Philadelphia: Cheesesteaks

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by MaggieL
Ex*CUSE* me? This must be some other meaning of "foo foo " with which I'm not familiar. :-) Old City...Chestnut Hill...the Main Line...but the *Northeast* is "the foo foo part of town"? Somebody needs to show you around town, Syc. :-)

After working around South and West Philadelphians, it IS the foo foo part of town.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by sycamore


After working around South and West Philadelphians, it IS the foo foo part of town.

Which demonstrates the truth of what I said about neeeding to get out.

Oh...I need to second that D'Alessandro's endorsement too. In my salad days I lived in Roxborough, where D'Alessandro's was but a stone's throw away. *Wonderful* steaks there. And Monahan's Irish Pizza (IV-3-1110, "It's an easy number to remeber", it said on the box).

Damn, that *was* a long time ago...

I'm going to hammer the smoking point again, Syc, you blew it off too easy. That's real denial there. That shit will kill you.

My dad did his damnedest to kill himself with his diet, and he *almost* succeeded; we were certain the adult-onset diabetes and strokes were going to kill him. They sure made him suffer.

But he smoked like a chimney nearly all his life...and during one hospital admission for the circulatory problems they noticed his liver was enlarged--not an easy thing given his >340lbs weight..

It was cancer. He was gone within two weeks. The biopsy indicated the cancer probably seeded from his gut. And I remain convinced the original carcinogen there was in swallowed saliva from his tobacco habit.

He never made it to 60.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by MaggieL
Which demonstrates the truth of what I said about neeeding to get out.

Believe it or not, I've been fortunate enough to see quite a bit of the area since I moved here. I am well aware of the actual foo-foo parts of town...at least here in the city.

I'm going to hammer the smoking point again, Syc, you blew it off too easy. That's real denial there. That shit will kill you.

WHERE was the denial?

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by sycamore


WHERE was the denial?

Ah! Now that I have your attention...:-)

The denial is sweeping something you don't want to think about off your mental stage, to avoid the cognitive dissonance. Like "I've only been smoking for six years..." as if that was just day-tripping. or "I smoke...well...a lot, really". I won't ask you how much "a lot" is--it's so much that you don't even want to put a number on it.

But you've had a wake-up call. Now you've been told the problem is "something muscular" ...presumably because there's no conduction defect showing up in your cardiogram. (Of course, the heart is a muscle, too...)

Maybe the nurse wouldn't lecture you because he or she smokes hirself. But I quit many years ago, so I don't have that problem.

You heard an alarm go off when you were told you have an enlarged heart and diminished vital capacity. But now they've told you your strip is clean and cholesterol is low, so it's bring on the cheesesteaks...

That alarm was real. It's telling you *you* know the smokes are killing you. And now that the immediate emergency is over, you're ready to sweep that alrm back under the carpet again, because the thought of breaking the tobacco addiction is too scary. "It's too hard" you tell yourself..."I'll never get though it, and it will just make my weight problem worse. I need something to smooth me out when I get nervous. It's my only vice, leave me alone..."

Sound familiar?

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by MaggieL
Ah! Now that I have your attention...:-)

Again, I must ask, WHERE was the denial about the smoking?

[wwarner11]

I live outside of Atlantic City and the best cheesesteaks has to be the White House Sub shop just off of the AC Xway. I think a lot has to do with the bread.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by wwarner11
I live outside of Atlantic City and the best cheesesteaks has to be the White House Sub shop just off of the AC Xway. I think a lot has to do with the bread.

You're not the first person I've heard this from.

I was chatting with a co-worker the other day. He mentioned that he went to a cheesesteak place in Altoona, PA one day while he was out there. He said it was the worst cheesesteak he ever had...and he said it was the bread that did it.

The bread is indeed a prime component of the cheesesteak. The tastiest cheesesteaks I've had have been on Amoroso rolls.

[Undertoad]

lisa took me to that White House many years back, and it WAS great (for hoagies anyway), and I made the mistake of not remembering the exact location. How do you get there?

There was a story a few years back of a NJ state police hit, where they were monitoring the conversations of mobsters. And after listening to their conversations, they decided that "hoagies" must be code for "drugs" and "white house" must be where they were going to pick up the wholesale stash in Atlantic City. The cops were embarrassed when they stopped the cars on their way back only to find out it WASN'T code and they were in fact transporting HOAGIES.

(And for our east-coast-illiterate friends, "hoagies" are sandwiches made with delicatessen meats and cheeses on long rolls, typically by folks with Italian ancestry who bring their love of food, and lots of it, to Philly.)

[wwarner11]

If you should go to the White House sub shop and if you do like the bread, you will find a bakery just down the street from the sub shop called Rando's bakery. They supply most of the sub shops in the area and they will sell to people off the street. Let me know if you ever go there. I would love to hear your opinon.

[elSicomoro]

Apparently, the place is well-regarded.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by sycamore


Again, I must ask, WHERE was the denial about the smoking?

Nowhere. It doesn't exist. Never did. Move along, nothing to see here. You are perfectly justified in denying that you're in denial. :-)

This a bit like the old "Nathan Therm" bit back on SNL...."Defenseive? Who's being defensive! *I'm* not being defensive---*You're* the one who's being defenseive..."

So, having been duly alarmed about smoking, now you're now going to continue with it until you have actual explicit physical symptoms *again*, right? At which point it will be too late to panic.

Again.

In the meantime, you won't engage on the topic of smoking, because you'd rather play "red herring" about denial.

Ah, addictive behavior, gotta love it...:-) A bit like the five stages of grief, but postdated.

Does your lady smoke too?

------------

And with both cheesesteaks and hoages, it is most assuredly the bread.

Best theory I've heard on the "hoagie" name was that it was how the shipyard workers down on Hog Island used to carry their lunch to work. How we get from "Hog" to "hoag" I'm not sure. It's a damnfine portable meal though.

[lisa]

Originally posted by Undertoad

Lisa took me to that White House many years back, and it WAS great (for hoagies anyway), and I made the mistake of not remembering the exact location. How do you get there?

Tony,

I need to pick you up on my way there next time. (I've already been there twice since moving back to PA). But, in case you go before I do they're on Artic Avenue near Arkansas (I think). Best way to get there is to head a little downbeach (West or South) of Trump plaza on Atlantic Avenue, turn away from the beach, then turn right on Artic and it will be on your left within a few blocks.

And, yes, I still think they are the best hoagies that I have ever had.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by lisa

And, yes, I still think they are the best hoagies that I have ever had.

Wow...meaning they're better than Michael's Deli. Pick me up on the way too. :-)

[meph]

Originally posted by lisa
Originally posted by Undertoad

Tony,

I need to pick you up on my way there next time. (I've already been there twice since moving back to PA). But, in case you go before I do they're on Artic Avenue near Arkansas (I think). Best way to get there is to head a little downbeach (West or South) of Trump plaza on Atlantic Avenue, turn away from the beach, then turn right on Artic and it will be on your left within a few blocks.

And, yes, I still think they are the best hoagies that I have ever had.

The last GOOD hoagie I had in Philly was at Slack's off the Arimingo/Girard exit of 95. That was ca. 1996 so I'll qualify that.


On the same topic, for those who are caught out of Philly, Dave and Busters offers a pretty good cheesesteak. The roll is close to an Amoroso roll. They claim the rolls are flown in from Philly. Most of the steak sandwiches offered in the South and West are a joke and based upon Pat's and Geno's. provalone cheese and green peppers/mushrooms. I break balls on those who try to represent that as a Philly steak.

As for the White House, I recall it being on the SW corner of Mississippi and Arctic avenues. That was well over 10 years ago (late 80's), so don't hold me to it.
Kevin.

[lisa]

As for the White House, I recall it being on the SW corner of Mississippi and Arctic avenues. That was well over 10 years ago (late 80's), so don't hold me to it.

I'll bet you're right. Mississippi rings a chord in my brain.