Tribute to Joey Vento Owner of Geno's Steaks

This post is dedicated to Joey Vento, owner and founder of Geno's Steaks. Joey Vento, a legend in the cheese steak world, has recently passed away. Please post any comments or stories that you may have of this very generous man, one who has given so much to Philadelphia. Also, please be respectful within your posts.

Philly Cheese Steaks and Tourists

I had some friends from New York visit Philly recently and they begged me to go to Pat’s or Geno’s Steaks for a cheese steak. Why do Philly tourists attract to these places like magnets when the real cheese steaks are so close to them for half the price. I took them to one of my favorite places on my Best Philly Cheese Steaks list and they were just blown away.

After reviewing my monster Philly cheese steak list that I have compiled for you (which took plenty of effort and months to burn off) what do you think? Is there a cheese steak joint that is missing? If so let us know and why. Don’t forget to vote for your top cheese steak place for 2010 (on the poll to the side). 2009’s best cheese steak award went to Rick’s Steaks. This is a people’s vote so the most votes wins. Vote for the Best Philly Cheese Steak today!

George’s Famous Roast Beef | Steaks Review

George’s Famous Roast Beef and Steaks is located at 1007 South 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. This Philly sandwich shop is a perfect example of a great cheese steak shop right in the backyard of the Top 3. Established in 1945, George’s Roast Beef is in the Italian Market only a few blocks north of the famous Geno’s and Pat’s Steaks. This place has history and for many years has been unrecognized. This will change today. Our blog is recognizing this location as a must visit. George’s deserves to have the same amount of tourists visits as any other of the top 3 Philly Cheese steak joints (a term I created for Pat’s, Geno’s, and Jim’s).

George’s Famous Roast Beef and Steaks is located in the famous Italian Market in Philadelphia (claimed to be the oldest outdoor market in the country). This is not to be confused with George’s Sandwich shop down the next block. George’s Roast Beef is a little hole in the wall luncheonette type of shop with about 4 tables to sit. The chairs are hard as a rock and the table does its job and that’s it. The looks of the places appears that there hasn’t been any renovations done since its opening 65 years ago.

Despite these limitations, the sandwiches here are fantastic. For $6.75 I received a foot long sandwich. What a value! They use soft dark brown Italian rolls that are as fresh as a new day. The onions are semi chopped and fried dark. The cheese used was American cheese and is placed under the steak. There were several ears of cheese that was not fully melted with the rest of the cheese as they hung over the side of the rolls. The sandwich was so good that I overlooked this.

The steak was fresh thin slices thrown on the grill. The steak was semi chopped meaning that there wasn’t large strips in the sandwich but the steak wasn’t fine chopped either. There was a balance between the methods of chopping the steak.

The sandwich had just the right amount of content inside the roll. There wasn’t an over amount nor was the sandwich skimpy. It was just right.

George’s Famous Roast Beef and Steaks also have roast beef on the menu and I may need to come back another time to try that.

The hospitality of the staff was very good. The chef appeared to be the owner and he was very polite and modest to me.

For the quality of the Philly cheese steaks here and the price I was surprised that people weren’t breaking George’s door down. There was an average of 1-2 customers in and out the whole time I was there. It was ironic because I drove by Geno’s and Pat’s a few moments before for comparison purposes and the lines were the usual: wrapped around the corner. Do these tourists know that they can walk just 2 blocks down Ninth Street and eat much better for cheaper? George’s sandwich is triple Geno’s or Pat’s and $1.25 cheaper. This is a no brainer. I am not trying to take business away from the Top 3 but I am trying to educate the tourists so that they know that other great places do exist.

George’s Famous Roast Beef and Steaks – welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club!

Gooey Looie’s Hoagies Steaks Review

Gooey Looie’s Hoagies and Steaks Review

Gooey Looie’s Hoagies and Steaks is a perfect example of a Philly cheese steak place that only the locals know about. Do you remember when I first started this blog that I said I was going to introduce the tourists to Philly cheese steak places that only the locals know of and is ten times better than anyone of ”The Big Three” (the name I gave to Geno’s, Pat’s, and Jim’s Steaks)… well today is your lucky day. I am revealing another hidden gem that is a true Best Philly Cheese Steak joint.

Gooey Looie’s Hoagies and Steaks was established approximately 25 years ago and is located at 231 McClellan Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148. It is located inside of the Pennsport Mall, a small little mall close to the Delaware River in South Philly. You can park your car in the lot and walk inside. This place is really tiny but there are about 3 small tables to sit and eat if they are not occupied.

Gooey Looie’s is open every day but Sunday and is very popular by the locals. They were rated Best in Philly by Philadelphia Magazine dating back from 1995, 1996, and 1997.

Gooey Louie’s Cheese Steaks are probably the widest cheese steak in Philly. I have known about this place for years and haven’t found any that has been wider. When I say wider I mean how thick the sandwich is. The sandwich is so thick that you need a fork to bring it down to a manageable size.

The bread they use is soft Italian rolls. The steak is chopped well and stacked high. The American cheese used is mixed well within the steak. They use a good amount of cheese to make the steak nice and gooey (I guess that is where they got their name from). There are a decent amount of onions used and they are cooked very thorough with the steak to create a darker color onion.

When a Gooey Looie’s sandwich is served to you it is wrapped so thick that it may be mistaken for something other than a cheese steak. Be careful not to wave that sandwich at the police or they may take you down by mistaking it for a machine gun.

If you come to Philly for the first time and you want a real cheese steak, go to Gooey Looie’s instead of the top 3. Do you know how much my cheese steak cost? The large cheese steak was $6.95 – over a dollar less than any of the Big Three cheese steak shops. For the value you CAN NOT beat this place. You can fit 3 Geno’s Steaks inside of this one sandwich (why are you laughing – I am serious). If you don’t believe me then you will have to see for yourself. You also won’t have to deal with tourist lines and the staff here is very friendly. After you go to Gooey Looie’s, please make sure to return and thank me in the comment section.

Gooey Looie’s Hoagies and Steaks – Welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club!

Philip's Steaks Philly Cheese Steak

Philip's Steaks Philly Cheese Steak Review

Philip’s Steaks is another perfect example of how you can find better Philly cheese steaks in Philly than what is traditionally known to be the best. I have recently eaten at Philip’s to reconfirm what I have known for many years.

Philip’s Steaks is located at 2234 West Passyunk Avenue, South Philadelphia, PA. They have been in business for over 25 years and have a very solid revenue from the locals. Philip’s Steaks is situated at a key traffic point off the highway and generates a decent amount of sales. They could be what Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s Steaks have been for some time but are still lacking major recognition. This could be why I still like their steaks. Philip’s Steaks has a good bang for your buck. I bought a regular Philly cheese steak with extra onions and a large soda for $9.

Phillip’s cheese steak was only $7.25, which is 75 cents cheaper than Pat’s and Geno’s. The sandwich was all round perfect. The bread was soft Italian bread about a foot long. This is a few inches bigger than Pat’s and Geno’s. The cheese that I ordered was American cheese (if I eat whiz with my cheese steaks for all my reviews I may not make it too far). The cheese was perfectly melted and tucked away within the steak. The steak was thinly sliced rib eye steak. There was a sufficient amount in there to give you your money’s worth.

The only problem that I had was with the onions. The onions were rarely cooked at all. I like onions cooked from medium to almost well done. Actually, the best onions are those that are cut really thin and simmered low for a few hours. They become so tasty that you could eat them without anything else.

I ate my Philip’s cheese steak on the small metal stand up tables attached to the side of the building. Most cheese steak places in Philly have this including Geno’s, Pat’s, and Jim’s. I have always found it fascinating of how many diverse people that you meet at cheese steak shops. Word of advice for many tourists: Just act natural when you are in Philly. I write this blog as an educational blog for those who are interested in the Philly cheese steak but inevitably I have to share some information about the city as a whole.

It appears to me that many tourists who visit Philly always have this preconception of everyone being so rude and looking for a fight. The truth is that it is not that way. For example, when I went to Philip’s, this tourist with his friend kept talking tough to the cashier as if he was supposed to because he is in Philly. Philip’s is a regular local Philadelphia cheese steak place run by friendly locals. They are not looking for trouble. Because people are told what to expect when they go to Geno’s or Pat’s they think that they have to act tough for every cheese steak place. This is inaccurate and unnecessary. Geno’s and Pat’s has a reputation to live up to and deals with tourists all day long and that could be the reason they have so many ordering rules there (and the tough guy reputation to live up to). It could also be that they have been abused by the tourists so long that this is the result.

Philadelphians are nice people as a whole so if you come to Philly don’t try to act tough for no reason. This actually makes you look more like a tourist. The reason that I digressed here was to let you know that the people working in these cheese steak places are just normal hardworking people and deserve to be treated with respect. If they don’t give you any trouble than you shouldn’t give them any. Enough with the lecture…

My review conclusion…Philip’s Steaks has a dynamite Philly cheese steak for your buck. Aside from their onions not meeting my standards, Philip’s Steaks is a true hidden gem of a cheese steak shop and goes down as having one of the Best Philly Cheese steaks.

Geno’s Steaks Cheesesteak Review

Geno’s Steaks Philly Cheesesteak Review

What can be said of the Great Geno’s Steaks! Even if I was to write a completely negative review of them today, the facts are still facts. Geno’s Steaks is one of if the most popular Philly cheese steak shops in the world. I would like to go over some basic facts about Geno’s before I proceed into my review.

Joe Vento, the owner of Geno’s Steaks, started this amazing business in 1966. The real history begins with his father who opened the famous Jim’s Steaks in the early 1940’s. This is where Joe Vento learned many of the ways of the cheese steak business that were setting the foundations for his future empire.

Vento wanted to open his business across the street from the undisputed King of cheese steaks, Pat’s King of Steaks. All others who had tried this feat had failed. But Joe Vento was confident that he had a good product so he wanted to give it a try. First, he needed to select a name so he thought about Joe’s Steaks but there already was a popular cheese steak place with the name at that time. The origins of the name of the business actually came from a carved name on the door of his building that said “Gino.” At that time there was another business nearby named Gino’s with an “I” so he decided to call it Geno’s with an “e.” Years later in 1971, Joe Vento named his son after his business (instead of the usual other way around). So the real Geno from Geno’s Steak is actually the second generation of that business. Geno today acts as the general and public relations manager.

Joe Vento’s Geno’s Steaks is a rather new business compared to the other famous Philly cheese steak places that exist like Pat’s and Jim’s. But in a period of over 40 years Joe has managed to make his business become a million dollar empire. On any given day, Geno’s Steaks averages around $20,000.

Geno’s Steaks has one main shop located at 1219 S. 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 in the South Philadelphia area. Geno’s also has a warehouse across the street used for the prep work of the steaks. Across the street from that is Joe Vento’s building used to display his Harley Davidson collection. That is what is different about Geno’s.

Joe Vento is a cheese steak owner unlike no other. He loves the fame and glamour. Between his Harley collection and all of the neon lights to his building you would never know that the oldest cheese steak place existed across the street if there weren’t any lines there. His side of the cheese steak spot appears to be a section out of Old Las Vegas.

Geno’s Steaks has helped take the cheese steak business to the level that it is today. Joe Vento and his son Geno have excellent business and public relations skills. They know how to get media attention and use it to their advantage. It has been thier marketing skills that have helped the Philadelphia cheese steak market take the international spotlight. Philadelphia tourism is interconnected with the cheese steak business and many have not given the proper credit to Joe Vento. Joe is a marketing genius behind all his tough guy façade. His ingenuity actually began the first day that he chose the location for his business. Only a person who true vision would have built their business on the door step of the greatest competitor in their field.

At the time Vento started his business, Pat’s King of Steak was thriving and all his competitors who tried to rival Pat’s were defeated eventually and their businesses failed. Not Joe Vento. Joe used his competitor as leverage to build his business. He already knew that he had a good product and all he needed to do was capture the leftovers from the line across the street. Eventually, they would become repeat visitors. What Vento had created was a friendly rivalry created by the fuel of competition. This friendly rivalry, in my opinion, is what helped create the Geno’s of today. People like to have an alternative to compare when eating. The famous question in Philly is “Do you like Pat’s or Geno’s better?” This question is the foundation of Joe Vento’s game plan. He knew that if he could create competition then this would be good for his business (and indirectly Pat’s). If he could find a way to make money for Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s at the same time, Pat’s wouldn’t be reluctant in sharing some of the profits. Vento’s gamble worked and well.

Forty plus years later and Geno’s business is filled with visitors every day from all around the world. Geno’s has seen almost every celebrity imagined from the President to Michael Jordan. If you are in Philly then you have to go to Pat’s or Geno’s at least once in your life time. This is at least the way tourism in Philly directs the traffic. Vento actually created a celebrity booth inside his operation to handle all famous visitors.

The good thing about Joe Vento is that he gives back to his community. The man donates to charities all of the time. When a police officer died in the 1980’s, he donated 24 hours worth of revenues to his fund. During September 11, 2001, Geno’s Steaks donated 72 hours of business to the fallen police and firefighters. That amounted to well over $100,000. Vento loves to help the police organizations out. You will see his wall at his steakhouse that has badges from many police and fire departments throughout the country.

Vento is also known for his strange stunts that cause media attention. One of the most controversial was his sign that he put in his window and still is there that says “This is America when ordering please speak English.” Many have argued that this is not just for the newer immigrants who come here. Joe Vento likes it and it is his store so three years later and the sign is still up. I guess Joe won.

Time for my review. I have spoke very favorably thus far of Geno’s Steaks and the Vento family. From a business standpoint, I respect a man who works hard and can pull off the American dream from his efforts. But don’t think that I am siding with them and would compromise my review for a little kiss ass. I can care less. This review will be as tough as I always dish it. Take the good with the bad but this is my review.

When I went o Geno’s recently I order a cheese steak with cheese whiz, a birch beer, and a side of cheese fries. The cheese steak cost $8, the fries and soda cost $5.50. So my meal total was $13.50 – not too shabby for one of the most popular cheese steaks in the world.

Geno’s Steaks uses thinly slice rib eye steak in their sandwiches just like Pat’s. This is the opposite of Jim’s where they used chopped steak. Geno’s bread is local Italian bread not too thick and not too hard. The bread is a fine combo between soft and hard, also known as just right. The cheese that I ordered was cheese whiz but you can get American or provolone. The onions were lightly grilled (you don’t see a speck of burnt on them). Also, I added hot peppers from the stand out front. Please always take advantage of these as they are a treat that other steak places don’t have.

There were several slices of steak on the cheese steak. The steak is very cooked. You will not see a drop of blood on there. This is your typical red blood steak joint. All steaks are cooked in a consistent manner (and have been for many years). It is similar to McDonald’s. If you went in one of their franchises on two different sides of the planet you will probably experience a similar tasting hamburger. Joe Vento has his steaks down to a science. The best part about Vento’s operation that I have to give him credit is that he is clean. The man is meticulous with every part of his operation (even the ceilings) totally clean.

Overall, Geno’s cheese steak is the same as it has been for the past twenty plus years. My review in the eighties would have been the same as today. The steak is always consistent. I recommend that you visit Geno’s Steaks at least once. However, I will tell you that his steaks are not the best Philly cheese steak. Geno’s is one of the most popular cheese steak places (if not the most popular) but not the absolute best. Geno’s may have been the best at one point in time when his market was targeting the locals. Now his business targets mainly tourists.

You will rarely see a local going to his place. Why do you think that his cheese steaks are $8 each and are a quarter of the size of an average Philly cheese steak from a Philly cheese steak place? And where do you think all this bull**t about order properly came about? This all came about with the increase in dumb tourists that slow up the line.

Do you think Vento and his crew would talk that way to local South Philadelphians? I assure you that he wouldn’t be in business to this day if that was the case. South Philadelphians don’t like to be told how to order. They would usually respond with “go F**k yourself” and then never to return. All this nonsense with make sure you know how to order and know what whiz and without is crap. Whenever I go there I always order my way and wait for someone to tell me how to order so that I can knock their lights out – that is the Philly way. Tourists will never get it that this order properly in English crap is a) Just a marketing tool and b) a mind game for dumb tourists. This is how Geno’s employees get their kicks (it can be boring flipping steaks all day long).

Vento and his Geno’s Steaks get an A for marketing skills, cleanliness, business skills, and consistency. Their steaks are average though, the size is too small, and the price tag is too high. However, for first timers you have to do it at least once. As a Philadelphian, despite the disadvantages of Geno’s Steaks, I still go there at least once a year and have been doing so for many years (many, many , many). So I guess my consistency as a customer speaks for itself. I do want to acknowledge though that there are plenty of dynamite cheese steak places in Philly that in a competition would surely beat out Geno’s Steaks. Stay tuned to Best Philly Cheese Steaks as I will uncover these Philly cheese steak places that only the locals know of!

Pat's King of Steaks Review

Pat's King of Steaks Cheese Steak Review

What can I say about Pat’s King of Steaks? My first review on this blog must start out with an analysis of the greatest cheesesteak place on the planet (well, the oldest at least). Despite whatever I have to say in this review, I must give the credit to the king because without Pat’s Steak history, this blog wouldn’t exist and neither would the food that America loves today called the “Philly Cheese Steak.”

To start our review I would like to present some overview information about Pat’s steak house. Pat’s Steaks is located at 1237 East Passyunk Avenue, South Philadelphia, PA 19147 (where 9th street crosses Wharton and Passyunk Avenue). They are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

Next, let talk about the history of Pat’s Steaks. Pat’s was created by a man named Pat Olivieri in 1930. Pat Olivieri’s invention of the cheese steak actually began from a hot dog stand. Pat used to sell hotdogs in South Philadelphia near the Italian market. Olivieri tried something new one day and put together an Italian loaf of bread with some chopped steak that he put on the grill. He sold his first sandwiches to some taxi drivers from around the way. News spread quickly and this became a very profitable business for Pat.

Pat’s Steaks is truly the king in the sense that Pat Olivieri, the originator, started the whole cheese steak business with a little bit of serendipity. All those places that followed such as Jim’s Steaks and Geno’s Steaks had just hopped on the cheese steak bandwagon. Those other steak houses were successful as well because there was plenty a room for more vendors to make money. After all, a whole new great food was created. Just think of how popular the modern pizza must have been when it was created in Napoli, Italy in the 1700s (see pizza history from Blog Pizza).

So back to my review of Pat’s King of Steaks. The Pat’s cheese steak place that we know of today has evolved to become a multimillion dollar business. The same Olivieri family still runs the joint today (and very efficiently too).

For those of you who don’t know me, I am the creator of the famous pizza blog called Blog Pizza. I have a strong Philadelphia background in the food industry. Thus, the reviews that I make here should be taken seriously because I know Philly foods very well. Actually, this cheese steak blog will be discussing various cheese steak places. I am actually going to take you to the hidden cheese steak places that only the locals know of. Do you know why the lines at Geno’s and Pat’s Steaks are two blocks long any given time of any given day? There are many reasons but I bet you a major one is that the tourists just don’t know where the real cheese steak shops are that locals eat at. I started this blog to let this secret out of the bag. Why? I am a true believer in sharing. It’s not that I have anything against the big players in the cheese steak business but there are hundreds of steak shops all over Philly. Why should two businesses take all of the tourists’ attention and their business? Besides, most regular cheese steak shops in Philly provide a better quality sandwich, bigger cheese steak, a cheaper price, and a lesser of an attitude to the tourists (well, that’s debatable – Philly is Philly).

Although I have been to Pat’s Steaks many times in the past, I have gone once more the other day just to ensure that this review is fresh. It is interesting to note that this review would have been said the same way if it was made 20 years ago. Some things never change.

To start this review out about Pat’s I would like to put myself in the perspective of the average tourist. If I was a tourist and I am deciding on which of the two steakhouses to go, Geno’s or Pat’s, I would recommend that you try Pat’s first (a tourist is usually looking to visit the most historical anyway). I like Pat’s over Geno’s but will have to admit that these days there is a blur between the actual differences.

The dynamics between Pat’s and Geno’s steaks is very interesting. The two cheese steak places operate a stone’s throw across from each other yet both businesses have lines that block traffic in the street (sometimes the lines actually get connected by accident). Geno’s has all of the fancy neon lights and glamour of a successful business and Pat’s has more of a modest 1970’s look (recently updated a little). For all of the money the two have made, I am still surprised they haven’t bought the whole neighborhood and put up cheese steak museums yet.

To discuss Pat’s Steak is hard not to include Geno’s into the conversation. Over the years, the two businesses have created this interesting force that has helped one another. The air of competition has startled a friendly debate over who has the best cheese steak. Every tourist that comes to Philly now feeds into the debate by trying to sample the both of them.

Although Pat’s Steaks is still simpler in appearance, don’t let their looks fool you. They make money and a lot of it. This is the reason that the quality of their food has declined drastically over the past 20 or something years.

So the other day I ordered a regular cheddar cheese steak with onions. I also picked up a soda and some cheese fries at the next widow (the first window is for steaks and the second window is for fries and everything else). The cheese steak was $8 and the fries and soda was about $6. I was full for about $15. The cheese steak was on a loaf of bread (about 8 inches long) sliced in 2. The steak was a smooth layer about an inch high off of the bottom of the sandwich. The cheese was cheddar but has an appearance of a watery version of cheddar (the kind that drips quickly). This cheddar is almost transparent (you can see through it). The onions cooked well with a slight burn and had just the right amount.

Overall, the cheese steak is very good but compared to my standards for Philly cheese steaks, it is very poor in many categories. This is why many locals usually don’t go to these two steakhouses. Don’t get me wrong, Geno’s and Pat’s Steaks have a taste that is very unique in Philly and is rarely replicated. However, for the value and quality, there are many more places that will put these places to shame in a competition (Stay tuned). Either way, if you have never tried a Pat’s Steak than it is still a requirement in order to really understand the cheese steak experience. This place is the Mecca of cheese steak places (even though I complain about the value I still end up going there at least once a year).

Now that I have completed my review, there is a couple observations that I made while at Pat’s Steaks that I wanted to discuss. First, while in the line at Pat’s I noticed that a couple of people were getting attitude from the cashier about how to order a steak. After their order was complete, I overheard them make a remark that offended me. The one guy asked the other “what the cashier’s problem was” and the man responded “this is South Philly, all Italians are like that?”

I must clarify this for all of those who are reading. South Philadelphia is the birthplace of Italians in Philadelphia. South Philly has the famous Italian markets which were the thriving area for many new Italian immigrants about 100 years ago. There are still many Italians in Philadelphia, specifically, South Philly. If you are going to make you impression of what Italians in South Philly are like based off of what you experience was standing in the line at Geno’s or Pat’s Steaks, I will highly advise you to reconsider. Not only will that impression be highly inaccurate but it is also the exact opposite of the truth.

First, you must distinguish between the South Philly cheese steak business and South Philadelphian Italian Americans. I have heard similar responses one too many times before and this is why I am taking the time to clarify. The Philly cheese steak business has become a show over the years (every celebrity known has visited Geno’s and Pat’s, including every politician). There is a huge marketing strategy that keeps bringing the customers back. The major cheese steak players treat you like s**t and create all of these weird rules of how to order. Then you buy into it and keep returning because tourists don’t know any better. People, it is a game! The workers are f***ing with your head. They know that you are a tourist so they keep asking you silly questions like “Wit or Witout.” Come on! You know what the irony is? An average local Philadelphian who does his or her once a year pilgrimage to Pat’s or Geno’s don’t ever say “Wit” or “Wit out”. I would guess that the average local don’t even know what that means. These are code words for tourists. The average local Philadelphian would walk up to the counter and say something like “give me a regular cheese steak WITH onions.” It would be understood and the line would keep moving. The bottom line is to not act like an idiot or a tourist when ordering. If you take your time ordering you will piss them off and you will get treated poorly (just like any other food place that you visit except it is a little more extreme here).

Regardless of who was right and who was wrong between the tourist and the cashier, the remark of the tourist was definitely not correct. How can you say that all Italian people in South Philadelphia (one of the largest parts of one of the biggest cities in America) are miserable people based off the reaction of a cashier at one cheese steak place (who is actually a nice guy but it was a very hot day and he may have been overworked). Most Italian people in Philadelphia and other South Philadelphians are very hospitable and kind. There is hardly a correlation between the cheese steak business and the norm in South Philly. Please don’t stereotype and try to resist characterizing a whole population. The truth is that people in Philly are built tough. They may have a stronger façade than the norm but a generally very nice people.

The next observation that I made was the reaction of one of the tourists who commented after the negative experience with the cashier. He was wondering why people keep come back to these steak shops even though the cashier is rude. My answer to that can be written in volumes but I will try to condense it for you. These cheese steak houses make so much money that the loss of one customer will not hurt them at all. They know that no matter what they will always be busy because of tourists who don’t know any better (do you see the value in this blog now – I will be giving everyone more options).

There are many things that the cheese steak places do that many locals don’t approve of either (like Geno’s Steaks sign about ordering in English) but they just don’t like to interfere with other people’s business. The cheese steak world has highly evolved to become one of the most original characteristics true to Philly. Please don’t take it personally if one of these places gives you attitude (and don’t think it is an Italian or a Philadelphian thing either). Just like all parts of life, if someone gives you attitude just give it right back (but make sure that you can back up your words in case the other party is prepared for your counter).

I hope that you have enjoyed this discussion of Pat’s King of Steaks cheese steak shop! Below I have included a list of Pat’s Steak menu and prices for your convenience. Keep in mind that this is the prices as of 2009. I am sure that a cheese steak will be worth double in about another 5 years.

Pat's King of Steak 2009 Menu (Price Includes Tax)

Steak
7.00
Cheesesteak
7.50
Extra Cheesesteak
8.00
Pizza Steak
8.00
Mushroom Steak
7.50
Mushroom Cheesesteaks
8.00
Mushroom Pizza Steak
8.50
Pepper Steak
7.50
Pepper Cheesesteak
8.00
Pepper Pizza Steak
8.50
Mushroom Pepper Steak
8.00
Mushroom Pepper Cheesesteak
8.50
Mushroom Pepper Pizza Steak
9.00
Roast Pork
7.00
Hot Dog
1.50
Large Hot Dog
7.00
Fish Cake (Small)
3.25
Fish Cake (Large)
7.00
Lettuce
.50
Tomato
.50
Ex Cheese
.50
Mushrooms
.50
Peppers
.50
Sodas
1.50
French Fries
2.50
Cheese Fries
3.75