Philly Cheesesteaks And The Nation (2nd Thoughts)

County Press ^ | William W. Lawrence

[Tribune7]

Gastronomes the world over will be forever in debt to Pat Olivieri, who invented the Philadelphia Cheesesteak in 1930.

It is probably the best invention in the history of mankind.

Nearly every Philadelphian has certainly heard of and probably has eaten one of Pat's cheesesteaks at 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue. That location is ground zero for cheesesteaks.

His big competition comes from Geno's, which is owned by Joey Vento and is located diagonally across the street. Both are open 24/7.

Pat's, most recently, got national coverage when John Kerry --- who served in Vietnam by the way--made a campaign visit to South Philly and ordered a cheesesteak with Swiss cheese. (An urban legend going around has him asking for brie and Chardonnay).

[Tribune7]

ping

[Tribune7]

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[Recovering Hermit]

http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/history.htm

[JimRed]

Ah, yes; the Philly heart-stopper! A billion grams of cholesterol, but what a way to go! Yum!

[Temple Owl]

What I can't figure out, is why the good people of West Virginia keep sending Sen. Robert (KKK Sheets) Byrd to Washington. At the age of 88, Sen. Robert Byrd with 17,327 days of service since 1959 as a Democratic senator from West Virginia became the longest-serving senator in history. You'd think that West Virginians, especially the black, Jewish, Catholic residents would have voted a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan out of office many years ago. They are probably more offended by Joey Vento's "SPEAK ENGLISH" sign. The Citizens Against Government Waste has just named Byrd "Porker of the Month." That probably explains it all.

He should be named porker and bigot of the century.

[Temple Owl]

What I can't figure out, is why the good people of West Virginia keep sending Sen. Robert (KKK Sheets) Byrd to Washington. At the age of 88, Sen. Robert Byrd with 17,327 days of service since 1959 as a Democratic senator from West Virginia became the longest-serving senator in history. You'd think that West Virginians, especially the black, Jewish, Catholic residents would have voted a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan out of office many years ago. They are probably more offended by Joey Vento's "SPEAK ENGLISH" sign. The Citizens Against Government Waste has just named Byrd "Porker of the Month." That probably explains it all.

He should be named porker and bigot of the century.

[JHBowden]

People on my side don't want to hear this, but Joey Vento *is* acting worse than the French. Imagine if you visited another country and were refused service because you didn't speak the language 100% correctly. That's what Vento is doing.

I understand why Joey Vento is upset about illegal immigration. I agree with him. He also has the right to do whatever he wants with his business. That being said, the man's an ass.

[at bay]

I dunno, maybe because he said "Only dead men and fools never change their mind", as he switched his vote AGAINST the so-called flag desecration amendment. Remember that this year when the amendment is defeated by only a vote or two. This man came to understand how wrong it was to meddle with the Bill of Rights, and changed his vote despite constituent's browbeating.

Maybe this flag amendment debate Monday will find another Senator or two that have a Byrd epiphany, and vote to uphold their oath of office, which said they will uphold the Constitution, not amend it on a whim. Our Constitution hangs in the balance.

Other than this, however, he should really be driving a pork delivery truck, as he delivers more pork than anyone.

[RipSawyer]

When did native Philadelphians start speaking English anyway?

[D1X1E]

He has stated in several interviews no one was ever refused service. He said customers who cannot speak English have pointed or otherwise made known what they wanted to order and has instructed his employees to deal with it in that way as needed.

[JHBowden]

Have you ever heard of this thing called travel? What about this strange respite from work known as a vacation? Not everybody visiting the United States is an illegal immigrant. Acting like the French is disgraceful.

[Lumper20]

Any small business owner retains the right to turn down customers.

If the man asks for orders in English- who can fault him? Does anyone expect him to hire linguists? How hard is to say "Philly Cheese Steak?"

[Artemis Webb]

I'll bet he is up in heaven hardening the arteries of the angels right now.

[Artemis Webb]

OH hell...I misread the headline and thought he died. My bad !!!

[Polybius]

What I can't figure out, is why the good people of West Virginia keep sending Sen. Robert (KKK Sheets) Byrd to Washington.

.

[Crawdad]

I don't speak Spanish, but I can go to any Spanish-speaking-only restaurant and order in Spanish.

"Dos tacos. Uno Coke." Thank you Sam the Sham and the Pharos.

All a Spanish speaking person needs to learn to order at Pat's are 6 English words "One Cheesesteak all the way and one Coke."
"Coke" is a universal word.

[aumrl]

LOOKIN AT YOUR tag line - I'd say u were a little below the belt yourself !

[DaveMSmith]

People on my side don't want to hear this, but Joey Vento *is* acting worse than the French. Imagine if you visited another country and were refused service because you didn't speak the language 100% correctly. That's what Vento is doing.

Ever try to order dinner in Paris speaking english? The waiter will just ignore you or poke fun at you.

If you can read Vento's sign, guess what? You know ENGLISH!

[Sisku Hanne]

Exactly. Order it by name. It's no harder than saying "dim sum" or "spanakopita" or "canolli" or "huevos rancheros".