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 steaks, 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 Philly’s famous cheesesteaks.

There's a friendly competition between Geno's and Pat's, and it's common to see tourists walk from one shop to the other to compare. We did just that. I ordered the same cheeesesteak at Geno's as I did at Pat's: One Whiz wit -- aka, one cheesesteak with Cheez Wiz and onions.

So, I try to visit Boston every so often now that my good friend Kaitlynn lives there. And, Boston is great, but funds were running low, so we decided to meet halfway: Philadelphia. Neither of us had ever been to Philadelphia, so adventure!

First stop? Cheesesteaks, obvi.

There are two notable cheesesteak places in Philly that all the tourists flock to: Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks. There are also a dozen others that people in Philly will SWEAR are the ACTUAL best cheesesteak places. But, I only have so much room in my belly for cheesesteak, so I wanted to start off with the ~iconic~ places.

Pat's King of Steaks is the originator and inventor of the cheesesteak sandwich. One day in 1930, Pat Olivieri, a hot dog vendor, put some some beef from the butcher on his grill. A taxi driver apparently noticed the delicious smell and asked for his own steak sandwich.

The next day, as the story goes, rumor of the delicious lunch had spread, and cabbies around the city came to Olivieri demanding steak sandwiches. Soon after, Olivieri opened up a shop at the southern end of South Philly's Italian Market, Pat’s King of Steaks, to sell his new creation. Eventually, according to legend, he added cheese to the recipe. This restaurant is still owned and operated by the Olivieri family today.

So - what exactly is a cheesesteak? Well, it's a long, crusty roll that is filled with thinly sliced sautéed ribeye beef and melted cheese. The most common one is Cheez Wiz, but there is also American and provolone. Also, you can denote whether you want it with or without onions. And, some other toppings are available at a cart nearby, like peppers.

So, we got in line to order our cheesesteaks, which apparently has very specific instructions. There are three main components:

1. How many cheesesteaks you want
2. What type of cheese (Cheez Whiz, Provolone or American)
3. If you want onions

So, [Quantity] + [Cheese] + [With or without onion]. One American with, Two whiz without, etc. It's basically three words so you can move through the line quickly. Got it? Hopefully, because if not, you could be sent to the back of the line.

I ordered "one whiz with," so I got a cheesesteak with Cheez Wiz and onions. The long bun was filled with nicely browned, griddle-chopped steak. The Cheez Wiz melts on top of this steaming sandwich, and the sweet, crunchy bits of onion are - to me - what makes this sandwich.

This typically isn't my kind of sandwich, but this was tasty. The meat was tender, the cheese just coated the entire thing, and the onions added some crunch and sweet. Pretty good. Now, onto their competition...

Grade: A

Ever wondered how Thanksgiving dinner could get any better?

Put it on a sandwich. All of it.

Well, the good parts at least.

While on a weekend roadtrip (more about that in the next post), I drove through Delaware for the first time ever. And, I wanted to be able to document that experience so I reached out to my good friend Maggie - a Delaware native - where I should stop for a quick bite to eat.

"Capriotti's!!" she responded. This sandwich shop, founded in Wilmington, Delaware, focuses on turkey sandwiches (and even roasts whole turkeys overnight). They have begun franchising locations and have shops around the country now.  The business has been named a top franchise by Entrepreneur magazine and Forbes.

They're known for "The Bobbie," which is homemade turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo on a sub. AOL named this the best sandwich in America at one point, and USA Today ranked it in their top 10.

I got a medium thinking that would be a safe route. Wrong. A medium = footlong. Ooooof. BUT, wow. A fresh roll, slathered with mayo, topped with delicious turkey, sweet cranberry sauce and fluffy, savory stuffing. This is what Thanksgiving dreams are made of. If you dig the salty/sweet combo like I do, this is right up your alley.

My only regret is that there isn't one closer.

Grade: A

I've been on a quest lately to knock off some of those restaurants I've had on my list for quite a while. They're often ones I've heard about, but they're on the outskirts of town or they are those "bar & grills" that are heavier on the bar side than the grill side. Or, I just don't know much about them.

RJ's Grill & More - Homemade and Beyond is located on Dunkard Avenue in Westover. I don't traditionally have the best luck with Westover restaurants, but I wanted to give this place a try. So, I headed over there for lunch.

Lodged next to an asbestos removal company and across the way from a secondhand Subaru lot, the restaurant is definitely in a part of town that I don't see often. The space used to be a former hot spot, I think, and the smell of smoke still overcomes the tiny place. The walls are adorned with chalkboard pain and the menu, which is pretty expansive.

The menu has really great sounding items like the "Goldened Blue Burger," which is topped with a Portabella mushroom in a blueberry bacon cream, provolone & pepper slaw. Or there's the "Colonel Mustard" sandwich, which is turkey smothered in spicy mustard butter topped with barrel slaw and onions petals on rye.

I learned the owner previously the Rusted Musket, but he grew tired of the college kid crowd and sold the business. Now, he's catering to the Westover crowd and has seen some decent business due to delivery via OrderUp. He suggested the open face chicken sandwich, which was on special. I was gravitating toward that Goldened Blue Burger, but he said he hadn't currently made that and he only does so every four days. Instead, he suggested the Blue on Black (which isn't on the paper menu), which had cajun seasoning, mushrooms and bleu cheese. Got that with a side of potato salad.

There are maybe 10 or so seats inside - half along the front bar area and half in front of the window. A large TV up in the corner was playing Law & Order. It's cramped, a bit dark and has some questionable area visitors, but the food wasn't bad. Points for some creativity on the menu, but the execution was pretty average, I think.

The burger wasn't especially thick or juicy, but it was fine, and the bun was better than most places. The potato salad had some kick to it that I'm still feeling the residual effects from. The owner. who was friendly, in a rough-around-the-edges sort of way, didn't skimp on the cheese - which I like. The area is a little less than ideal. Overall: Average. But, would I go out of my way to come back? Nah. If I were in the area? Maybe.

Grade: C

Out past the "other" Walmart on Grafton Road, there is a restaurant space. I first went there some five years ago when it housed "Big Kahunas." (Can we also just take a moment and lament Blogger couldn't recognize when photos were vertical or horizontal and just put them in any which way it thought was best? Sigh.) Big Kahunas and its Hawaiian-themed menu are no longer there, but a new restaurant has taken its space.

It is now Whitetail Crossing, which takes on more of a hunting theme as evidenced by the deer on the wall. I ran here during lunch one day to see what it's about. Plenty of parking here, and the outside looks a bit questionable. No windows or way to really see inside, so at first, I thought it was more of a gambling joint. Inside, there was a large dining space to the left - but the lights were out - and to the right was a bar area that had two other customers seated. I decided to sit at the bar. I noticed another dining space on the opposite side of the bar.

The menus had seen better days - pieces of paper that were stapled together with stains of various colors and sizes littering the pages. But, it's a comprehensive menu with pizza, burgers, chicken, sandwiches, wings, hot dogs and even a kids menu. I asked the bartender what the favorites were, and she said pizza or calzones, but they're huge. So, she suggested the wings and noted they also have boneless ones, even though they're not on the menu. She suggested the Hot Honey Hawaiian sauce, and I took her up on that.

The service was friendly, but entirely too slow. I waited for a half hour at noon to get my10 wings, with the only other patrons being the two at the bar - and they both ordered salads. And, she rang me up as a to-go order. I didn't ask for it, but I assume since Iw as by myself she assumed it was to-go. Which was fine, because after waiting that long for the food, I was ready to get back to work. And, I just spent $14 (with tip) for some wings. Meh.

So, once I got to work, I opened the box. It seems like they mixed a bottle of Frank's Red Hot and a can of pineapple chunks. There was no trace of honey. And the hot sauce really dominated the flavor. The pineapple bits didn't taste at all like pineapple - just hot sauce. I don't mind some heat - but as long as there is flavor to accompany it. There was no underlying of sweet or even depth of flavor here. The chunks of chicken were decent quality, but the sauce was not.

I think it's too expensive, I think the wait was way too long, and I think the food is average - at best. I think it joins a host of other restaurants in Morgantown under the "bar & grill" category that cater more to the bar, less to the grill, and it shows.

Grade: C