Cheesesteak Crawl

Alright, this has gone on long enough, and frankly I’m fed up. I’ve been in New York for over a year in a venerable cheesesteak drought. I aim to do something about it and I want you to help me.

We’ll say it’s a mission of discovery to find the best, and “best” might be a dubious honor, cheese and meats combo in town. Let’s call it a Cheesesteak Crawl. And you’re all invited.

The plan is to get enough of us together so that we can have a few people share a cheesesteak (rather than each of us eating seven cheesesteaks in one day). We’ll be on foot, and probably hit a bar or two along the way for some added refreshment/naps.

Here’s the final kicker: I’m going to design some scorecards for everyone to rate the places we visit based on a few factors like cheese, meat, roll, taste, preparation, greasiness, etc. Afterwards, I’ll tally the results, post them here, and we’ll crown a winner. The whole day might amount to “NYC is a cheesesteak wasteland”, but hell, I need to know for sure. And it will be a good chance to meet some new people.

I made a handy little map of the joints we’ll hit and the order of the crawl. The list includes all of the big places that make so-called “Philly Cheesesteaks”: BB Sandwich Bar, Wogie’s Bar & Grill, Cheesesteak Factory, 99 Miles to Philly, Carl’s Steaks, Tony Luke’s, and Philly Slim’s.

We’ll meet at the southwest corner of Washington Square Park at noon on Saturday, September 27th (rain date, Sunday, September 28). RSVP on the event page if you’re in. Once it gets a bit closer to the date, I’ll post the scorecard on my site for download (and I’ll bring a bunch on the day of along with some of those little mini-golf pencils).

Who’s with me? If you’ve never had a cheesesteak, this will be a good time to try one. Think of it as a slow moving, and likely very winded, foodie flash mob. So, if you are in or around NY, come along! It shall be a glorious gastronomical adventure!

UPDATE: The results are in!

What the hell is a cheesesteak?

A cheesesteak is a magical blend of meat and cheese, typically a combination of some of the ingredients below. But it’s so much more than the sum of its parts.


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