Favorite Philly foods: Cheesesteaks, pretzels and hoagies
During a "Sunday Morning" visit to Philadelphia, correspondent Susan Spencer shares the love for three traditional food favorites in the City of Brotherly Love.
The sacred Philadelphia cheesesteak
For more than a few Philadelphians, cheesesteak is a sacred cow.
"I hold it close to my heart," said Frankie Olivieri, the third-generation owner of Philly's legendary Pat's King of Steaks. "I tell people, and if it wasn't for, you know, Pat's Steaks and cheesesteaks, who's gonna come look at a bell with a crack in it?"
For non-Philadelphians, a cheesesteak sandwich is thinly-sliced ribeye on an Italian roll with onions and a choice of cheese. Take note: The meat is thinly sliced, never chopped!
"Because, I mean, God gave us teeth," Olivieri laughed. "I mean, it's a steak sandwich, it's not grind meat. If you want a chop cheese, you go to New York. So for me, it's sacrilegious to chop the meat."
Olivieri says thinly-sliced meat is key to designing the perfect Philadelphia Cheesesteak sandwich. That, and (brace yourself) big globs of old fashioned Cheez Whiz.
Asked how many cheesesteaks he's consumed in his life, Olivieri estimated at least half a million.
For Olivieri, a Philadelphia Cheesesteak is clearly so much more than just a meal: "You know that someone loves you when you're eating a Pat's cheesesteak," he said, "when you get down to the very end, the end of the sandwich, and that little corner piece, and it's all filled with onion juice, and meat juice, and Cheez Whiz, and oil, and somebody hands that last bite to you! That's the person you stay married to, or you marry. Find a Justice of the Peace and get married right there. That's love!"
For more info:
- Pat's King of Steaks, Philadelphia
Soft pretzels, an essential Philly food
Believe it or not, back in 1861, pretzel-twisters had the second-highest-paying job in Philadelphia, right after tobacco workers. But pretzels are still on a roll:
Asked if she's ever known anybody in Philadelphia who did not like pretzels, Erika Tonelli Bonnett, who runs Center City Soft Pretzel Co., replied, "I don't wanna know them!"
She says the twisty, crunchy, doughy treat is the essential Philly food (no disrespect to a certain savory sandwich). "This city is so much more than just a cheesesteak," said Bonnett. "I really feel like when you think about Philadelphia, I think the pretzel's the first thing that comes to mind."
The proof is in the production: She says Center City churns out tens of thousands of pretzels a week.
What is the pretzel's appeal? "It's just the convenience of it," Bonnett said. "I think for a city that is pretty much blue collar, we're always on the go. It's simple. You grab, you go, you eat, it's done. Like, it does not require any utensils, napkins. It's not a mess."
Center City is known for a Philadelphia-style pretzel, which is a figure eight.
Bonnet says a perfectly-designed Philadelphia pretzel should be "Thick, crusty, small hole in the center. Perfect amount of salt, little bit of mustard. That's it."
Customers come in two camps: Those who like the crunchy ends, and those who prefer the doughy middle. "You're probably a softer person if you like the doughier one," Bonnett said. "And if you like more crunch, you're probably a little bit harder!"
Either way, no one's arguing with the price. A single pretzel will run you 90 cents. "You can feed a family for under $5," Bonnett said. "I'm not saying it's a balanced food group, but I'm saying it is a food group. And we need carbs for our brain, so… "
For more info:
- Center City Soft Pretzel Co., Philadelphia
Making a proper hoagie
At Liberty Kitchen in Philadelphia, you'll find 25 different kinds of hoagie. Which raises the question: What exactly is a hoagie?
Executive chef Beau Neidhardt demonstrated: "We start with our sesame-seeded hoagie roll. Then we do a little drizzle of our dressing, then we layer our three deli meats. And then that is followed by our house-made hoagie relish. And then our onions, our tomato, our lettuce, and then we finish off with a little bit of oregano."
Translation: It's a GIANT sandwich made to order Philadelphia-style.
Neidhardt says he probably three hoagies a week: "Three. Two-and-a-half. Let's put it at two-and-a-half."
And yes, he has had a hoagie for breakfast. "Like, of course!"
Philadelphians have been living on hoagies since World War I, when shipyard workers packed them for lunch. Today, the city devours tens of millions every year.
Neidhardt made for us his famous "Kale-Caesar" cutlet hoagies, a Liberty Kitchen concoction that went viral a few years back.
"Philadelphia cares a lot about its hoagies," he said. "It is a lifestyle. It is Philadelphia. Like, hoagies are Philadelphia!"
For more info:
- Liberty Kitchen, Philadelphia
