The History of The Philly Cheesesteak

Philadelphia is famous for it’s history, culture, and of course, THE CHEESESTEAK! The iconic sandwich draws tourists from all over the nation and are known all around the world. The cheesesteak is rarely duplicated successfully outside of Philadelphia, but many have tried. A cheesesteak is a long, hot sandwich stuffed with thinly sliced ribeye beef and melted cheese. The cheese of choice that accompanies the famous sandwich is Cheese Whiz, and the sandwich is offered with fried onions, sautéed mushrooms, sweet and hot peppers or without. There is an art in how this dripping beef sandwich is prepared and only a handful of chefs in the city have won the hearts of Philadelphians with their version.

The Cheesesteak was invented by Pat Olivieri in 1930, a South Philly hot dog vendor who decided to put some beef from his butcher on the grill. Locals smelled the aroma of the beef cooking and soon the rumor of the delicious sandwich had spread. Olivieri opened up a shop on 9th and Passyunk Avenue, Pat’s King of Steaks, to sell this new creation. Geno’s, owned by Joe Vento, is the rival shop across the street and the two have competed in a friendly way to win the title of best cheesesteak in town. Some say Geno is the one who added cheese to the steak sandwich, but others swear Olivieri did. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that cheese was added to the steak. Provolone was the original cheese of choice; Whiz came later. Today, Kraft sells one quarter of all its Cheeze Whiz in Philadelphia.

The competition drew a lot of celebrities who hung signed headshots on the walls of Pat’s and Geno’s. It also brought the ongoing Philadelphia argument:  Who makes the city’s best cheesesteak?