In mid-September, five German students came to visit one of my housemates. They arrived in Philly with their tour-books in hand, got settled, and in less than an hour their bellies started rumbling and the five unanimously agreed that they would like their first meal to be a true 'Philadelphia' delicacy. They wanted a Philadelphia Cheesesteak.

I was a bit surprised that a cheesesteak was their first request. This gave me the desire to dig a bit deeper into the world of cheesesteaks. Do these greasy, filling, stacks of thinly sliced steak and cheese combinations hold a place in the tourists' gaze of Philadelphia? When residents and tourists think of Philadelphia, do they consider cheesesteaks to be an integral part of the Philadelphia culture or image? What is the attitude do the shapers of the tourist industry in Philadelphia take towards cheesesteaks?

Theses are the questions to which I wanted to find answers. But these questions relate to a larger theme. How does a food become part of the image of what one is supposed to 'experience' gustatorily when in a place? I will share the findings of my research with you today, beginning with the history of the cheesesteak, followed by the definition of a 'classic' cheesesteak, cheesesteak lore, the results of my fieldwork, and the relation of the popularity of cheesesteaks to the popularity of other regional cuisines.

The Philadelphia Cheeseteak got its start when brothers Harry and Pat Olivieri, who had a hot-dog cart in South Philadelphia in 1930, got tired of hot dogs. For a change, Harry went down to the butcher one day and gathered together some scrap meat. They cooked up the meat on their hot dog grill, and sliced the meat for themselves which they piled into hot-dog rolls. Although they tried to be discreet about their lunch, a few regular customers of their hot-dog stand caught them eating the new sandwich and wanted to try it. The Olivieris eventually eliminated hot dogs from the menu and opened Pat's King of Steaks--a shop that featured their creation which is still at its original Ninth and Wharton Street location. Although I was originally skeptical about the truth of the origins of the cheesesteak, as current owner of Pat's King of Steaks told me the story, the birth of the cheesesteak is corroborated by many articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

What exactly is an authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwich? The main ingredients are the steak, cheese, and roll, but the cheese and roll must be a specific type in order to be a cheesesteak. Hot dog buns, used in the original sandwich have been replaced by Italian rolls. The cheese of choice for a typical cheesesteak sandwich is cheesewhiz. The sandwich can be varied, however. On menus, you will find american, cheddar, and provolone cheese choices, as well as grilled onions, hot peppers, ketchup, hot sauce, grilled mushrooms, and marinara sauce.

So now that we know the origins and definition of a cheesesteak, how did this sandwich, started by two Italian brothers in South Philly in the 1930s, become part of Philadelphia's culture? Years of being part of Philadelphia and existing only within Philadelphia play a part of the uniqueness of cheesesteaks to Philadelphia, but the knowledge of cheesesteaks spread around Philadelphia in the 1930s. During the Depression, no one could find large quantities of meat. Everyone had meal tickets for meat and gasoline, as many goods were rationed. Somehow, Pat Olivieri had an 'in,' and he was able to obtain the meat. Soon, a rumor got around, and everyone in the neighborhood was saying that Pat's sold horse meat. So what did Pat do? He took out a full page advertisement in the newspaper and offered $10,000 cash to anybody that could prove he sold horse meat. Keep in mind that in the 1930s, $10,000 was worth a lot more than it is today. Huge numbers of people made their way to Pat's to see if there was a way they could figure out whether the sandwiches were made with horse meat. And that is how knowledge of the cheesesteak spread around Philadelphia. The funniest thing about it is guess who started the horse meat rumor? None other than Pat Olivieri.

In order to determine whether or not Cheesesteaks are part of the tourist circuit in Philadelphia, I targeted three groups of people and interviewed them about the topic of Philadelphia and food. The groups targeted were tourists, residents, and 'Cheesesteak people,' or the makers of cheesesteaks. I made contact with each group on South Street, and branched out into South Philly in order to interview 'Cheesesteak people.' After asking tourists where they were from and why they were in Philadelphia, I asked them if they thought that there exists any foods which are typical of Philadelphia. Then I asked them if they had tried a cheesesteak (or any other type of food which they had stated), or if they planned to try one. Out of seventy-seven tourists surveyed, all except four people (95%) cited the cheesesteak as a Philadelphia food. Other foods cited by tourists, but to a much lesser degree than cheesesteaks, were soft pretzels, Tastykakes, and hoagies. 100% of the tourists who mentioned cheesesteaks said that they had heard of them before arriving in Philadelphia. 50% had tried them and will try them again, and the other half usually had tried them before, but have no pressing urge to taste a cheesesteak again. Eating a cheesesteak in Philadelphia is an attempt for the tourists to feel that they are part of Philadelphia while visiting the city of brotherly love.

I spoke with thirty-six residents of Philadelphia and asked them the same initial question that I asked the tourists. I asked them if there is any food which they believe is typical of Philadelphia. The answers were a bit more varied, with many giving Italian food as an answer along with Cheesesteaks. All of the residents, however, did give the cheesesteak as there first answer to the question, proving that it is part of the Philadelphia culture. The answers to the next question were equally interesting. The question was, 'When you have out of town visitors, do your guests request a Cheeseteak meal, or do you, as a host feel it a necessary aspect of Philadelphia culture? About three-fourths of the residents questioned deemed it a necessary meal, and a highly requested one at that. One couple said, "Yeah. We make them go eat a cheesesteak. It definitely is part of the Philly experience." Another said, "I think that Philly is usually famous for their cheesesteaks, so yeah, I take them to have one." Another said that every visitor he has had wants a cheesesteak, even if they are available in the visitor's home town. Most of the residents questioned did not regularly eat cheesesteaks. They only ate them once in a while, and always when people were visiting. The answers to these questions show that the cheesesteak is a part of the Philadelphia tourist culture.

The owners of Geno's and Pat's both said that about 50-70% of their customers are tourists. About 20% of their customers are regulars who buy cheesesteaks multiple times daily or multiple times a week. They feel that their customers are pretty loyal to particular store. They might be misled in their perceptions, however, because the residents I interviewed who regularly eat cheesesteaks said they rotate between a number of stores. It is the college kids and the tourists that hop from place to place to try the cheesesteaks.

It is fairly easy for the 'cheesesteak people' to determine if a visitor is ordering. Ordering a cheesesteak is a quick, impersonal transaction for residents. You specify the color of the cheese and anything else you want to accompany the thin slices of grilled meat. The people who know cheesesteaks usually get the basics--meat, whiz, and sometimes grilled onions. It is the tourists that take a while at the window. Sometimes at Pat's, the tourists are sent to the back of the line if they take too long deciding at the window. If you try to take a shortcut and ask for 'everything,' you can end up with ketchup and onions on the sandwich.

Another way of proving the touristic popularity of cheesesteaks in Philadelphia can be shown by celebrities visiting Philly. When President Clinton was here in September of last year, the Philadelphia Inquirer provided a picture of Clinton biting into a Cheesesteak with the caption underneath saying, "Mayor Ed Rendell treats President Bill Clinton to authentic Philadelphia Cheesesteak at Pat's King of steaks." Frankie Olivieri, a third generation cheesesteak maker who actually graduated from Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute in France, spilled off a list of people who make a stop for a Pat's cheesesteak a must when in Philly. The celebrities cited range from James Taylor to George Clinton in the band P Funk to David Lee Roth. Frankie Olivieri occasionally thinks of himself as a Philadelphia celebrity, all because of cheesesteaks. He said that he has been recognized on vacation by other tourists--even when as far away as Hawaii and California. He has appeared in the paper in Philadelphia repeatedly and his South Philadelphia steak shop is a Philadelphia icon. Bordering the Italian Market, the open-air environment of the shop was a site used during the making of the Sylvestor Stallone's film, Rocky. Although the scenes filmed at the restaurant were mostly eliminated while the film was edited, a picture of Sylvestor Stallone remains in a window at Pat's.

Like many types of regional cuisine around the United States, the cheesesteak, although a regional cuisine of the Philadelphia area, has spread throughout the country, but the name "Philadelphia" has remained part of the product. In Houston, for example, a restaurant recently opened called 'Texadelphia,' with Philly cheesesteaks as the main entree. In 1991, Dick Clark opened 3 American Bandstand Grills, and the menu, dubbed 'The Great American Food Experience,' includes a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, a New Orleans-style jambalaya pasta, and a variety of burgers with a regional twist. On November 26, 1997, an article appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled, "What Some Folks Won't Do for a Real Cheesesteak." The article recounts the story of a Philly couple who moved to Pasadena, Ca. They dreadfully missed 'Philadelphia' foods, so they opened the 'Philadelphia Connection--Home of the Authentic Philadelphia Cheesesteak and Hoagie.' They also said that they had no idea how many misplaced Philadelphians, nostalgic for their native foods lived in Pasadena. Many of the misplaced Philadelphians are their regular customers. As much as the commodity has scattered over the country, the tourists who visit attest to the fact that eating a cheesesteak is a must in Philly, even if they are available across the country.

The cheesesteak, however, is not an item which is promoted by the shapers of the Philadelphia tourist industry. In the Philly tourist magazine, there is no mention of Cheesesteaks. Many restaurants and foods are cited, but they are the newer 'posh' restaurants in Center City or the old Italian restaurants of South Philly. At the Philadelphia Visitor's Center, a representative of tourism in the city answered a few questions. My first question to him was if people ever come up to the desk to ask him about the type of food they should try while in Philly. He stated, "Primarily, almost exclusively, any mention of food is related to the availability of a cheesesteak. The majority of people who come here are visitors. They are not from Philadelphia and they go from Boston to Cleveland to Philadelphia with identification factors, and the cheesesteak is one of Philadelphia's." I then asked him if the image of cheesesteaks is an identification which the molders of the tourist industry in Philadelphia want to avoid. He agreed, although not wanting to glorify that government attitude (as he does work for the government of Philadelphia) and went on to say in a low voice that the Cheesesteak is a blue collar invention and the tourism board which promotes the history and culture of Philadelphia tries to stay away from the cheesesteak image. I did, however, find one passing mention of the cheesesteak in the media. I saw a commercial on the NBC network promoting Philadelphia which included a 1-800 number to direct questions. Bill Cosby narrates and the commercial shows pictures of many sites in Philly. Although no cheesesteaks are shown in the pictures, Cosby says, "Eat a cheeseteak, and then walk it off around the Liberty Bell." But this commercial is shown in Philadelphia. Its purpose is to lure Philadelphians to explore their city. It does not target out-of-town visitors. Therefore, the tourist board is willing to add the cheesesteak to part of the Philadelphia culture when promoting the city to the resident tourists. The commercial illustrates that the tourism board knows that Philadelphia Cheesesteaks are a source of Philly pride, even if all Philadelphians do not eat the sandwiches. The Philly government feels that the cheesesteak image could work to awaken the residents' pride of the city and motivate them to explore the history and culture of the United States born in their city. This commercial demonstrates the double standard that the government may have. They admit that cheesesteaks are part of the Philadelphia image to the residents, but deny any publicity of the cheesesteak to tourists. The Libertynet internet page which is a mecca of city flavor also denies the cheesesteak adequate attention. The web page contains a mountain of information. It provides lists of possible activities in Philadelphia, furnishes a multitude of restaurants to sample, and basically tries to sum up the spirit of Philadelphia for both tourists and residents. Once again, the mention of cheesesteaks is neglected, as out-of-town tourists will be members of the audience of this internet page. The elimination of cheesesteaks is a deliberate action from a group who feel that the cheesesteak is not a symbol which they want equated with their city. The popularity of cheesesteaks with the tourists survives despite the lack of official city promotion, as evidence from the interviews.

What are examples of regional dishes around the world? The French croissant, Maine Lobster, Chicago deep dish pizza, Louisiana Crawfish and Cajun food, Maryland crabs, and of course the Tex-Mex border culture, especially prominent in San Antonio. Food is linked to one's social and cultural location, as demonstrated by Sidney Mintz's book, Tasting Food, Tasting Culture: Excursions into Eating Culture, and the Past. Mintz argues that eating is centrally implicated in both culture and social structure. Each of his eight main essays assert that humans invest their consumption choices with meanings about who they are and about what they believe. Mintz also holds that the food dishes which we consider to belong to the American culture as a whole are akin to regions of the United States or commercial preparations.

Cheesesteaks are irrefutably a 'Philadelphia food' which is part of the tourists circuit just as croissants belong to France, Tex-Mex is equated with border culture, and deep dish pizza is connected to Chicago. In Vermont, the highly active specialty foods industry has become institutionalized in its tourist circuit. The Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory in Waterrbury boasts of having the highest attendance (in six figures) of any Vermont tourist attraction (Barna 1997: 43).

Does the way in which other regional cuisines were 'invented' parallel the history of the cheesesteak? Are foods always created by restaurateurs as in the case of cheesesteaks? Waldorf Salad, a combination of apples and celery bound together with mayonnaise (sometimes including walnuts), has become a famed dish served in many American restaurants and homes. Its origin date back to 1893 when Oscar Tschirky, a maitre d'hotel at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City originated it. Tschirky, who admits he couldn't even fry an egg and was not a food connoisseur, created the salad for the eight-course dinner served at the grand opening of the hotel. What about Chicago-style deep dish pizza? Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo were planning to open a restaurant-specializing in either Mexican food or pizza. In 1943, a bartender at Riccardo's Chicago restaurant made enchiladas to show Riccardo how tasty Mexican food could be. Riccardo was not impressed with the enchilada and traveled to Italy to recover where he became a fan of pizza. When he returned to Chicago, he and Sewell decided to create a new, more substantial pizza: cheese, tomato and meat on an inch-thick crust. Once perfected, they opened Pizzeria Uno. Like the cheesesteak, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza did not catch on immediately, but eventually the dish's popularity spread. Today, Pizzeria Uno restaurants are found coast to coast and four out of every 10 pizzas have thick or deep-dish crusts (Kapnick 1992:K4).

But is the cheesesteak a symbol which has meaning to Philadelphians who eat them. In Cajun country, the crawfish is used as a cultural symbol. The crawfish boil, as a social event, makes a statement about both the internal unity and the boundaries of the group known as the Cajuns (Gutierrez 1992:96). Cajun food is part of the traditional culture of the Cajun people in Louisiana. Their food is linked to their customs, values, and ways of seeing the world that typifies their particular community. An article appearing in Society maintains that food and drink establishments served as the principle mechanisms of continuity in an otherwise alienating and bewildering world, especially for Italians, Eastern European Jews, and Chinese. One's ethnic identity in a new, strange environment was sustained through the importance of central locations in a community which took the form of ethnic restaurants and food stores.

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak has evolved into a part of Philadelphia culture, both for tourists and some residents. Perhaps, the government's view of the cheesesteak does catch on to the sandwich's symbolic meaning. It is important to the blue collar workers of Philadelphia, especially in South Philly. It's cultural implications do not go as deep as the crawfish in Cajun country or the ethnic food stores for 19th century immigrants, but cheesesteaks are a part of Philadelphia which is shared by the residents, especially the residents of South Philly, and they do hold a place in the tourists' gaze.

Bibliography

Barna, Ed. "Tourism Gets Back to its Agricultural Roots." Vermont Business Magazine, Vol. 25 (March, 1997): 43.

Goodman, Howard. "Chewing Fat--And Cheesesteaks." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 26 September 1996, Sec. A, 3.

Gutierrez, C. Paige. Cajun Foodways. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1992.

Levitt, Beverly. "What Some Folks won't do for a Real Cheesesteak." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 26 November 1997, Sec. F, 4.

Mintz, Sidney W. Tasting Food, Tasting Culture: Excursions into Eating Culture, and the Past. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.

Walkup, Carolyn. "Clark 'Rocks' Market with Bandstand Grill." Nation's Restaurant News, Vol. 28 (September, 1994): 36.

Zanger, Jules. "Food and Beer in an Immigrant Society." Society, Vol. 33 (July-Aug, 1996): 61-63.