Weekend Cooking..The Perfect Cheesesteak?

---

I am really not a big sandwich eater, but if you read my blog, you might not know that. Several times over the course of my Weekend Cooking posts, it seems that I have written about favorite sandwiches and this week are we going to take a look at what is maybe my very favorite...The Cheesesteak.

The cheesesteak is a Philadelphia classic and every fan has their favorite cheesesteak emporium. Famous is the competition between two Philly shops, Geno's and Pat's, but in my mind, without question, the crown of best cheesesteak belong squarely some 60 miles west, in Atlantic City, at the world famous White House Subs. You have never heard of the White House? Well, let's take care of that!

To my mind there is a Philadelphia style cheesesteak, which is ok, and then there is a perfect cheesesteak, the White House cheesesteak, which is very, very good.
Some things are the same. The meat used is usually very, very thinly rib-eyed steak that is fried on a griddle, usually chopped up with a metal spatula as it cooks. Sometimes it is cooked on a bed of onions, so the meat does not dry out and become overly done. But from the minute that you put it on bread, the differences take over. In Philly, they use a softer, torpedo shaped roll, a soft roll, often the Amoroso brand. Eeek! No, a really good sandwich deserves a really good roll and in the Atlantic City area that means a fine, fine bread like those found at Formica's Bakery, conveniently located just down the street from the White House. A whole sub will use the full, thin, long loaf of bread, a 'half' will be...well, half a loaf, about 12 inches long. Firm, chewy, delicious and able to stand up to the hot, moist ingredients of a cheesesteak without falling apart.

Then there is the cheese. Many places in Philly offer Cheese Whiz or American cheese on their cheesesteaks. Oh, heavens, that is so, so wrong. The cheese must be real provolone cheese. Period. Cheese Whiz is an abomination.

Now, some variations are allowable. Fried peppers, certainly those aforementioned fried onions, may be added. Sometimes tomato sauce is added, making a pizza cheesesteak. Messy, but good. For beef haters (you poor people) there are chicken cheesesteaks, where the chicken is also chopped up as it cooks. For non-meat eaters, at many places you can get a hot veggie sub, where a variety of veggies, like spinach, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, onions are fried up, topped with cheese on the grill, with the split roll tented over it for a minute to melt the cheese then slid into that lovely Formica roll. Personally, I am a fan of the cheesesteak hoagie, where the cooked meat and cheese, cooked on that White House grill that has seem countless sandwiches ahead of yours, are topped with fresh tomato and lettuce, hot peppers on the side, all wrapped in white paper, and slipped into a brown paper bag for you to take out.
Perfection!

They do serve other subs and I am sure they are quite good. I know the Italian is excellent, bursting with a variety of cold cuts and cheese and there are also turkey and tuna and a whole board on the wall listing others I have never had..because how can I not get the cheesesteak when I am there??
The White House is an Atlantic City institution, with photos of countless celebrities that have eaten there over the decades lining the walls. And speaking of lines, you will often find one in the summer, winding out the door as people wait to snag one of the booths inside. The pace inside can be frantic and to tell the truth, I often find the people who work there rather intimidating. Best to call in your order ahead when they are busy, and have someone circle the block in the car as someone else runs in to get that fragrant paper bag, full of cheesesteak goodness.
Did I mention perfection?

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---