Pat's King of Steaks
Pat Oliveri invented the cheesesteak back in 1930. Since then generations of South Philadelphians have been heading to the corner of 9th and Passyunk and to Pat's for a "Steak Wit" and a cherry soda.Pat's is as real "South Philly" as you'll find. Lines of customers from the "neighborhood" that often wrap around the building. Gruff order takers with attitude that would intimidate a Marine Drill Sergeant. Pictures of local celebs Jerry Blavit and Hi Litt on the ceiling.
"Whiz With" translates to a cheesesteak topped with Cheeze Wiz and Fried onions. That's a good way to start. Cheese steaks are ordered at one window, drinks and fries at the next.
For the real Pat's experience, ask the counter person at the cheesesteak window why he/she can't take your drink order too...Pat's makes a fine steak:
The same steak they've been grilling for the last 70 some years. Some folks put Pat's down. But there are a few million Pat's cheesesteak eaters who disagree.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pat's+King+of+Steaks
Philadelphia's Italian population (along with myriad other immigrant groups) boomed between 1870-1930, as political upheaval in the homeland encouraged many Italians to emigrate to America. Families from Abruzzi, Calabria, Sicily, and more joined Philadelphia's already-established Ligurian population, settling largely in South Philadelphia.
Here, street vendors sold cheap sandwiches out of carts, using inexpensive cuts of meat like tripe, or, in some cases, just meat drippings, sans actual meat. These meals were meant as quick, easy sustenance for the neighborhood's working-class clientele, and among their peddlers was the son of an Abruzzi government worker who left Italy as Mussolini rose to power. This son would soon invent a sandwich that would change the city forever.
https://firstwefeast.com/features/2016/07/philly-cheesesteak-illustrated-history
A Chance Encounter With a New Creation:
In 1930 Pat Olivieri, and his brother Harry were operating a food cart at the corners of 9th Street, Wharton Street, and Passyunk Avenue that dealt primarily in hot dogs and fish cakes. One day in 1933, Pat, bored of eating his own limited menu, implored Harry to visit a nearby butcher and come back with some beef that they could quickly cook up on at their stand for lunch. Harry returned with thinly-sliced ribeye, Pat "frizzled" it up with some onions on the flattop, and crammed it into a bun: voila, version 1.0 of the cheesesteak has arrived.
As legend has it, on that very day, the intoxicating perfume of beef and onions attracted the attention of a regular customer, a cabbie, who requested this brand-new, off-menu item for himself. The cabbie promptly advised the Olivieri brothers to focus on their new steak sandwich in lieu of fish cakes, and word of mouth about this delicious and previously unknown creation quickly spread.
By 1940, Pat and Harry had saved enough money to turn their cart into a brick-and-mortar restaurant at the same corner, which they called Pat's King of Steaks.
Using culinary influences from Abruzzi, Italy, brothers Pat and Harry Olivieri created one of the nation's favorite fast foods, the steak sandwich, from a centuries-old recipe used in american homes. Pat's Steaks originated here in 1930 and invented the prototype of beefsteak sandwiches that uses an italian-style roll and seasonings. Since 1930, Pat's Steaks has shown its hospitality to celebrities and politicians known world-wide, and has an important part in the city of Philadelphia's place in the history of american cuisine Text by historian Celeste A. Morello, MS, MA in 2008
Step 1.
Specify if you want your steak with (wit) or without (wit-out) onions.
(if you're not a rookie this should come naturally)
Step 2.
Specify plain - Cheez Whiz - provolone - American cheese or a pizza steak.
Step 3.
Have your money ready. (Do all of your borrowing in line)
Step 4.
Practice all of the above while waiting in line
(If you make a mistake, don't panic, just go to the back of the line and start over)
How to Order a Philly Cheesesteak
- Step 1:
Choose the location - It really doesn't matter where you go. Each establishment has its own unique style; but at the end of the day, they are all equally as cheesy, meaty, and delicious. Plus, if you've ever had a "Philly Cheesesteak" anywhere other than Philadelphia, then you're inevitably going to feel like you died and went to heaven when you encounter the real deal. - Step 2:
Decide what you want before you even get in line - The ordering process is a very precarious situation. No matter where you go, there's going to be a crowd of hangry Philadelphians trying to get their fix in a timely fashion. - Step 3:
Know the lingo - There's a very articulate way of ordering that must be maintained, regardless of where you're from. Quite frankly, the workers will not respond to requests like, "I'll have one cheesesteak please!". NO. Just no.
https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/how-to-order-a-philly-cheesesteak-in-5-steps
This plaque is located at Pat's King of Steaks in Philly. It is actually located on the ground, exactly where Rocky is standing in the photo from the movie shown here.
My great-uncle, Pat — that was my grandfather's older brother — he had a hot-dog stand he opened around 1930. The neighborhood was always busy, with one of the country's first open-air markets — that's the Italian Market — a block away.
The workers would line up. He would sell them hot dogs off his little cart. And then one day Pat wanted something different for lunch; he was tired of the hot dogs. So he asked my grandfather to go down to the butcher and pick up some scraps of meat. When my grandfather came back, Pat cooked it up on a hot dog roll. There was a cab driver there who saw the sandwich and said, "Wow, that looks really great. Make me one." Pat told him he only had enough beef for one sandwich, so they split it. The cab driver said, "That's terrific. You should stop selling hot dogs and sell these things." And that was the invention of the steak sandwich.
Across from Pat's hot-dog cart, a man named Joe Butch had a building. The second floor was a kitchen, and downstairs there was a tavern. When it started getting cold, Joe Butch comes to Pat and says, "Listen, winter is coming. Why don't you just make your sandwiches in here?" Eventually, more people were eating than drinking, so the guys who owned the taproom decided to cut a hole in the wall and start serving the sandwiches through it. Eventually, Pat took over the entire building.
Pat started making his way into using the pictures of celebrities to heighten the business, and people would come from all over to see them. Pat would go to theaters where celebrities would be — movie premieres, that kind of thing — and bring steaks to give to them. He met Humphrey Bogart one time, and Uncle Pat pulled out his .38-caliber revolver and asked Bogey to hold the gun on him while he held his hands up. Uncle Pat was crazy.
The first cheese was a provolone cheese. We had a manager named Joe Lorenza, or Cocky Joe. He was always drunk, completely inebriated. A waste of our time. But he was the first person to put cheese on the sandwich.
By the early '60s, Uncle Pat had moved out to Los Angeles. My father, my grandfather and my cousin Herb — Pat's son — were operating the business. Around the time that Geno's came along, that was 1966, my grandfather and father bought this location [at 9th and Passyunk] from Pat. So then it really became a Pat's/Geno's thing.
The real rivalry between Pat's and Geno's started as something that the media did, I think. I would say it was probably as early as 1970, 1973, around there. We started getting publicity. And people would come down here, and it was exciting. And then the whole Rocky thing began in 1976, and the media would say, "Well, Pat's is doing this. What's Geno's doing?" You know, trying to start a fire.
Sylvester Stallone came down here and spoke to my father and said, "You know, I'm interested in filming this movie here," and my father was like, "Okay," and Stallone says, "Well, we're going to close you down." So my father says, "Well, if you're going to close us down, you gotta pay us what we normally make." I guess they arrived at a number. ... Stallone was really a nobody at the time.
https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/09/22/cheesesteak-history
Pat's King of Steaks Menu
Founded by Pat Olivieri in 1930. Pat had a modest hot-dog stand at the base of the famous Italian Market in South Philadelphia.
One day he decided to have something quite different for lunch, so he sent for some chopped meat from the butcher shop. He cooked the meat on his hot dog grill, placed the meat onto an Italian roll, and dressed it with some onions. Just as he went to take a bite, a cab driver who ate a hot dog everyday asked what he had there. Pat said that it was his lunch. The cabbie insisted that Pat make him one.
"Hey.....forget 'bout those hot dogs, you should sell these." The steak sandwich was born. As the years passed, both employees and customers alike demanded change...cheese was added.
Since then, the cheesesteak sandwich has become synonymous with the Philly Cheesesteak. And we're proud to be the reason for it. Nearly 90 years later, Pat's is still owned and operated by the Olivieri family at our only location in South Philadelphia. Stop by the next time you're in the neighborhood to enjoy an original, classic cheesesteak.
Geno's was founded by one of Philly's own, Joey Vento in 1966. The man had two boxes of steaks, a few hot dogs, and $6 in his pocket when he turned on the grills at 9th and Passyunk. Neighboring joints predicted he'd last six months, tops.
Joey didn't listen. He stuck to what he knew and what he knew was steaks. Joey learned the ropes working in his old man's steak shop in the 40's. It was in that kitchen that Joey mastered cooking a steak to mouth-watering perfection and grilling an onion so it had just enough bite.
Little by little the shop at 9th and Passyunk drew more attention. Before long, people were saying they were the best steaks they've ever had. Joey kept at it.
Business was booming in 1971 when Joey and his wife Eileen had a baby boy. Always one to do things his own way, Joey decided to name his son (yep, you guessed it) Geno.
As soon as he was old enough, Geno was right there beside his dad, learning about the family business. From 17 on, you could find him at the shop, making the famous Philly cheesesteak, taking orders, and meeting with customers – learning every aspect of the business Joey built.
Joey Vento passed away in 2011. Geno has since taken over the shop and is carrying on Joey's legacy by serving up the famous Philly cheesesteak.
Two competitors across the street from each other. Pat's claim to fame is that it's founder, Pat Olivieri, created the cheesesteak sandwich back in 1930, so it is the oldest cheesesteak in Philly. Geno's opened their location right across the street 36 years later and claims to have perfected the sandwich. Both Pat's and Geno's are opened 24/7 minus a few holidays.
You eat with your eyes right? From the outside of the building alone, you can tell that Geno's looks more like a Vegas spectacle while Pat's looks more like a local joint. I have to say that Pat's grills/windows looked a bit dirty while Geno's looked much cleaner.
The bread at Geno's was a bit chewy to me, and you can see that it has an extra shiny egg-wash coat on top of it. The bread at Pat's however, was softer and helped soak up the juices for me overall. Everyone who I went with liked the bread at Geno's more, but my personal preference is for Pat's.
Next comes the cheese. After trying all 4 sandwiches, I declare that cheez whiz trumps provolone, and as you can see in the image below, Pat's slapped it on liberally while Geno's left me wanting more. Pat's wins for bread and cheese for me.
Some cheesesteaks have steak that's chopped, and some have them in slices. Both Pat's and Geno's gives you the meat in slices. Personally, I liked the extra texture from Pat's steaks being bunched up instead of just in simple thin layers.
https://www.shellyinreallife.com/philly-cheesesteak-in-philly-pats-vs-genos
In the summer of 1976 they opened Jim's South St., bringing a unique art-deco storefront and an even more distinctive cheesesteak to a neighborhood in the midst of a renaissance. Few would have predicted that over the course of more than four decades the shop would become one of the most celebrated restaurants in Philadelphia.
Known as the "Hippest Street in Town," serving up the finest cheesesteaks and hoagies from the heart of the city that made them famous. Five-time winner of Philadelphia Magazine's "Best of Philly" award and Zagat rated, Jim's South St. is your 'must-have' cheesesteak when only the BEST will do.
The cheesesteak destination got its start as a frankfurter stand, so it makes sense. Pat's has sold hot dogs throughout its entire 87-year history.
Pat's serves single dogs in a Martin's Potato Roll. As frankfurters go, they're good, especially when topped with sharp dill relish and Gulden's yellow mustard from the table next to the order window. They're even better with a fishcake tucked into the roll. Made with potato-cod patties from an outfit up in North Jersey, these dogs form a classic Philly pairing known as a "poor man's surf and turf." (It's thought to have originated at Levis Hot Dogs, which operated at Sixth and South from 1895 to 1992.)
Also listed on the menu is a "Large Hot Dog" - Three deep-fried Hebrew National all-beef franks are tucked inside a standard Aversa hoagie roll, then — if you ask for it — topped with the regular "wit" helping of greasy-salty soft onions and a ladleful of orange Cheez Whiz.
The shop sells more dogs than you'd might expect, going through between 350 to 400 in an average week. But quantity-wise, they have nothing on the signature sandwich. On a busy Saturday, Pat's can sell upwards of 6,000 cheesesteaks, outnumbering hot dogs more than 100 to one.
https://billypenn.com/2017/10/24/yes-pats-king-of-steaks-sells-hot-dogs-and-theyre-amazing
Pat's King of Steaks Philadelphia Cheese Steak Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons Soya bean oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 24 ounces sliced rib eye or eye roll steak
- Cheese (store processed recommended); American or Provolone
- 4 crusty Italian Rolls
- Sweet green and red peppers, sauteed in oil (optional)
- Mushrooms sauteed in oil (optional)
- Ketchup
Directions:
- Heat an iron skillet or a non-stick pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan and saute the onions to desired doneness. Remove the onions and add the remaining oil and saute the slices of meat quickly on both sides. Melt the cheez whiz in a double boiler or in the microwave. Place 8 ounces of the meat into the rolls, add onions, and pour the store-processed cheese over top. Garnish with sweet peppers, mushrooms, ketchup.
- Put on the theme song to the first Rocky movie and enjoy.
| 21 Reviews: |
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pats-king-of-steaks-philadelphia-cheese-steak-recipe-1907393
Pat Oliveri invented the cheesesteak back in 1930. Since then generations of South Philadelphians have been heading Pat's for a 'Steak Wit' and a cherry soda.
