Nick Foles ‘probably’ didn’t have a cheesesteak for most of his time with the Eagles

Nick Foles is officially no longer Philly’s own, but given his lack of cheesesteak intake during his time with the Eagles, perhaps he never truly was.

As it turns out, the former Super Bowl-winning Eagles quarterback “probably” hasn’t had one of Philadelphia’s signature sandwiches since 2013, as he told Esquire in an interview published this week. Foles first joined the Eagles from 2012 to 2014, and then again from 2017 up until this year, meaning that of the last six years that he has gone without a steak, more than half were spent right here in the sandwich’s birthplace.

But that’s not for lack of want. Instead, Foles said, his conservative cheesesteak consumption comes from watching his diet “like crazy” as he ages because “while you’re playing this game you’re giving your all.”

Rather than steaks, Foles said he preferred to eat the food of Philly’s many “talented chefs” during his time in town. One of his favorite restaurants, he told Esquire, is Chad and Hanna Williams’ Friday Saturday Sunday in Center City. But otherwise, he said, he is eating wife Tori’s home cooking because she “cooks so much."

While he may have mostly stayed away from steaks during his time in town, Foles appears to not love Philly any less. As he wrote in a goodbye letter to the city published by The Players’ Tribune this week, playing for the team was “an honor.”

“It’s family,” Foles wrote. “Philadelphia, thank you for welcoming me into yours. You will forever be a part of mine.”

Philadelphia, of course, has had a special place in its heart for Foles ever since he stepped off the bench to replace then-injured quarterback Carson Wentz in late 2017, and then led the team to victory in Super Bowl LII last year. Since then, fans have shown their love by doing everything from proposing a Foles statue at the Art Museum, a la Rocky, in honor of the win, to writing rap songs about the former Eagles QB, to getting tattoos of his visage on their bodies.

Now, however, Foles’ time in Philly has drawn to a close. Currently, he is expected to sign a four-year, $88 million dollar contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But that doesn’t mean he will be escaping the noble cheesesteak.

After all, as Jacksonville Restaurant Reviews estimates, there are a minimum of seven spots in that city to get a good steak, at least by non-Philadelphian standards. The best, the website says, is Jacksonville Beach’s Philly’s Finest, which apparently serves steaks that “are sheer perfection.”

But Foles, for his part, knows where to go if he needs a truly good steak. And we will be waiting with open arms.

“I mean [cheesesteaks are] obviously amazing and so good,” Foles told Esquire. “Maybe when I’m done playing I can go back, I’ll try all the different ones.”