{"id":230018,"date":"2018-01-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/fast-track-to-philly\/"},"modified":"2018-01-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T08:00:00","slug":"fast-track-to-philly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/fast-track-to-philly\/","title":{"rendered":"Fast track to Philly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n

I have a couple of solid benchmarks from which to judge cheesesteak sandwiches: Geno\u2019s and Tony Luke\u2019s, two Philadelphia-based eateries where I\u2019ve gobbled down the iconic sandwich in its luscious authenticity.<\/p>\n

With a commendable dose of brotherly love, Gaglione Brothers in Grantville (and Loma Portal) scores high on all of the vital criterion, starting with its use of rolls shipped in a few times a week from Philadelphia\u2019s famed Amoroso\u2019s Baking Company.<\/p>\n

\"Fast<\/a>
(clockwise from bottom left) The \u201cFather Joe\u201d meatball sub; the \u201cturk\u201d features turkey roasted in-house; beef cheesesteak with cherry peppers and white American cheese; jalapeno \u201ccheez\u201d fries (Fotograf\u00edas de Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019re talking architecturally wondrous submarine rolls that are chewy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and with a light dusting of cornmeal on their underbellies.<\/p>\n

The other important standard achieved here is the quality of beef. If it isn\u2019t well-marbled rib eye chipped down to an ideal thinness with the edge of a cook\u2019s metal spatula, then it isn\u2019t a classic cheesesteak.<\/p>\n

Just like in Philly, patrons are expected to indicate right off the bat whether they want grilled onions on their sandwich, which is available in 9-, 12- and 18-inch lengths. (I prefer no onions but with sweet and hot cherry peppers.)<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the cheese option, a coronation of waxy, yellow Cheez Whiz or creamier white American (my fave) or stringier and less melty provolone. Whatever you choose, you\u2019re consuming a wickedly savory invention that started in south Philadelphia in the 1930s and has remained pretty much unchanged, with the exception of chicken as a modern, healthier option instead of beef.<\/p>\n

The Gaglione brothers \u2014 Joe, Andy and Tony \u2014 aren\u2019t from Philly. But they developed a love for cheesesteaks and other hoagie sandwiches when visiting family members in the Northeast, and started slinging them locally nearly 15 years ago when launching the eatery in Loma Portal.<\/p>\n

Their Grantville location in the Friars Village shopping center opened in 2010 and it\u2019s the only location of the two that serves craft beer on draft and in bottles and cans. It also offers a little more seating in comparison.<\/p>\n

\"Fast
A grill cook melts cheese onto chipped rib eye. (Foto por Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a couple of recent visits, when I wasn\u2019t quite so desperate for a cheesesteak, I tried \u201cthe turk\u201d and \u201cFather Joe\u201d \u2014 two sub sandwiches made also with Amoroso rolls.<\/p>\n

The former features a generous piling of real honest-to-goodness turkey roasted in-house. It\u2019s layered over house-made stuffing and cranberry sauce. Mayo is in there too, but I couldn\u2019t detect any. So I hydrated the sandwich a bit more by squirting some olive oil and vinegar into it at the condiment bar \u2014 and all was good.<\/p>\n

Soft, herby tasting meatballs topped with bright marinara sauce, provolone cheese and fresh parsley comprised the Father Joe, a construct that affirms the brothers\u2019 Italian back-East roots \u2014 and appeased mine upon first bite.<\/p>\n

Other sandwich options include Buffalo-style chicken, chicken Parmesan, a turkey club, and the \u201cSophia Loren\u201d with capicolla, Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone and veggie garnishments.<\/p>\n

Medium-cut fries served with a variety of toppings are the co-stars to these rich and tasty sandwiches. You can have them smothered in Cheez Whiz, jalapenos, steak or aggressive measures of garlic.\"Fast<\/p>\n

After twice ordering them with both Cheez Whiz and jalapenos, I came to realize the garlic version is not only the tastier choice, but they spare you about 100 extra milligrams of cholesterol that you don\u2019t need when stuffing your face with a genuine, unctuous cheesesteak.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Frank Sabatini Jr. es el autor de \u201cSecret San Diego\u201d (ECW Press) y comenz\u00f3 su carrera como escritor local hace m\u00e1s de dos d\u00e9cadas como miembro del personal del antiguo San Diego Tribune. Puedes localizarlo en fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":816,"featured_media":230019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11558","_seopress_titles_title":"Fast track to Philly","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11558,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mission-times-courier","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/816"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}