Witout Borders

How the world sees (and butchers) Philly's alpha sandwich.

by Neal Ungerleider

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Published: Feb 5, 2008

Graham Holliday/noodlepie.com   VIET-NOMNOMNOM: A sandwich from Philly's Cheesesteaks, a shop located in an area of Saigon popular with international travelers.   (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Some call it a curse, but the cheesesteak is Philadelphia's single greatest contribution to culinary culture. And why shouldn't we be proud? It's spread from Ninth and Passyunk to the rest of the country and beyond. Scrapple, Irish potatoes, soft pretzels and panzarottis all deserve induction into the Philly Phood Hall of Fame ... but our gilded sandwich is in a class all its own.

Except that, when traveling, fans of Geno's, Jim's or Chink's might realize that the cheesesteaks they're eating are ... different. Sometimes, the cheesesteak makers have no idea what they're doing. Other times, they think they're "improving" on the dish. And once in awhile, you might even be able to find a spot-on steak in a faraway dateline like Cancun.

What follows is a brief guide to some of the stranger "cheesesteaks" the civilized world has to offer.

Dubai is obsessed with excess. Skyscrapers everywhere. An indoor, year-round ski resort covered with a giant geodesic dome. A luxury resort composed of islands designed to look like the continents from outer space. And they also have cheesesteaks, courtesy of everyone's favorite American brand — Applebee's. True, they're topped with cheddar, but it's still strangely reassuring that one can order a cheesesteak in Dubai.

An American-style sports bar located behind Shanghai's Ritz-Carlton, the Big Bamboo is a popular hangout for the city's large Anglo expat community. Their menu contains everything from French-Canadian poutine to German jaegerschnitzel, with cheesesteaks and jerk chicken thrown in along the way. Here, steaks are made with French bread and mozzarella cheese. You don't even have to be Philly-bred to tell that it just ain't the same.

This Czech chain does steady business serving American-style bagels to Prague's backpackers and struggling artists. Their Mitteleuropa-style cheesesteak comes, of course, on a bagel. Steak, peppers, onions and wholly unfamiliar Czech cheese is the order of the day. Although travelers usually steer clear of the sandwich, it's earned the approval of American travel author Rick Steves.

Wit or witout tomato-cream sauce? That's how they serve them at Casper & Gambini's, an Italian-American restaurant chain with locations in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. Alongside the Olive Garden-style ambience, C&G's offers a steak topped with cheese, onions, mushrooms, peppers and the aforementioned sauce. At least they use Italian bread.

This "New Orleans style neighborhood diner & bar," which has locations in Vancouver and Edmonton, serves a steak that bears no resemblance to any version we've encountered. In an unholy fusion of Philadelphia and New Orleans cookery, Dadeo's offers up a "Philly cheese steak po' boy," with marinated steak, peppers, onions, tomato, mozzarella, salsa and herb mayo on French bread. Needless to say it doesn't sound like anything we've ever eaten (herb mayo?!).

A shop located in Saigon's backpacker 'hood, the renditions at Philly's Cheesesteaks are ... interesting. The menu's limited to two options: a "Mom's makes" of chopped rib-eye topped with onions, peppers and Swiss cheese; and a "Dad's makes," which substitutes mozzarella. Indication that you're far away from Philly: Sandwiches come on a rice flour baguette and are topped with ketchup, chili sauce and mustard.

The popularity of Cancun among area spring-breakers (and retirees) meant it was inevitable that a steak joint would open up in the Mexican resort town. The expat-run establishment offers pizza steaks, chicken cheesesteaks and beer on tap. The only downside? With hoagie rolls and Italian bread nowhere in sight, the restaurant is forced to use baguettes.

Apparently Wayne Gretzky never sampled a cheesesteak in his many visits to Philly. The version at his eponymous restaurant is made with sliced roast beef and mozzarella. We expected better from the Great One.

(editorial@citypaper.net)

Neal Ungerleider has covered international dining for gridskipper.com and Forbes Traveler. He also edits the Philadelphia MenuPages Blog (blogs.menupages.com/philadelphia).

 

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