Pearly Gates, Wit'

Mourning the Passing of a Sandwich Genius

A MOMENT of silence, please, for Harry Olivieri, who, along with his older brother, Pat, created the steak sandwich. Harry died yesterday, 73 years after he and Pat, hot dog vendors at the time, sold their first steak, to a cabbie at 9th and Wharton in South Philly. They'd go on to open Pat's King of Steaks, whose reputation, as with Geno's Steaks, far outpaced the actual product they served. Indeed, the essential joy of the cheesesteak is that there is no one place to find it perfectly done. Every neighborhood in the city and suburbs has dozens of places that can grill up a fine cheesesteak. Each is slightly different than all the others, so you get the best of all possible worlds -- the chance to find a taste that precisely matches your individual palate. Harry and Pat may have helped to launch an unfortunate trend in tourist-trap eating (see also "Bookbinders"), but each should be remembered first and foremost for creating culinary magic on a roll.

Comments

[Tom Goodman]

Great headline, TD

[Tom G]

To this day, the post on cheesesteaks at BS&S.com is one of the most commented on.