river. You didn't buy your oil and peppers at the corner market.

Provolone cheese is for hoagies and white american is for cheesesteaks. You're a Philly "Wannabe" if you think anything else is acceptable. There are a couple places on Passyunk Avenue that pour melted Velveeta cheese on their steaks but when your main clientele is drunks and partygoers at 2am noone cares.

I've now been in Colorado for 34yrs. You can find places that come close to imitating that Philly cheesesteak but it's your mind trying to bring back memories. Put the two side by side and there's no comparison but there's always a market for those that are homesick.

Philly cheesesteaks and hoagies are to die for but I would never turn down the one that Lobo made. That and a cold beer followed by a nap would be a nice day anytime.

BTW along with the locals it was not uncommon to see cars with license plates from the surrounding States. You knew the place was good.

 

[31FordA]

The best cheese steaks I’ve had came from a shop in Delco, Bocella’s in Havertown back in the ‘90s. They also made a great meatball sandwich.

 

[Golddollar]

I worked on the Philadephia Main Line from 1978 to 1984. I used to eat lunch a fair amount at a shop called the Pizza Palance on Lancaster Avenue (US Route 30/Lincoln Highway) in Bryn Mawr. It was owned by an immigrant family who developed a great assortment of hot sandwiches. The one I liked the best and ordered a lot was their meatball sub, with huge meatballs, melted cheese and marinara sauce. I wish they were closer.

 

[schwantz]

Here ya go!

 

[Old_Cop]

Wit or witout? A philly cop taught me how to eat a cheese stake. Stand on the curb, bend slightly forward, then eat.

 

[ladder13]

As a first time visitor to Philly 20 or more years ago, had to try Pat’s and Geno’s, just as a visitor to Coney Island goes on the Cyclone or goes to Magic Kingdom when in Disney.

Why not, right across the street from one another?
Bright lights, long lines, big hubbub. Gotta be good, right?

Meh. Waste of time, money, and daily sodium intake.

Real American cheese, please, not that garbage they put on it. Wiz is like glue, Rich got it right.


I have no reason to go back to Philly, but if I did, I wouldn’t go near either.

I’ll take most any diner in NYC for a “Philly”, any day over either place.

 

[coltle6920]

Here ya go!

World Famous,Huh? First I've heard of them.

 

[coltle6920]

Wit or witout? A philly cop taught me how to eat a cheese stake. Stand on the curb, bend slightly forward, then eat.

I heard that was how to eat a donut.

 

[Onomea]

...Next time try some rib eye and buy that frozen dough you put in the oven...

What is this "frozen dough you put in the oven?" I'm aware of the refrigerated biscuit cardboard/tin rolls you extract, separate and bake at home, but frozen dough?

 

[coltle6920]

What is this "frozen dough you put in the oven?" I'm aware of the refrigerated biscuit cardboard/tin rolls you extract, separate and bake at home, but frozen dough?

You'll just have to check your store for this particular item. Most frozen dough is for pastries or pizza. Sometimes it's found refrigerated. Around here I'll check the bakery section for fresh 6" steak rolls. A fresh French baguette also makes a nice sandwich with the proper fixings.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Ray, your recipe sounds delicious. We can't go to Philly for carryout but this facsimile is three miles away and qualifies as a taste treat.