U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., eating a cheese steak in South Philly on Aug. 11, 2003. Eight years later, and it's still funny.
How should one feel about this?
A chain of Florida eateries has become the first Philly Cheesesteak restaurant in that state to be rated by Zagat’s – the nationwide guide to restaurants – the restaurant announced.
Should Philadelphia feel … proud? … Threatened?
Big Al’s Steaks has presumably transcended the cafeteria-style, chopped-beef-and-Swiss nightmare that whores itself out on diner menus up and down I-95. Somehow, this South Florida chain has captured the unique taste and texture of thinly sliced steak that’s been grilled in the same grease and residue as a continuous, thousand-pound chain of rib-eye that has gone before it.
That was sort of our secret recipe – or at least our protection against plagiarism. Having piles of meat on the grill at all times requires continual demand – a culture of cheesesteaks. We had it, and no one else did.
Until now, I guess.
It’s a compliment that people try to copy us, yeah. But it’s kind of unnerving when they … you know … do it well.
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