bachslunch

According to their website, Rick's lost their lease at Reading Terminal Market on October 29, 2008, apparently to be replaced by an outpost of Tony Luke's there. Found a source with this as a possible reason:

"Rick’s owner Rick Oliveri...says he’s being kicked out because, as president of the merchants’ association, negotiated longer hours and a few other things. Oliveri doesn’t say who’s angry — management? other vendors? — but he does say something is up: “I think it’s retaliation. It’s a concern for merchants, and as president, to make sure merchants are getting the best bang for the dollar at the Reading Terminal Market.”"

Source:

http://willdo.pwblogs.com/tag/cheesesteaks/

Also according to their website, Rick's will reopen at a different location on June 15, 2009 -- at "Downstairs at the Bellevue" in their Gourmet Food Court, 200 South Broad Street, a little bit south of City Hall.

Source: http://www.rickssteaks.com/locations.html

bachslunch

So, assuming Rick's does reopen and their quality remains consistent, would rank them for cheesesteaks as follows: Jim's, Cosmi's Deli, Rick's, Tony Luke's ballpark, Dolce Carini, Campo's, Sonny's, Pat's, Geno's.

And agreed with Dukey about scrapple -- have had a very good order of it at Dutch Eating Place in Reading Terminal Market in past. It makes a very good breakfast meat substitute.

KayF

Hi, I've heard of a Philly Cheese Steak but am curious what it is. Is it a steak on a plate, covered with cheese? Or is it served in between bread? In Australia, where I'm from, we have Philadelphia Cream Cheese, which is mainly used in cooking, does that have anything to do with it?

The other American dish I've heard of and could never figure out what it meant, is Chicken Fried Steak (think I've got that right). Is that chicken or steak? And what does 'chicken fried' mean?

Thanks for the education!
Kay

elberko

Hi KayF,

Google Images for:
philly cheese steak sandwich, and I think you'll get the idea.

Chicken fried steak is a steak breaded and fried in the manner of fried chicken. Not very common around here on the east coast of US.

~Liz

Birdie

Dukey, what do you know of Philly eats, you DC'r?
Yep, I can vouch for the Dutch Eating Place. (they also have grits!)

I'm in the Jim's cheesesteak camp but whiz??? An abomination.

Chicken fried steak isn't common on the East Coast? Really. I find its pretty common in the south with white gravy.

elberko

Birdie,

I should have specified NORTHeast. My husband is from the midwest and occasionally looks for chicken fried steak without much luck.

waggie1218

KayF - A cheesesteak is not a real "steak" as the name suggests. It is basically shredded beef on a long, fairly hard roll (as you can only get in the Philly area) with melted cheese on it. The cheese melts into the crevices of the shredded meat. It is either served just like that or with various toppings, such as fried onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc. Or there are cheese steak hoagies, and these would have lettuce, tomato, and onion on it. A pizza steak has pizza sauce and melted mozzarella on it. All of the above are great, and my mouth is watering as I write!

Philadelphia Cream Cheese is an entirely different animal and is not put on cheesesteaks. Philly cream cheese is used on bagels, to make dips, in cake frosting, and other recipes.

I'm originally from Southern NJ but now live in Kentucky. We can certainly get cream cheese cheese here but definitely not a "real" cheese steak. Gawd, do I miss all that great Philly food!!

kkukura

We just returned from a long weekend up in the Philadelphia/Quakertown area visiting relatives. We ate a cheesesteak sandwich at Geno's, which we all liked. I also tried scrapple at my mother-in-law's house but it was too salty for my taste. We also had pierogies, stuffed cabbage, cabbage and noodles, kielbossa sausage. Yummy!!

thisblonde

Have to tell you all that your threads helped us a lot on a recent weekend trip to Philly. We also found some gems that I wanted to share here:

1) Meritage, 500 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146-1302 (215) 985-1922
- Divine tapas, wine, and dessert. We sat outside and sampled several small plates: pulled pork sliders, grilled grape leaves w/ Kobe beef, jalapenos stuffed with pork. Whatever you do, don't miss the flourless chocolate torte.

2) Naked Chocolate Cafe, 1317 Walnut Street, Philadelphia - (215) 735-7310
- Where else can you go for $8 fondue that includes bananas, strawberries, rice krispie treats, pirouette cookies & poundcake? To die for. Also: whoever recommended the Aztec frozen drinking chocolate = YES.

Reading Terminal Market was also excellent - although you have to watch the days / times if you want to try the PA Dutch food (the Amish don't work certain days of the week).

Thanks again! Happy eating