Btron said:
We went to Philly and had a cheesesteak. Overall, it was a very disappointing meal. We had two. Why are these "popular?" They were bland and not an enjoyable eating experience, especially for a whole city to be known for these. I asked some locals what makes a good cheesesteak: bread and Whiz.
Thank God we live in TX where BBQ and tex-mex are king!
We ate some good Italian food, which was reasonably priced compared to Austin.
I sound like a grumpy old man, but I was not impressed with the cheesesteaks. But we did see the Liberty Bell
According to Joe Beddia (owner of Pizzeria Beddia), the real culinary star in Philadelphia is the pulled pork sandwich.
It's basically pulled pork like we're accustomed to in barbecue, except they do it in the oven, and serve it with the jus. It's honestly really close to the hot Italian beef sandwich in Chicago, except pork instead of beef.
Reading through a recipe, the spice mixture used to brine the pork overnight is incredibly similar to recipes I've seen for Italian sausage, especially hot Italian sausage. If you like hot Italian sausage, you'll probably like a Philly pulled pork sandwich (I wouldn't have broccoli on it, but that's me).
So I'd recommend trying a pulled pork sandwich from an Italian deli if you ever go back to Philly, but I wouldn't use broccoli or spinach as a topping.