Philadelphia Sandwiches

First, I have to talk about cheese-steak for a minute. Say it out loud - slowly: C-h-e-e-s-e s-t-e-a-k. Hot cheese. Hot steak. Sounds great, doesn't? Sounds deadly, too - cholesterol, fat, calories - there is nothing good there. Sounds like something out of the 50's - before we worried about all those bad things. I remember my mom would make a roast beef for dinner, and my father, my brother, and I would fight over what we called the "burnt fat" - the dark brown fatty crust on the outside of the roast. Nowadays, I cut that off and throw it away ... well, not really - I still eat chicharrones - but I know I should cut it off and throw it away. And I know I should NOT be eating a Philly cheese steak sandwich for lunch. At least, not very often.

Now, my problem is - I want an authentic Philly cheese steak sandwich. I have never been to Philly - so I don't really know what that is. And maybe there isn't any single authentic version. But I have tried a few - and they did not SEEM very authentic. Isn't the cheese supposed to be a thick liquid, spooned on top of the meat? Should it have peppers, and onions? And one store owner said his sandwich could never be authentic, because you cannot get an authentic Philly roll without using authentic Philly water.

Well, I may not know what's authentic - but I know a good sandwich when I eat one. And the Philly cheese steak sandwich, with onions, peppers, and mushrooms added, at Philadelphia Sandwiches in North Hollywood, was dee-o-lish-us! Maybe it was the perfectly cooked onions and mushrooms (I have been trying to get good grilled onions on my burgers here in LA with no success) - but the mixture was great - hot, tasty, melted, on a crisp, toasted roll ... I just ate the sandwich a half hour ago, and my mouth is watering as I read this!

The fries were good - nothing special - and the sandwich (the 6" version - they also have a 9" inch size) was enough to eat on it's own, so you don't really need the fries. A large diet coke was truly large. (I hate Diet Pepsi.) The fries came with a real bottle of ketchup - no little packets here.

The restaurant is in a pretty cheesy (no pun intended) part of town. But on a cool winter day, the sandwich just hit the spot. Give it a try.

Philadelphia Sandwiches
11112 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood - (818) 985-4929