Why has the cheesesteak become so uniquely Philadelphia? An examination of the iconic sandwich

When you think of Philadelphia's vibe and institutions, many things come to mind. The Liberty Bell. Reading Terminal Market. The Art Museum. The Rocky statues.

But there is something else that is so truly Philly and yet unique to the individual: the cheesesteak. It's the stuff of legends, but everyone has their favorite.

What follows is not a best-of list, but an examination into why the cheesesteak has become an important part of the city and what differentiates the best-known from one another.

"Every day, Pat and Harry ate hot dogs. They got tired of eating hot dogs one day," Frank Olivieri Jr., owner of Pat's King of Steaks, said. "So, my Uncle Pat said to my grandfather, 'Go down the street and get some ribeye from the butcher."

Olivieri's uncle Pat and grandfather Harry ran a hot dog stand. Back in 1930, 1930, Pat invented the Philly steak sandwich, combining ribeye with onions on a flat top on an Italian roll.

"Then years to come, they're inside, and they're eating provolone cheese or whatever cheese they were eating at the time," Olivieri said. "It definitely wasn't Cheez Whiz. They put it on a sandwich. They took a bite, and they said, 'Wow.'"

"Pat's started in the 1930s, I believe. We started in '66," Geno Vento, owner of Geno's Steaks, said. "He invented it. We just perfected it."

In 1966, Geno's Steaks opened, thanks to a $2,000 loan Geno received from his father-in-law. He had a ninth-grade education and $6 in the register. Today, it's a multi-million dollar business.

"We're known for our quality and cleanliness," Vento said, "and a lot of the celebrities, the Food Network people, the movies, the TV stars, different sports teams, like they all come together and what better way than to celebrate with a cheesesteak?"

For all the talk of competition between Pat's and Geno's, which sit across from each other in South Philadelphia, the businesses have a great respect for one another.

"I don't want to call it a competition, but it's a friendly rivalry," Vento said, "where there's options, and you can get different kinds of cheesesteaks. If you grew up on mine, it's the thinly sliced ribeye."

"I used to say Pat's and Geno's made them famous. We make them great," Jim's South St. owner Ken Silver said. "That was my saying all along. And then Angelo's popped up, and Angelo's makes them great too. We all have to co-exist."

Jim's South Street opened its second location on July 5, 1976, after becoming popular in West Philadelphia on 62nd and Noble.

"We also chop our beef. We don't just flip it over on the griddle like some other people do," Silver said.

Why chop?

"Because it's always been chopped," Silver said.

All of these cheesesteak hot spots got their claim to fame.

The 1976 movie Rocky boosted Pat's. In 1977, Jim's was named Best of Philly.

Decades later, in 1991, Boyz II Men's "Motown Philly" music video featured Geno's.

Then there's the new kid on the block, so to speak, Angelo's.

"We really, I think, struck a nerve with people and then, I don't know, they talk about this modern cheesesteak thing," Danny DiGiampietro, owner of Angelo's Pizzeria, said. "John's was doing it. JR's was doing it before them with the seeded bread. So we certainly did not start it, but for whatever reason, it caught hold with us."

Angelo's started with DiGiampietro and a food stall at Cowtown Farmer's Market in Pilesgrove, New Jersey. Years later, Angelo's opened in Haddonfield and in 2019, DiGiampietro moved to his current location at South 9th Street in Philly.

In another four years, Pat's will celebrate their centennial. This year, Geno's is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and Jim's is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

And Angelo's? It's celebrating the good life.