Pat's vs Geno's

There’s a war going down in Philadelphia. While this area may hold rank as the “City of Brotherly Love”, there’s an underlying struggle waiting to break forth unto the national scene. Or perhaps, it already has.

Although not associated with inventing much in the world of food, there’s one tasty delight that bares the city’s name proudly; the Philly Cheesesteak. And two long time rivals claim to have the best in town.

For those of you who’ve never had a cheesesteak sandwich before let me break it down for you. You have your thinly sliced pieces of steak covered in melted cheese in a roll (That’s it.). Philadelphians Pat and Harry Oliveri are often credited with creating the sandwich when they started serving chopped-up steak on hoagie rolls in the early 1930s. The item became so popular that Pat opened his own restaurant still operating today as Pat’s King of Steaks. Yet his supremacy was soon challenged.

In 1966, Philadelphian Joe Vento opened Geno’s Steaks specializing in the now popular cheesesteak sandwich. The two restaurants are located right across from each other at the intersection of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue. While the two eateries have similar menus, there methods of production vary. Pat’s chops up its meat, Geno’s does not. Also, Pat’s sandwiches noticeably contain more meat and use melted Cheez Wiz, while Geno’s sandwich meat is tenderer and uses generic cheese.

Did you know?- Geno’s claims to sell up to 4,500 sandwiches daily!

I want to know…If you’ve had a cheesesteak sandwich from both of these venues, which one is better and why? Leave a comment below.