Geno’s
First up was Geno’s. I decided to follow the locals and ordered a Whiz Wit for our first taste. Whiz is obviously the cheese whiz and wit means with
onions. Ordering correctly is important. While the line looks long it moves very quickly because everyone is prepared to order and has their money
ready. As a New Yorker that has had to endure unprepared tourists slowing down lunch lines across the city at Christmastime I can appreciate this
type of ordering process. Seating at Geno’s is limited to picnic style benches outside which are covered by awning. After my first bite my initial
reaction was that the bread was great, crusty enough on the outside but still nice and soft on the inside. The meat was nicely chopped and the onions
grilled with nice carmalization. The cheese whiz did incorporate well with the meat but it tasted like cheese from a can, which it is. Overall the
cheese steak was lacking in taste. It was good but I wasn’t blown away. The entire process took about 5 minutes as I devoured my steak, next up Pat’s.
Pat’s
As we walked across the street to Pat’s we noticed that a lot of people tend to do the same thing. If you are in the area might as well try both. This time
around we decided to switch things up and go with my personal favorite American cheese instead of the cheese whiz. I understand that in a scientific
comparison you’d like to keep all things equal but this isn’t science, its lunch. The service at Pat’s was even faster, after saying American/Wit and a
sandwich was in your hand. The first thing I noticed was that the American cheese was just placed cold in the bottom of the bread with the meat on
top. The meat was not chopped up like it had been at Geno’s which is what Pat’s is known for. But because the meat wasn’t that hot the cheese just
remained cold and un-melted. The result was that it was not incorporated at all with the meat. This might be one of the reasons that locals in this
area prefer the cheese whiz. At least the whiz is hot and mixed with the meat. The bread once again was great, real no area of distinction here. The
onions were the same but I did feel that Pat’s had more of them which was a plus for me. But again I felt a bit letdown by the taste, it just seemed a bit
bland to me. Also the lack of melted cheese left the sandwich to be very dry. I’m used to eating cheese steaks that require several napkins because of
the moist meat, melted cheese and overflowing onions. That was not the case here, clean up was simple.
The Verdict
If I had to declare a winner of the two I’d give the nod to Geno’s. Geno’s may have had an unfair advantage due to the cheese whiz but I did notice that
they do the same thing Pat’s does with the American or Provolone cheese. Neither place melts the cheese before placing it into the bun. Geno’s was
more moist, had more flavor and I do prefer the meat to be chopped.
Overall I was disappointed in both cheese steaks. Neither would rank as one of my favorites. If I had tried either steaks outside the Philly area I would
have chalked up the below average taste on the distance from Philly but that certainly wasn’t the case here. I also felt that both skimped on the meat.
After eating a full sandwich I was still hungry. In my opinion both places were too concerned with the speed of service and not the taste of the
sandwich. Let me be clear, I still enjoyed both but my honest reaction was a bit of a letdown. I still recommend a visit to both Pat’s and Geno’s for a
true Philly experience. They are located in a real Philly neighborhood for an authentic experience. I think you have to visit at least once. I’ll be back
and next time I’ll reverse the cheese selections to see if it changes my stance.
First up was Geno’s. I decided to follow the locals and ordered a Whiz Wit for our first taste. Whiz is obviously the cheese whiz and wit means with
onions. Ordering correctly is important. While the line looks long it moves very quickly because everyone is prepared to order and has their money
ready. As a New Yorker that has had to endure unprepared tourists slowing down lunch lines across the city at Christmastime I can appreciate this
type of ordering process. Seating at Geno’s is limited to picnic style benches outside which are covered by awning. After my first bite my initial
reaction was that the bread was great, crusty enough on the outside but still nice and soft on the inside. The meat was nicely chopped and the onions
grilled with nice carmalization. The cheese whiz did incorporate well with the meat but it tasted like cheese from a can, which it is. Overall the
cheese steak was lacking in taste. It was good but I wasn’t blown away. The entire process took about 5 minutes as I devoured my steak, next up Pat’s.
Pat’s
As we walked across the street to Pat’s we noticed that a lot of people tend to do the same thing. If you are in the area might as well try both. This time
around we decided to switch things up and go with my personal favorite American cheese instead of the cheese whiz. I understand that in a scientific
comparison you’d like to keep all things equal but this isn’t science, its lunch. The service at Pat’s was even faster, after saying American/Wit and a
sandwich was in your hand. The first thing I noticed was that the American cheese was just placed cold in the bottom of the bread with the meat on
top. The meat was not chopped up like it had been at Geno’s which is what Pat’s is known for. But because the meat wasn’t that hot the cheese just
remained cold and un-melted. The result was that it was not incorporated at all with the meat. This might be one of the reasons that locals in this
area prefer the cheese whiz. At least the whiz is hot and mixed with the meat. The bread once again was great, real no area of distinction here. The
onions were the same but I did feel that Pat’s had more of them which was a plus for me. But again I felt a bit letdown by the taste, it just seemed a bit
bland to me. Also the lack of melted cheese left the sandwich to be very dry. I’m used to eating cheese steaks that require several napkins because of
the moist meat, melted cheese and overflowing onions. That was not the case here, clean up was simple.
The Verdict
If I had to declare a winner of the two I’d give the nod to Geno’s. Geno’s may have had an unfair advantage due to the cheese whiz but I did notice that
they do the same thing Pat’s does with the American or Provolone cheese. Neither place melts the cheese before placing it into the bun. Geno’s was
more moist, had more flavor and I do prefer the meat to be chopped.
Overall I was disappointed in both cheese steaks. Neither would rank as one of my favorites. If I had tried either steaks outside the Philly area I would
have chalked up the below average taste on the distance from Philly but that certainly wasn’t the case here. I also felt that both skimped on the meat.
After eating a full sandwich I was still hungry. In my opinion both places were too concerned with the speed of service and not the taste of the
sandwich. Let me be clear, I still enjoyed both but my honest reaction was a bit of a letdown. I still recommend a visit to both Pat’s and Geno’s for a
true Philly experience. They are located in a real Philly neighborhood for an authentic experience. I think you have to visit at least once. I’ll be back
and next time I’ll reverse the cheese selections to see if it changes my stance.
Geno's Steaks vs. Pat's Steaks – Philadelphia, PA - 1/7/09
I love cheese steaks, always have for as long as I can remember. My family originates from Pennsylvania and I was even born in Hershey. So I have
been enjoying quality cheese steaks my entire life. However my Philadelphia cheese steak experience has been somewhat limited. On a recent trip to
Philly the first thing on our agenda was a cheese steak taste off.
I love cheese steaks, always have for as long as I can remember. My family originates from Pennsylvania and I was even born in Hershey. So I have
been enjoying quality cheese steaks my entire life. However my Philadelphia cheese steak experience has been somewhat limited. On a recent trip to
Philly the first thing on our agenda was a cheese steak taste off.
| Pat's King of Steaks Wharton & Passyunk Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215) 468-1546 |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
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All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
First a little background, like pizza in New York everyone in Philly has their
own opinion as to what is “the best” cheese steak in the city. My personal
stance is that it’s impossible to define one place as “the best”. No one’s opinion is
right and no one’s opinion is wrong. The fact that everyone’s voice counts is
what makes discussion like this so intriguing. Think about it, if everyone
agreed what would there be to debate?
For our taste off we heading straight to Geno’s and Pat’s Steak located in the
Italian Market section of Philly. Now you can debate if they are the best in the
city but it’s hard to debate that they are the most well known. Geno’s and Pat’s
are two separate establishments located cattycorner from each other. Pat’s is
credited with inventing the cheese steak back in the 30’s when he grew tired of
eating plain old hot dogs which was their primary business. Geno’s opened in
the 60’s and the two businesses have been competing ever since. Honestly I
think the competition is only on the surface. Both companies benefit from their
close proximity to one another and I’m sure behind closed doors both owns act
more as partners then they do adversaries as they count their money. But don’
t expect any of them to admit that publically, it’s just my theory. Geno’s and
Pat’s have been featured on countless food programs, in movies and even a
Boys II Men video. Being well known doesn’t always make a place the best, just
like being well known doesn’t mean that it’s overrated. I find that sometimes
food enthusiasts will avoid a place simply because it’s well known and instead
seek out some unknown place just to be original. Today I personally wanted to
try the two most well known cheese steaks.
Our plan was to order one cheese steak at each place and split it. This way we
could try both without over eating. We also only focused on the cheese steaks
and didn’t order any sides. Locals swear that the best steak is served with
cheese whiz instead of real cheese. I have never agreed with this and typically
have ordered my steaks with American or provolone cheese.
own opinion as to what is “the best” cheese steak in the city. My personal
stance is that it’s impossible to define one place as “the best”. No one’s opinion is
right and no one’s opinion is wrong. The fact that everyone’s voice counts is
what makes discussion like this so intriguing. Think about it, if everyone
agreed what would there be to debate?
For our taste off we heading straight to Geno’s and Pat’s Steak located in the
Italian Market section of Philly. Now you can debate if they are the best in the
city but it’s hard to debate that they are the most well known. Geno’s and Pat’s
are two separate establishments located cattycorner from each other. Pat’s is
credited with inventing the cheese steak back in the 30’s when he grew tired of
eating plain old hot dogs which was their primary business. Geno’s opened in
the 60’s and the two businesses have been competing ever since. Honestly I
think the competition is only on the surface. Both companies benefit from their
close proximity to one another and I’m sure behind closed doors both owns act
more as partners then they do adversaries as they count their money. But don’
t expect any of them to admit that publically, it’s just my theory. Geno’s and
Pat’s have been featured on countless food programs, in movies and even a
Boys II Men video. Being well known doesn’t always make a place the best, just
like being well known doesn’t mean that it’s overrated. I find that sometimes
food enthusiasts will avoid a place simply because it’s well known and instead
seek out some unknown place just to be original. Today I personally wanted to
try the two most well known cheese steaks.
Our plan was to order one cheese steak at each place and split it. This way we
could try both without over eating. We also only focused on the cheese steaks
and didn’t order any sides. Locals swear that the best steak is served with
cheese whiz instead of real cheese. I have never agreed with this and typically
have ordered my steaks with American or provolone cheese.
| Geno's Steaks Wharton & Passyunk Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215) 389-0659 |
Hudson Valley Food Blog
