SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Philly cheesesteak started as a pile of chopped steak, salt, pepper and onions on a roll until Cocky Joe - a guy working at Pat's King of Steaks - added cheese. And that began a distinct sandwich culture in Philadelphia that continues to evolve. Reporter Buffy Gorrilla visits where it started, and where it's going.
BUFFY GORRILLA: It's a hot, humid game-day afternoon at Cheesesteak Corner in Philadelphia. At neighborhood rivals Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks, Phillies and Mets fans unite over hot sandwiches.
DOMINIC DE LAURENTIIS: My name is Dominic De Laurentiis (ph) - the only one. Just like Dino De Laurentiis, the movie producer.
GORRILLA: De Laurentiis is from New Jersey. He's sitting at one of Geno's signature orange tables with his wife. All evidence of the thinly sliced meat, covered in drippy Whiz on a soft roll, has disappeared.
DE LAURENTIIS: I've been waiting to come here for 30 years. And my exact words were, I'm here to try the infamous cheesesteak.
GORRILLA: And what did they give you?
DE LAURENTIIS: The lady said, so you want the one with the Whiz cheese? I said, I guess so. Damn, finally here. It tasted good.
GORRILLA: Mike Madaio is a food writer and a sandwich lover.
MIKE MADAIO: Twenty years, and I've always wanted to do something about Philly sandwiches just because they're so amazing. And I wanted to share my love for them with the world.
GORRILLA: His book "A History Of Philadelphia Sandwiches: Steaks, Hoagies, Iconic Eateries & More" is a bread-wrapped history of the old standards and some new riffs on the classics.
MADAIO: There's a place making an Ethiopian cheesesteak with berbere spices. There's a Jamaican jerk cheesesteak. There's an oxtail cheesesteak. There's a place making a Filipino-style cheesesteak.
GORRILLA: Interest piqued by this Filipino version, Madaio and I walk 10 minutes to Tabachoy. There's a before-service calm. The only buzz in the air is the overworked air conditioner.
(SOUNDBITE OF KITCHENWARE BASHING)
CHANCE ANIES: Hey. It's nice to meet you. Welcome in.
GORRILLA: Thanks.
ANIES: And I felt like a cheesesteak was such an accessible, approachable way to not diminish Filipino cuisine, but also to not diminish this, like, legendary Philadelphia food as well.
GORRILLA: Chef Chance Anies owns Tabachoy. His food truck sold classic Filipino cuisine at local breweries, but customers craved game-day food. So he gave them the bistek chistek, a cheesesteak with Filipino flare.
ANIES: We kind of are referencing - is a bistek tagalog, which is, like, a thinly sliced steak that has a bunch of calamansi, which is a Filipino lime, with a little bit of soy sauce and black pepper and...
GORRILLA: But cheesesteaks need cheese.
ANIES: We made a chili-vin whiz, which was, like, a Thai chili.
GORRILLA: Is your mouth watering?
ANIES: And then we would add a pickle. In the Philippines, we call it atchara. It's a green papaya, carrot, little bit of onion, garlic.
GORRILLA: Because we're not done yet.
ANIES: Then hit it with some scallions and fried shallots, always on a seeded roll. It's got a lot going on. It's definitely a juicy sandwich.
GORRILLA: Back at Cheesesteak Corner, De Laurentiis isn't interested in any changes to the iconic sandwich.
DE LAURENTIIS: No. No. For a full, boring Italian, it's got to be plain and simple like this. But everybody has their own view. That's my point of view.
GORRILLA: But clearly, Philadelphia has a cheesesteak for every taste bud.
For NPR News in Philadelphia, I'm Buffy Gorrilla. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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