Philadelphia, PA Fall '08

Although I've been to Philly maybe half a dozen times, if not more, this trip was outstanding.

I found a perfect opportunity to go on this short road trip after someone from my car club decided to buy some old wheels I had for sale. With Free delivery to sweeten the deal I jumped in the truck after work and headed down the turnpike to the city of brotherly love.

Yeah, that sounds real cheesy. But I was excited. Not so much for the sale which was great because I've been meaning to clear out my garage for the longest time, but because it gave me an opportunity to take the advise of several Flyer Talk members and try some of South Philly's best: cheesesteak!

While at work I had prepared a list of places I needed to hit in order to enjoy the experience... and enjoy I did. The first stop on my list was Tony Luke's. This joint just off I95 was very busy with patrons. Especially those wearing Phillies jerseys as there was a game in town and Phillies were headed for a pennent victory. The wait wasn't too long, but with so many people all around it was a good atmosphere to be in. Everyone smiling and joking around, the smell of victory was in the air... or maybe it was the onions? Not sure, but one thing always catches my eye when I'm in Philadelphia and thats their parking habits. People leave their cars in the middle of the street parked throughout town, in between the yellow lines. I haven't seen this done nowhere else in my travels. If it were up to me I'd be afraid of doing that in fears of getting the damn truck towed, but no one seemed to care.


After grabbing one of Tony Luke's famous Philly cheesesteaks with mushrooms and hot peppers, I decided to wolf it down on the way to PHL airport. I've been coming across a number of real cheap flights from that airport and wanted to check it out to see how easy it would be to use if I were to book something flying out of there. To my amazement I finished the steak in a few bites. I don't know if I was that hungry or if it was simply that good. Then after sampling all 6 of Philadelphia/Willmington's International airport terminals I still felt hungry and decided to follow my nose to the birth place of Philly Cheesesteak: Pat's (right across from Geno's who also claim to be the first)


I couldn't find the street address in my notes, so I relied on the GPS to get me there... sadly while at PHL Pat's wasn't on the list of nearby eateries. So instead I followed my nose... and boy was I good! While driving down Broad St, I punched in Pat's into the GPS again and this time it was there: "Pat's King of Steak" it said. I clicked "GO" and within minutes I was there, wow. Got a parking spot right along the restaurant outdoor tables, and went to place my order. Again, drunk Phillies fans were in abundance, and unlike Luke's I didn't have to wait at all for my cheesesteak to be ready it was made right in front of me. By comparison to Luke's it was much larger, with bigger chunks of steak, and more cheese. It was also very juicy but to be perfectly honest I liked Tony Luke's best.



Nevertheless, soon after leaving it seemed like I finished this hoggie in a few bites as well and in not time at all I was back on the turnpike heading home.


I should do this more often!

Useful links:

Tony Luke's

>Pat's King of Steaks

Geno Steaks