How to Order a Philadelphia Cheesesteak

Vacation time is just around the corner and there's nothing better than sampling the various regional foods. Born and raised in Philadelphia, I've spent much of my teenage years on South Street munching on Philly's unique cuisine - hoagies, Tastykakes, mustard pretzels and our famous sandwich the cheesesteak. In Philly cheese steak is one word. Locals ordered them from their neighborhood shops; however, the two famous and most recognized places for vacationers are Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's located in South Philadelphia directly across the street from one another. They are highly competitive! There are two types of cheese steak consumers; those who love Pat's and those who are loyal to Geno's. Ordering a cheese steak is a skill and an art in itself. The lines are long, the folks are hungry and you must know in advance what you want or it can get ugly.

Step one: Pick your place: Geno's is located on 1219 South 9th Street. Pat's King of Steaks is located 1237 E Passyunk Avenue.

Step two: Decide what you want on your cheesesteak. No need to look at the menu. You are there to purchase a cheesesteak! If you want a burger and fries . . . go to Burger King.

Step three: Abbreviated phrases help. Learn them, memorize them. For example:

Whiz wit - whiz is the thick orange cheese sauce. Although the shops don't use the more familiar version of the nozzle canned cheese it resembles this whizzed cheese so we call it whiz. The wit is fried onions. Whiz wit out . . . no onions. The locals shops rarely use whiz. They tend to stick with american cheese.

American/Provolone wit: A better choice of cheeses at any steak shop and what most of the native Philadelphians prefer.

SPK - Salt, pepper, ketchup

Mayo & hots/sweets - Mayonnaise and hot peppers or sweet banana peppers

Everything: Self explanatory. Be prepared to enjoy a multitude of flavors in every bite.

Once your cheesesteak is consumed, of course you must have dessert. Tastykake pies are baked locally and either apple or lemon would be appropriate. Opening the pie wrapper takes some skill. Both ends of this rectangular package have a tab located on the bottom. Insert your thumb into one of the tabs and pull up. The plastic cover should rip off easily. If it doesn't, try the other tab. Once the pie is in your hand, it's customary to break off all four tips as they are usually over baked. Wash it all down with a Frank's Black Cherry Wishniak and you've got the best of Philadelphia's cheesesteak experience.