Tyler Lauletta / Business Insider
I tried out cheesesteaks from Pat's, Geno's, Jim's, and Tony Luke's in the span of a few hours to discover the soul of the city of Philadelphia.
- The humble cheesesteak is Philadelphia's most iconic meal.
- Raised in the Philly suburbs, cheesesteaks were an essential part of my adolescence, with Pat's, Geno's, Jim's, and Tony Luke's serving as my go-to spots in the city.
- Recently, I returned on a personal pilgrimage of sorts, taking down four cheesesteaks in one night to determine which sandwich reigned supreme.
The Philly cheesesteak is not an enigma.
A coalescence of cheese, steak, bread, and sometimes fried onions, a good cheesesteak creates a whole supremely greater than the sum of its parts.
But despite its simplicity, the sandwich evokes strong emotions amongst Philadelphians. Like any food a local community takes pride in - pizza in New York, tacos in Los Angeles, or barbecue across the south - cheesesteaks are plentiful in Philadelphia, with many outlets vying to be the best in the city.
Raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, cheesesteaks were a fairly regular staple of my childhood diet. Trips into the city, whether for concerts, movies, or Phillies games, were often capped off with a trip to one of four spots for our favorite sandwich - Pat's, Geno's, Jim's, and Tony Luke's.
In college, I would go on to learn the beauty of John's Roast Pork and Dalessandro's, but in my youth, these four were the greatest cheesesteaks that existed on the planet, and in Philadelphia fashion, I was ready to fight anyone that disagreed.
While attending the Phillies season-opener, I decided to put the memories of my youth to the test, taking on all four steaks in one day.
After a day that ended with pure cheese whiz coursing through my veins, here's how the meals stacked up.