It seems fairly obvious, if you're in Philly, you clearly need to eat a Philly Cheese Steak sandwhich at some point while you're there. The question, though, is from where should you get said sandwhich. The answer, simple as it may sound, could spark a heated debate depending on who happens to be standing around when you ask. Turns out Philly has two amazing cheese steak restaurants, and they just so happen to be right across the street from one another, just as they should be.
Geno's Steaks and Pat's King of Steaks are located in a residential area of Philadelphia, and so parking can be a challenge. We managed to find street parking on 9th, but you may need to drive around the neighborhood a bit to find an acceptable spot. The area looks a bit sketchy as well, though I'm told it's not, but still… we're talking big city USA, so keep your whits about you, no matter where you are.
Logistics aside, with such a great rivalry, Holly and I decided that it would be a shame to not try both… so we did! We got a sandwhich, ordered the same way, from both locations, and then sat down for the feast. The traditional Philly cheese steak sandwhich is made with cheese whiz, though it's probably not the cheese whiz in a can you're thinking of. Think melted cheddar cheese and you've got it. You can get several different kinds of cheese from both places… but we elected to go the traditional route, just to make sure we got the complete experience. No need to order fries here… these sandwhiches are PLENTY of food!
So which place wins? I'm almost afraid to weigh in, but I'll do my best. Both sandwhiches are WONDERFUL. The cheese whiz is the perfect way to make a cheese steak sandwhich, and the quality of the meat at both places was really good. If we HAD to pick a winner though, Holly and I both agree that it would be Geno's by a VERY small margin. The bread at Geno's had a really good flavor and was the perfect consistency for the sandwhich. Pat's had a good bit more meat on it than Geno's, which we both felt slightly detracted from the overall sandwhich. Geno's was just enough meat to be good, but not so much that you couldn't taste everything else going on. It is, however, a really tough call. If you go, and you should, you should try both!
–Dan Thompson