Philly Cheesesteak Golf Weekend
by Fat Guy
I've put together golf weekends based on New York thin crust and Chicago deep dish pizza as well as Buffalo wings, so why not a golf weekend centered around Philly's contribution to America's bar menu? This is a flavor-of-Philly kinda weekend.
First, a little history on the cheesesteak. Philadelphians Pat and Harry Olivieri are credited with inventing the sandwich by serving chopped-up steak on hoagie rolls in the early 1930s from their hot dog stand near South Philadelphia's Italian Market. The sandwiches became so popular that Pat opened up his own restaurant, which still operates today as Pat's King of Steaks. The sandwich was originally prepared without cheese. Olivieri claims cheese was first added by a manager named "Cocky" Joe Lorenza at Pat's Ridge Avenue location, and the first cheese he added was provolone. [Wikipedia]
Second, a lesson in ordering the real thing in Cheesesteak City, PA: First off, true Philadelphians don't call it a cheesesteak. It's a steak sandwich, with (insert your cheese of preference here). Know exactly what you want when you get to the front of the line, and order it in as few words as possible; Philadelphians work fast and don't have much patience for the contrarian. And at Pat's, you'd better speak English too; they also have little patience for immigrants who haven't learned the unofficial language of America either. Break any of these rules, and you'll find yourself at the back of the line again... which can mean another hour or two of your life at some popular shops after the bars close on a Friday or Saturday night.
Although most cheesesteak shops offer a variety of cheeses to choose from, the most authentic preparation is using Cheese Whiz, with fried onions. In Philly, this is known simply as "Wiz wit'...", or a Cheese Whiz steak wit' fried onions.
It's an accepted practice to order a cheesesteak with Provolone or American cheese if you're just not a Cheese Whiz kinda guy, but be careful how far off the reservation you go when it comes to cheeses. During his presidential campaign in 2003, John Kerry was ridiculed for attempting to order the sandwich with Swiss cheese. A food critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer explained: "In Philadelphia, that’s an alternative lifestyle." [Wikipedia]
Other toppings and variations are available as your palate develops though the weekend... sautee'd mushrooms, hot peppers, sweet peppers, the chicken cheesesteak (for those of you who need a false sense of eating healthy to appease your conscience), or the pizza steak, topped with tomato sauce. Some local folks go so far as to slather the roll in mayo and add a couple hoagie toppings like lettuce and tomato. Personally, Fat Guy digs his "mushroom Wiz wit' ", with a good dousing of hot sauce.
In addition to Cheese Whiz, there are two things that differentiate a real Philly cheesesteak from that barely appetizing distant cousin they serve at your local course's grill room: First and foremost is the roll. Most Philly cheesesteak shops get them fresh baked from local Italian bakeries Amoroso's or Lisio's. The second major difference is that most serious cheesesteak joints in Philly use fresh rib-eye or top round beef that's sliced right there at the shop before it's thrown on the grill. That greasy joke they throw on the bar with pickle-soaked chips at your golf club is almost guaranteed to be frozen Steak-Ums.
Long Weekend Itinerary
Book a room at the Comfort Inn on Delaware Avenue to be cabbing distance to nightlife and some of Philly's best cheesesteak joints, although you'll have to rent a car to get to the golf course.
Oh, and you may want to invest in a pocket difibulator.
Friday after an early morning flight, take a quick hop down 95 South from the airport to Glen Mills Golf Club. Cut out of the forested grounds of a school for troubled boys (who serve as cart and bag boys and give great service) by Bobby Weed. Weed likes to leave the natural edges of the terrain intact when he builds a golf hole, and it makes for a picturesque day of some challenging but really fun golf. It's the third best public near Philly (behind Scotland Run and Pine Hill), but the downer here is that after being named to many Best New Course lists when it debuted in '01, the green fees are still ballooned at around $90 weekend prime time.
For lunch, let's head for Cheesesteak Central, South Philly. Back in 2002, a group of four local high school seniors conned their teacher into letting them determine the Best Cheesesteak In Philly for their Senior class project, and they were mentored by a respected local food critic. They sampled 23 of Philly's best steak joints, and came out with a unanimous decision: Old school but little-known John's Roast Pork, established in 1930 and wedged between a train track and a chemical plant off Snyder Avenue near Columbus Boulevard, won their competition hands down. John's namesake pork sandwiches are also juice-drenched and deftly seasoned, and even their chicken cheesesteaks rock. But get there early; they cater to the working man so they're only open on weekdays, and they sell so many sandwiches that they often run out of rolls by 2:30 in the afternoon.
We'll go with the theory that you're combating all these calories by playing 36 holes a day. For your afternoon round today, it's a quick hop over the bridge to Jersey for Riverwinds GC. Three holes border the Delaware River, including a short downhill island par-3 in the river, with Philly skyline views in the distance.
After your round at Riverwinds, head back to South Philly for a dinner stop at Tony Luke's (Front & Oregon). Part of the experience of eating a real Philly cheesesteak is standing in line outdoors, grabbing your piping hot sandwich off the chrome counter, and snagging a table to wolf it down out in the elements under an overhang (so resist the temptation to pop across the street to Tony Luke's sit-down restaurant, even if it's pouring rain). Tony Luke's is easily one of Philly's top 5 cheesesteaks, as we build your palate towards cheesesteak nirvana.
Saturday, start with a morning round at Walnut Lane GC, a par 62 city muni wedged into an old school Philly neighborhood. OK, it's kind of a dogtrack and everyone out there is a hack. But if you're looking for the closest halfway decent public to Center City, this is it. Super tight, super short, some hills, leave the driver in the trunk, play conservative, hit putts hard on the longish greens. A good place to learn how to play off a dirt patch or how to work a ball, as mature overhanging trees require both draws or fades on certain holes.
Most of the reason to play Walnut Lane is to grab a steak at nearby Dellasandro's Steaks (@ corner on Henry, on the far right corner of football field next to parking lot) afterwards. They serve a cold can of beer and one of Philly's best cheesesteaks. If the seats are all taken, Chubby's across the street is almost as good.
This afternoon, make your way over the bridge to Jersey for a twilight round at Fat Guy's favorite public in the area, Scotland Run. This sandy course was dug out of the New Jersey pine barrens and a former sand quarry site. Diabolical architect Stephen Kay gives his usual omage to Old Tom Morris' funky British Isles style, with more than a cursory nod to Prestwick, site of the first British Open. The routing is more X-Box golf than traditional links, featuring pot bunkers, railroad tie walls as crossing hazards, nasty carries over old sand quarry pits 3 stories deep (don't worry-- there's a staircase if you don't clear the carry), dual greens, a rusted-out steamshovel next to a fairway, an old airplane in a sand pit, lots of doglegs, buried-elephant greens, fescue everywhere, and cart paths which spill randomly into acres of flashed-up waste bunkers (how's needing directional signs for carts in a bunker for unique?). This is golf as an adventure, and the most grin-inducing 18 holes in the Philly area.
Tonight, we'll hit the other end of the cheesesteak spectrum. From sitting on ancient chrome murshroom barstools among the potato chip boxes and extra cases of soda at Dellesandro's, it's off to the sexy, librarish 4-star vibe of Barclay Prime, done by famed Philly restauranteur Stephen Starr. Barclay Prime is home to the $100 Kobe beef cheesesteak. It's not something I'd want to--or could afford to--get used to, and it's certainly got it's own panache, but it's no friggin' Pat's or Geno's either.
From there, it's back into Center City Philly for some great nightlife. Staples include time-warp Colonial back alley pub McGillin’s (1310 Drury Ln, www.mcgillins.com), circa 1860, where actors from nearby theaters pop in the back door for a quick belt between acts. East Coast jazz mecca Zanzibar Blue tops a lively jazz scene, or get your Blues fix at Warmdaddy’s. Old City’s original Continental Lounge is a martini lounge in an old silver diner, with a retro-futuristic vibe, or the uptown location is THE happy hour staple of the business district, with a sexy roof deck. Continental's Old City neighbor Cuba Libre serves Philly’s best mojito with a side of salsa-dancing and Cuban/Caribbean cuisine. Ooze into the ultra-lounge scene at 32 Degrees. The Philly outpost of Hollywood's Lucky Strike Lanes, a bowling alley cum nightclub, brings in big name DJs and features an appetizer-laden Americana menu. The party set loves ultra-modern warehouse club Shampoo, where the sophisticated freaks come out at night.
The popular tourist strip of bars, restaurants, and eclectic boutiques on South Street (below 6th) has seen a rash of vacant store fronts since the economic downturn, but it's still worth a visit. If you do get to South Street, another popular cheesesteak joint is Jim's, on South. Local opinions on Jim's seem to be fairly divided; some consider Jim's cheesesteaks to be among Philly's top 3 if not the best, while others think of Jim's as a somewhat touristy version of the hometown favorite sandwich.
Late night, grab a cab to the world epicenter of cheesesteaks, 9th & Passyunk in South Philly. There you'll find Pat's King of Steaks, and Geno's Steaks, two of Philly's best. Preference between the two is an endless source of local debate (I'm a Pat's man myself, while my wife is a Geno's disciple), though out-of-towners need not sweat the difference (basically Pat's chops their steak, and Geno's doesn't). Don't sweat the long lines when the cabbie pulls up either; riffing with the half-loaded Philadelphians in line is more than half the experience. A steak from either Pat's or Geno's is the best on the planet. (If you'd like to try both to compare, don't show up late night on a weekend.)
There you have it. You're now an educated cheesesteak connisseur. You've sampled the best cheesesteaks in the world. Now go hit the gym every night and eat salads for a week to recover. Or don't.