Since when does a Cheese Steak have lettuce, tomatoes and mayo???
When I was in SF last week. Some friends of mine went to a “Philly Cheese Steak”
restaurant. Some opted for what was thought to be the classic cheese steak, while others went for the vegetarian version with substituted seitan for the thinly sliced rib eye steak.
I have only visited Philly once, and admittedly, I did not have an authentic cheese steak while I was there. However having grown up on the east coast, I at some point had the knowledge implanted in my brain that a cheese steak consisted of steak and cheese, possibly onions but nothing else. Matt had the same belief. So you could imagine our dismay when the sandwiches arrived with lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo!
What is this? The devils work? Who could possibly think that a cheese steak requires these horrid accessories? What part of CHEESE and STEAK dont they understand? At this point I wrote it off to a San Francisco thing and moved on with my life. End of story until…
This past Sunday I walked down to Philadelphia Cheese Steak (formerly Philly’s Best) in Seattle’s Central District. Upon my arrival I expected to order a cheese steak to go and be on my merry way. Wrong! I was informed by the counter employee that a cheese steak comes with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I was also informed that if I wanted what I have come to know as a proper cheese steak, that I was to order it by the name of Cheese Whiz which I was assured didn’t have cheese whiz on the sandwich.
This post is my plea for someone to answer the question that has left me sleepless, Since when does a cheese steak come with lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo?
I have sent a query to Frank Jr. at Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia, PA. This is where the cheese steak originated in 1930 a brainchild of Pat Olivieri.
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