Philly Cheesesteak at Tony Luke's in South Philadelphia, PA

We were in Philadelphia and had to try a real cheesesteak once and for all.  Our native friends said Tony Luke's was THE place to go.  What a memorable experience!  The line was long but it moved quickly.  The menu was so extensive that by the time it was our turn to order, the pressure to not hold up the frenzied line behind us was high.  Wanting to keep it simple and not miss out on the flavor of the meat, I ordered quickly.  Steak & Cheese with Sharp Provolone.  Curly Fries.  Diet Coke.  NEXT!  For a packed Saturday night, our order came out quickly. 

After taking a bite of curly fries (delicious and well seasoned) it was time to unwrap this famous roll of goodness.  It didn't look like much.  A long, skinny roll.  Upon opening it, I was amazed with how much meat they packed in there.  The flavor and tenderness of the meat were perfect.  No over seasoning.  No masking of inferior ingredients.  This was the real deal and the quality of the meat stood on it's own.  The roll itself was soft enough to be moist without sacrificing it's ability to hold such a generous amount of meat and cheese.  Ahh.. and the cheese!  They do not skimp on the sharp provolone.  The bottom of the roll held 2-3 layers of thick, sharp provolone stacked throughout.  After about 3 bites, I found the sandwich to be a bit dry.  The overall "Luke" warm temperature of the sandwich along with the hardness of the aged cheese did not lend itself very well to any sort of melting.  The condiment station did not provide Mayonnaise so I had to visit the counter again and ask for it.  After waiting about 4 minutes for the man to come back with Mayo, I gave up and went back to my seat.  I feel a little bad about that but there's no heat in the dining area and since it was mid February, dinner was getting very cold.  It was this set of circumstances which brought on the realization that the cheese whiz option would probably moisten the sandwich much better.  Cheese Whiz.  Cheese Whiz?  Cheese whiz. It goes against every fiber of my being.  However, everyone seems to rave about it on a Philly Cheesesteak and our Philadelphian Hosts were no exception.  Next time I'll do what the natives do.  If you want to order the provolone, you may want to order some mayo on the side along with it.

This sandwich, coupled with the curly fries, provided more than one serving.  I saved half, rolled it back up in the pretty liberty bell paper from whence it came and kept it for later.  We were headed to the Electric Factory next for an Umphrey's McGee concert.  I'm happy to report the sandwich was equally delicious as a late night munchy on the way home.  Win, Win!