Fascinated by cheesesteaks, all the lore and more?
Then check out The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book, new from Philadelphia's Running Press.
Author Carolyn Wyman (Spam: A Biography) doesn't fret about ratings and reviews as much as she dishes out heaping portions of local color, history and helpful info, like recipes. (Cheesesteak pierogis? Italian rolls!)
Want to know who serves what meat on which rolls? She tells you for 38 major steak shops, from Pat's and Geno's to Claymont Steak Shop in Delaware - and shares stories about the folks behind the food.
Want a fix while out of town? Consult the "Shore Tour," or a list of cheesesteak places around the country, or the rundown of who'll ship cheesesteaks - at tough-to-digest prices.
The book even includes a DVD of the "only" cheesesteak documentary, This Is My Cheesesteak, by a former vegetarian who made one yearly exception: "to have one real cheesesteak - after which I got sick."
Surprisingly, there was a book on Scrapple, but not one about cheesesteaks, said Wyman, 53, who will lead a bike ride tomorrow to eight city steak shops.
(For information on taking part and other Wyman appearances, like Sunday's Chestnut Hill Book Festival, go to www.greatphillycheesesteakbook.com.)
In the spirit of this browseable book - actually, culled from its very pages - we offer up this list of ...
25 Things Betcha Didn't Know About Cheesesteaks
1. Even when Tony Lucidiono Jr., owner of Tony Luke's, weighed 325, his cholesterol didn't top 165. He credits cheesesteaks.
2. "The most successful national Philly cheesesteak chains were born in Ohio."
3. Geno's monthly electric bill is $5,000.
4. Le Bec-Fin's renowned Georges Perrier declared Chink's best during a WIP-AM cheesesteak showdown.
5. A maker of cheesesteak hats might extend the theme to air fresheners (sandwich-scented or -shaped?), finger puppets and antenna toppers.
6. In December 1998, the Eagles set the world record for longest sandwich by creating a cheesesteak on a single roll as long as a football field, counting end zones.
7. Steak-umm, the most successful boxed frozen sandwich steak, got its name during an argument over what to call it. Fed up, someone used a profanity followed by ". . . 'em, stick 'em with Steak-umm."
8. The chicken steak was likely invented in the early 1980s by Bill "Schultzy" Schultz of Billy Bob's in West Philly.
9. The food-service grade Cheez Whiz used by restaurants has more real cheese than the jarred stuff sold at supermarkets.
10. The Philly cheesesteak flavor of Hamburger Helper has french-fried onion topping for "textural contrast."
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