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By Peter Genovese
Philadelphia's greatest contribution to American society may well be the cheesesteak, says Carolyn Wyman, author of The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book. That's quite a statement, considering the City of Brotherly Love is the birthplace of American democracy, the U.S. flag, the public library, the post office and the stock exchange, among other things.
Saturday is National Cheesesteak Day, and it's no better time to celebrate Philly's contribution to the American waistline.
But wait just a minute.
Philadelphia claims the nation's best cheesesteaks, just like New York City claims the best pizza and bagels, but anyone who does the slightest bit of fieldwork knows you can find the equal or better outside the big cities.
Say, in New Jersey. Anthony Bourdain created cheesesteak controversy when he said Philly's best cheesesteak is actually in Camden.
For this list of the state's 20 best cheesesteak joints, I drove nearly 1,000 miles, visiting 25 places around the state. I also drew on previous cheesesteak field trips, to places such as Chick's Deli, Tony Boloney's, Donkey's Place and Gaetano's.
The majority of the places are, not surprisingly, in South Jersey. North Jersey? When it comes to cheesesteaks, you have some work to do.
Philadelphia's greatest contribution to American society may well be the cheesesteak, says Carolyn Wyman, author of The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book. That's quite a statement, considering the City of Brotherly Love is the birthplace of American democracy, the U.S. flag, the public library, the post office and the stock exchange, among other things.
Saturday is National Cheesesteak Day, and it's no better time to celebrate Philly's contribution to the American waistline.
But wait just a minute.
Philadelphia claims the nation's best cheesesteaks, just like New York City claims the best pizza and bagels, but anyone who does the slightest bit of fieldwork knows you can find the equal or better outside the big cities.
Say, in New Jersey. Anthony Bourdain created cheesesteak controversy when he said Philly's best cheesesteak is actually in Camden.
For this list of the state's 20 best cheesesteak joints, I drove nearly 1,000 miles, visiting 25 places around the state. I also drew on previous cheesesteak field trips, to places such as Chick's Deli, Tony Boloney's, Donkey's Place and Gaetano's.
The majority of the places are, not surprisingly, in South Jersey. North Jersey? When it comes to cheesesteaks, you have some work to do.