Mom, Apple Pie and Cheese Whiz

The dis-oriented author has always enjoyed a good Philly Cheese Steak. This week I was in the Philadelphia area so I had to go visit the Temple of Cheese Steakdom — Geno's Steaks in South Philly. I selected Geno's on the in-car GPS and off I went. I drove through downtown Philly and then to the south side. The neighborhoods seemed to deteriorate as I got closer.

I went to Geno's based on it's reputation. Geno's has a reputation for great steaks — more recently, Geno's has earned a reputation for asking their customers to order in English.

My kind of place.

Geno's has this  sign up at their ordering window. Geno's owner, Joe Vento's grandparents came from Sicily and barely spoke English. Vento is a patriot and this is his unique way of inserting himself and his iconic business into the debate. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the South Philly neighborhood around Geno's is making the transition from being a little Italy to a little Mexico.

In June, Senator Rick Santorum stopped bu to work the counter for a while. Both Casey and Santorum are running ads painting the other guy as being weak on illegal immigration.

The funny thing is that when you order your steaks at Geno's the language the counter attendant speaks is barely recognizable as English. What you get is a South Philly dialect. Geno's is short on customer service, in a charming Philly sort of way. When it is your turn in line you must step up to the window and order quickly,

In Philly they are called steaks, not cheese steaks. By default steaks come with Cheese Whiz. If you want onions you order a steak wit, as in with onions. You don't have to say Philly because you are in Philly! The steaks are amazing.

I have had Philly Cheese Steaks in restaurants all over the country. I even had one in a Dairy Queen in the Minneapolis airport on the way to Philadelphia. Until Geno's I had no idea what I was missing.

The bread at Geno's has a lightly crisp crust. The meat is ribeye sliced paper thin. I ordered a steak with Cheese Whiz. Since I am a francophile and therefore, somewhat of a cheese snob I hedged my bet with another steak with provolone. I do not normally like yellow cheeses, especially not Cheese Whiz. To my surprise the steak with Cheese Whiz was perfect, I am not sure whether I iked the Cheese Whiz or the Provolone better.

Geno's will be a regular stop every time I am in Philly.