The Best Cheese Steak in Philly is...

Well, its a matter of opinion and an issue that has been debated for generations and will never be resolved.

Last Saturday I ventured up to my hometown of Philadelphia with a few friends to take in some of the sights and enjoy a few cheese steaks.  We started our day in Reading Terminal Market and ordered steaks at Carmen's Famous Italian Hoagies & Cheese Steaks.  Now cheese steaks are to those of Philadelphia like pizza is to those of the five Burroughs.  You can get your fix almost every other block and everyone has their favorite.  That said, I have been eating cheese steaks and hoagies since I had two teeth and folks I gotta say this is the best cheese steak I've ever had the pleasure of pairing up with grilled onions and provolone cheese.  The rolls, which almost always make or break the sandwich were soft and chewy but the flavor of the meat is what really stood out here.  I don't know if it was the seasoning on the grill or if the meat was marinated but whatever they are doing at Carmen's, IT WORKS!  Up until Saturday I would say that my favorite cheese steak was a small dive on the 300 block of South Street and a friend of mine swears the best steak isn't in Philly at all but actually in Atlantic City.  And in great part that is what is so wonderful about doing this.  I travel to cities with friends and even occasionally make a few new ones when I arrive at my destination, we sit down and enjoy good food and a drink as we talk and laugh.  From time to time I find places like Carmen's that completely change your opinion of just how good something can be and raises the bar to a whole new level.

If you have never been to Philadelphia, it is an experience to be had, especially if you love history as I do.  But if you really want to take in a local delicacy done right, stop Buy Carmen's at the Reading Terminal Market.  You'll find plenty to snack on while you are there in addition to your steak so pace yourself.

Enjoy and as always...Eat Like A Local!

My Search for Truly Great Pizza in Charm City, Part I

Living in Baltimore has a few drawbacks:  the public transportation sucks, Peter Angelos still owns the Orioles and you just can't find truly GREAT pizza here.

I have been on an, "on again, off again, on again" search here in Baltimore for truly great pizza.  I'm not entirely sure I haven't set my standards too high, but that will be determined with an upcoming trip to Chicago in early July and a trip to NYC later this year to see just how great pizza can be.  But seeing how Baltimore has never been known for its pizza, we need to establish a baseline from a few places that created the standard.  For the record, I'm not a fan of thick crust, so I've eliminated them from the search by default.  What we do have here is a trio of establishments that are worthy of note but before we get ahead of ourselves we will be covering Joe Squared (I ate at the original location in the Station North neighborhood of Baltimore City in this post.

Joe Squared at one point was rated best pizza in the state of Maryland.  A great honor yes, but given that this is not a land known for its pizza, I was still a bit skeptical.  So back in March I called up my  friend Dahjn who is from of all places, Brooklyn.  The benchmark by which all other pizzas are judged.  We took a ride to Joe Squared and decided to order the BBQ chicken pizza.  I was a bit unsure how BBQ chicken, corn, avocado and spinach would work together but it did and in fine fashion.  My friends comments were very much what I expected, "The pie was good, very good but just wasn't a Brooklyn pizza".   My take was a bit different, and in part because I don't have the experience with pizza from NYC like I do cheese steaks from Philly.  The crust was just this side of what is now called "ultra thin" and just shy of crispy.  The flavors of the combined ingredients worked surprisingly well together and they were fresh, which makes all the difference.  I also was surprised by the white sauce, which was quite good.  I thought the pie was fantastic, though heavy on the gourmet side.  And that may be an issue when comparing pizzas.  When making a fair comparison of anything we want to compare apples to apples, not apples to cumquats.  In my mind anyway there are three basic classes of pizza; Classic Italian, Street Corner and Gourmet Pizza.  This was definitely in the gourmet class.

I have reason to believe that I will be back at Joe Squared and that you will enjoy your visit as well.  If not for the great pie and cocktails they have live music every night.



Enjoy and Eat Like A Local!