I’m not sure any first-time trip to Philly is worthwhile without a trip to Pat’s and Geno’s. Yes, I realize that they probably attract more tourists than locals, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad. Yes, I also realize that this wasn’t my first trip to Philly, but the only other time I set foot in the city was long before I became a meat blogger and I was snowed in the whole time anyway. So, yeah, I feel confident in saying it wasn’t worthwhile. I began my taste test with Geno’s for no other reason aside from that spot being where my taxi dropped me off.

As per the instructions, I ordered “wiz without.” Within moments, the cheesesteak was ready. And I mean like instantly. I couldn’t immediately locate the cheese when the sandwich was handed to me, but I was able to find it after a bite or two. Unfortunately, the majority of the cheese was kind of just on the end of the sandwich with the fold, requiring me to take a couple bites to get the full cheese effect. Geno’s doesn’t chop up their steak so it looks a little flat, but it is plenty meaty. The bread was good, but not as as good as Steve’s because it was a bit too squishy, but otherwise it was quite satisfying.

While I had heard Geno’s might be a bit overrated, it didn’t disappoint. After I finished up, it was time to make my way across the street for another cheesesteak.

While LA may not have a signature food (the closest it gets is either Asian fusion or burgers), it has a hell of a lot of options for immigrants who miss the signature food of their homeland, be it Chicago Pizza or Detroit Coney Dogs. The Philly Cheese Steak is no exception, with plenty of places offering their “authentic” version. I don’t claim to be an expert on the cheese steak (only been to Philly once, during a massive blizzard), but the sandwich has always been a dear friend of mine. After all, what can go wrong when meat and cheese mix? Don’t answer that if you’re one of them Kosher people. South Street in Burbank has been bringing Philly toLA for a few years, so I thought I would see how they measure up.

For a cheese steak place, South Street has a pretty extensive menu that includes salads, pizzas and even non-cheese steak sandwiches, but I only had an eye for one thing – the original. Well, without the vegetables, of course. At $6.95, the regular 9 inch Philly Cheese Steak came with rib-eye steak and a special melty blend of provolone and white American (like me!) cheese. It also would have been topped with sauteed onions if I wasn’t an unvegan and was piled into an authentic Amoroso’s Italian roll, which is apparently straight out of Philly. The roll actually doesn’t arrive fully baked and South Street finishes the job themselves to keep from getting lazy and perhaps even to keep it fresh. But I didn’t stop with the steak, I also ordered a side of cheese fries, which at South Street means topped with cheese wiz.

South Street prepared our food pretty quickly and soon I found my face consuming a delicious mix of cheese and meat. The rib-eye steak was damn delicious and I loved the blend of cheeses. I usually prefer wiz on my cheese steak, but figured I would go with the house here and it was a great choice. The roll was a little softer than I anticipated, but still did a great job of holding together my sandwich. When it all came together, it was purely awesome, but the trouble was that it didn’t come together enough. Let me clarify…the sandwich wasn’t filled enough. I get that I didn’t have onions, but I still kind of expected the roll to be filled end to end with meat and cheese, but by the time I got to the end, I was just sucking down bread. But, things like this are bound to happen when you have an insatiable appetite like mine.

And thankfully I had the fries to make up for the shortened sandwich. This may have been the most massive fries I have ever been given for the price of $2.50. Maybe they were trying to make up for the sandwich, but either way it was awesome. I downed more wiz than any man has any right to, and that was without getting wiz on my sandwich.

South Street certainly delivered a delicious Philly meal and one worth returning to. It wasn’t the best cheese steak I’d ever had (honors still go to South Philly Experience), but the price is unbeatable and the the meal will not disappoint. If they could only get some Yuengling, that would vault the place over the top.

In North Hollywood there is a little sandwich place with a ’50s theme called Philadelphia Sandwiches. I’m not sure how Elvis and cheese steaks are related (unless it’s a fluffernutter cheese steak), but somehow they have managed to coexist since the sandwich shop was started in the ’80s. Specializing in Philly Cheese Steaks, I figured the place at least deserved a shot at meaty glory.

The place was set up like a diner, but without the bar stools. Ordering was at a counter, and since the place was pretty empty, I walked right up to the counter to place my order. Although they had a few different sandwiches, I chose their Famous Philly Cheese Steak. It came with onions and a choice of cheese. I got mine without the onions and then, since they didn’t have cheese wiz, chose provolone cheese. I also got a side of fries. Unlike fast food sandwich shops, after placing my order, they set to work on actually cooking my meal.

I could smell the delicious meat cooking on the griddle and then my meaty sandwich was ready for some tasting. I opened up the wrapping and it looked pretty good. There was a high bread to meat ratio, but since this was the end of the sandwich I was looking at, I was forgiving. I unwrapped it down to the middle, where it was cut in half and the bread to meat ratio seemed to improve a bit, but not much. I bit in and found the seasoning on the meat was delicious. The bread was pretty fresh, but a little bit spongy. I also was a little disappointed in the provolone cheese. It wasn’t that the provolone was bad, but that the sandwich would have been better with cheese wiz instead. At the very least, I could have chosen American, but had failed to do so.

Nonetheless, Philadelphia Sandwiches was pretty tasty. It certainly wasn’t the best Philly Cheese Steak I’ve ever had and won’t be unless they tone down the amount of bread and start offering cheese wiz, but it’s a good alternative to the same old sandwiches you can get at fast food shops any other day.

Sometimes, following LA’s food trucks on Twitter can be a difficult process. If you don’t have a Twitter account or a smartphone, then it gets even harder (seriously, not having Twitter or a smartphone is soooo 2008). Luckily for those who fight the future of technology, there is a little event on the first Friday of every month on Abbot Kinney in Venice creatively called First Fridays. These nights are the best opportunity to experience LA’s food truck culture.

One truck I’ve been trying to find for a while happened to be there. It’s called South Philly Experience (SPE) and dishes out Philly Cheese Steaks, plus a couple other random East Coast faves like Tastykakes. The menu was as basic as you’d expect from a food truck, offering a couple varieties of sandwiches, but I only wanted the original. I ordered as specified on the menu, “witout” onions and “wit” Cheez Wiz, as I’ve heard the Wiz is Philly’s top choice for cheese steaks.

As noted on the truck, SPE gets their bread all the way from Philly to ensure they do these sandwiches right. Part of their plan seems to be a way to dish out authentic Philly Cheese Steaks on the West Coast, but it also seemed like they were looking for a way to get all the authentic ingredients so they could eat the real thing themselves. Nothing wrong with that, as I would love to bring some authentic Michigan food out to the West Coast for myself and to sell from a truck.

When my sandwich was given to me, it was wrapped in some paper dripping with Wiz and grease. Perfect. I ripped open the paper and dug in. This was a delicious blend of beef and cheese and bread. The beef was juicy and oh so flavorful. It probably would have been good enough on its own, but the Wiz made it even better. I downed it in as few bites as possible and despite the obvious caloric intake, I was ready for more.

This truck is definitely worth visiting. It’s a little pricier ($8.50 for a sandwich) than the average food truck, but well worth the price.