My quest to find the Ultimate Cheesesteak
What makes the ultimate cheesesteak?
Wiz Wit?
or a Beer?
I’m Jim Pappas. I have eaten over 1,100 different cheesesteaks since 5/16/2018. I keep track of the cheesesteaks I have eaten on a 36 column spreadsheet. I score them using my 5 category 100 point scoring system. Each one has a video review on my YouTube Channel; Philadelphia Cheesesteak Adventure.
Clicking here will redirect you to my complete spreadsheet. The default view is sorted by date I ate the cheesesteak. It is a spreadsheet so you can sort by; state, county, city and/or scores. The last column has a link to YouTube video review.
When I started my quest I was told I was wasting my time because all cheesesteaks were the same and everyone already knows where to get a good cheesesteak. I quickly found out;
Cheesesteaks are NOT created equal
I was going to try and explain all the different roll, meat and cheese combinations. I wrote a paragraph about bread density and then I looked at two pictures of rolls with different bread density. The pictures were much easier to understand. I added some verbiage because I feel like I have to. I apologize for my grammar. Luckily google corrects my spelling.
The Roll – A long roll. Amoroso Rolls are probably the most well known cheesesteak roll. I think the perfect cheesesteak roll is M&Mesque. I want a crispy crust that I can bite right through and soft bread that holds the meat, cheese and fried onions inside the roll. I very much dislike biting into my cheesesteak and the meat, cheese and fried onions shoot out the back.
The Meat – We will save the Sirloin vs Rib Eye vs Wagyu for a different time. Here we will discuss chopped vs slab/ribbon. The original places had a slicer next to the grill. As orders would come in they would slice the steak and lay it on the grill. From the grill to a roll. Add some cheese whiz and you have a cheesesteak. Serving the meat this way is called; a ribbon or slab. In the suburbs, most places chop the meat as it cooks on the grill. I grew up on chopped meat and that is my preference.
The Cheese – Beer Cheese is the way of the future. Provolone is my new recreational cheese. I’m becoming a fan of melting the cheese and then pouring onto the cheesesteak. We can discuss these topics later. Here we will stick to the original cheese debate; Whiz vs American. Traditionally, ‘in the city,’ aka Philly they would use Cheese Whiz with their ribbons/slabs. In the suburbs, we use American cheese. The cheese melted all through the chopped meat on the grill is my preferred method.
