Weep for me John, I've been eating them since about 77 when I tried one from an east coast carnival vendor (while I was churning out Flossie's Funnel Cakes, another PA  delight).  I also (think) I know the differences between The King and Geno's.

I have developed an alergy to bell peppers, likely from way too many personal pizzas at lunch.  Even smelling them cook closes my throat up at times now, so I have to cook my own, and just use onions alone (actually finding bell pepper free food away from home can be a real challenge nowdays.) Cheese Wiz and Velveeta has become too salty or too "well preserved" or something ...?? I still love other American cheeses... but provalone wins out for me now. 

I think that puts me in the "other line", doesn't it?

 Geno's would definitely be a better showpiece though, no doubt.  

I prefer Tony Luke's over both Geno's and Pat's.

Wit or witout?

Crockett posted:

I prefer Tony Luke's over both Geno's and Pat's.

I second this - why Geno's ? We forgive you - non-locals only hear of the tourist sites - however - I have yet to travel and find a good cheesesteak anywhere other than the Philadelphia area

D'you eat ?

Sorry guys.....

Jim's Steaks South Street is the BEST!

Donald

If you are a true cheesesteak lover skip Geno's and Pat's and try these restaurants:

• John's Roast Pork
• Tony Luke's
• Jim's Steaks
• Campo's
• McNally's Tavern
• Dallesandro's
• Steve's Prince of Steaks
• Shank's

-Greg

I didn't want to trash them but at least the 1 pat's steak sub i had was terrible.   yet there's a line.  so, to eat-ch his own.

Some of the best on-the-hood-of-the-car dining I've ever had.

I vote for this building  Ishkabibbles

I'd take Pat's over Geno's and Jims.   Sonny's was pretty good too.

Still need to try Tony Luke's and Steve's.

Now if someone could put together a list of Philly train stores to check out on my next visit, I could have the perfect day of model trains and cheesesteaks.  

bluelinec4 posted:

I vote for this building  Ishkabibbles

How did you come across this?  Me and the Mrs are going to the flower show in March and think we'll have to take the short hop to South Street to try this place!  You learn something new everyday. 

Had the cheesesteak in Philly; didn't like it. We like Italian Beef in Chicago! 

I'm partial to sweet peppers instead of giardiniera and like it wet! Al's probably has the best, but Portillo's buildings would look best on the train layout. 

Only thing is that you would need a ton of space for the drive-through line and the 100 cars wrapped around the block. 

George

George S posted:

Had the cheesesteak in Philly; didn't like it. We like Italian Beef in Chicago! 

 

I'm partial to sweet peppers instead of giardiniera and like it wet! Al's probably has the best, but Portillo's buildings would look best on the train layout. 

Only thing is that you would need a ton of space for the drive-through line and the 100 cars wrapped around the block. 

George

Please, Chicago misses on cheesesteaks like their kicker misses on FGs!

-Greg

LOL Greg    Chicago swears they have good pizza too.  

Greg Houser posted:

George S posted:

Had the cheesesteak in Philly; didn't like it. We like Italian Beef in Chicago! 

 

I'm partial to sweet peppers instead of giardiniera and like it wet! Al's probably has the best, but Portillo's buildings would look best on the train layout. 

 

Only thing is that you would need a ton of space for the drive-through line and the 100 cars wrapped around the block. 

George

Please, Chicago misses on cheesesteaks like their kicker misses on FGs!

-Greg

Ouch. Maybe you shouldn't have picked up our WR with the dropsies or you might be playing this weekend?

George

Grew up eating Captain Harvey's in Baltimore: as long as your arm and twice as heavy. Haven't been down there for about 20 years, hope they're still open and still delicious.

George S posted:

Ouch. Maybe you shouldn't have picked up our WR with the dropsies or you might be playing this weekend?

George

Oh, that's just harsh

I have lived in or near Philly my entire life and both Genos, Pats and some others suck IMO.  Tony Luke's, you should just pour the grease down your throat.

There were several sandwich shops in the area that were much better. 

Besides Hoagies are much better.

Dave

I wonder what Pat and Geno would have to say about all this ??? 🤔

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

If one of you importers want to make a small fortune make this building, Miller engineering may want to  look at it also.

The cheesesteak wars.

Across the street is Pat's Steaks, there is a heated rivalry as to whom is best.  I personally am a Geno's man.

 

Nice choices. Never had the food though that sign will blind us!  

I tried Pat's, Geno's, and Jim's when I visited Philly at different times.  None of them impressed me.  The best one I had in Philly was a local mom and pop shotgun style shop somewhere in west Philly, the locals I worked with took me there, I don't recall the name.

Here near me in Spring, TX we have a Philly transplant named Vito who makes good cheese steak's and pizza.

Ha, without the greazy dribble it's a just an Au Ju Submarine sandwich 

Italian beef? ....I don't know 'bout that. You guys put broccoli and anything else not crawling around, in a thick pie,and try to call it pizza   

And then you eat it with a fork and knife....  

Don't feel bad Phillies, NY stole the traditional chili dog from Michgan  (in Cinci the chili is a nice twist on occasion though; made with cinnimon & sharp cheddar). 

   At least we have the rib-kabob here and there (tempura deep fried ribs on a stick)( a 5min cab ride from Dearborn's Amtrack station for the best, Websters)

Game? I think our problem is the Lions think they are playing rugby  

You need an old dive you wouldn't normally look twice at, south of Cinci to get a decent pulled pork. Don't go to these hungry first time, it'll take a good half hour to figure out how to order, let alone what. Everything is seperate, even the bread. Certain items & combos have numbers and you combine those....

If you don't ask for utensiles or napkins (usually paper towels), you won't be getting any either.

At least you both got the whole train thing right

dorfj2 posted:

I wonder what Pat and Geno would have to say about all this ??? 🤔

Are you kidding? Competition is great for buisness if they run neck & neck.

They probably meet up and laugh at us on weekends.

(...I ALWAYS fall asleep during that movie. I've never seen it all. The trains might have helped...maybe )

bluelinec4 posted:

LOL Greg    Chicago swears they have good pizza too.  

No need for swearing. It's just a fact! Bacino's, Gino's East; Pat's for thin crust. Though I'll admit Rocco's in Bay Ridge is pretty darn good.

David

No discussion is complete without Pittsburgh's Primanti Brothers

Doug

"Detroit Cheeese-Steak"?

  Melted Philli cream cheese is as close as I could get today 

Not bad, not great. Not enough grease so a tad dry. I'd do it again though.

All your fault John 

NKP Muncie posted:

bluelinec4 posted:

LOL Greg    Chicago swears they have good pizza too.  

No need for swearing. It's just a fact! Bacino's, Gino's East; Pat's for thin crust. Though I'll admit Rocco's in Bay Ridge is pretty darn good.

David

Love those! Don’t forget Lou Malnatti’s.

Love the thin cracker crust too. I think it’s the great Wisconsin cheese we import.

George

3rail 2 posted:

Sorry guys.....

Jim's Steaks South Street is the BEST!

Donald

I agree 100%! WIZ? The widow above the door is seating area, but arrive no later than 11:45 am.

david1 posted:

I have lived in or near Philly my entire life and both Genos, Pats and some others suck IMO.  Tony Luke's, you should just pour the grease down your throat.

There were several sandwich shops in the area that were much better. 

Besides Hoagies are much better.

Dave

I agree.

Only had a few others in the city. But I have tried tons of places in Delaware & Chester Counties. Some great and some not. I would send an out-of-towner  to any of them before I sent them to Pat's or Geno's. 

Only eat the Italian pork at Tony Luke's.

That said, I can't argue that their building's could look good on a layout.

Mark W

Now, to the point - What would the licensing fees be from the establishment, whichever you choose,  to create the model?  Unless you kit-bash it - it won't be free.

Up near the King of Prussia or Norristown area, people at work used to like places called Amadeo's (Actually "Amadeo's 2", IIRC - not sure where the original is/was edit: I see Amadeo's is still there, but it's actually "Amadeo's Too", not "2" ) and Pudge's.  I'm not sure if either still exists where I remember it or not (been quite a few years since I've been to either).

As to Philly transplants in other locales, there used to be a place in the Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale, CA) that was called Steven's Philly Cheesesteaks.  It was popular with many of us visiting from PA.  Unfortunately it closed around a year or so ago.

As to the original offerings in this thread, I need to admit that even though I've lived here over 20 years, I've never made the trip down into the city to try either of these iconic places, though I think I visited one that had a location at the airport.  Been to Tony Luke's once or twice since they opened one in the big mall in King of Prussia.

-Dave

Guys.......THANKS!!!!,I now want to make the 90 mile trip for a decent cheese steak...YUM-YUM.....

We purchased 10 identical large cheese steaks, cut them up in  sections and served them blind to out of town guests.  Tony Luke, Pat and Gino's were in the mix.  Gino's did come out on top.

I encourage you to give a similar test to your posse.  keep the portions unlabeled.  Suggest to mark the bottom of each serving plate with a code.  Do not use a store name.  We loved to cheat in Philly!!

Perhaps..Woodland Scenics Corner Emporium could be used as a start. After that the project is a little bit of structure work and a huge amount of illuminated signage.

It would be useful to have square-on shots of the building without the illumination...

Severn posted:

Wit or witout?

Wit, of course!!

Pat’s and Geno’s are tourists traps, but they do have good steaks. I’d love to have those buildings on the layout!!

Actually, I’ve never had a bad cheesesteak anywhere in the Philadelphia area. I thought it was all a memory when we moved to California. But we discovered a small place in a strip mall in San Marcos called Philly Frank’s. The owners are Philly area transplants and everything they sell has a Philly Phlavor. It’s just like being home again. 

In addition to the delicious steak sandwiches and hoagies they have Tastykakes, Esposito’s water ice, Wise potato chips and Frank’s Sodas!  

Another great steak shop is Latucca’s on Main Street in York. Awesome cheesesteaks and Stromboli’s!!

"Actually, I’ve never had a bad cheesesteak anywhere in the Philadelphia area."

I suppose that pretty much sums up my experience.  I've sampled cheesesteaks at most of the venues discussed, and it's hard for me to recall any that I really didn't like!

and, …. about the building...… 

I think it would have to have a lot of lights to look the part.

(I don't think any scale sandwiches will look good after dark.)

I think scale lighting adds a dramatic effect to the layout. It adds a new dimension.

Ok, I did not say Geno's or Pats where the best,  they are for the out of towners.... in fact they are both ok and far from the best,  The best cheesesteak are from mom and pop shops  What I was getting at was the glitz of the area.

And when in god's name did they start putting Cheese wiz and peppers on them SACRILEGE

Cheese steak are best with American white or Aged provolone and fried onions!  and a few Cherry pepper on the side.

How did a great sandwich get so corrupted?

rex desilets posted:

Perhaps..Woodland Scenics Corner Emporium could be used as a start. After that the project is a little bit of structure work and a huge amount of illuminated signage.

It would be useful to have square-on shots of the building without the illumination...

Rex, I would be glad to go to either one and take copious amounts of photos for them. However if Miller where to do just a few Cheesesteak signs I can go with that and use the Corner emporium or a MTH corner building. it would be a great project. As glitzy and gaudy as it gets!

BTW Wentz promises next year when he feels better. SB XIII