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Great American meltdown

June 3, 2009 12:36 am

S UMMER'S RIGHT around the corner and to me, that means one thing: steaks on the grill.

Not on the barbee, mind you, I mean the grill at the nearest sub shop.

If there's one thing this Philly-area kid has always been passionate about, it's his cheese steaks.

Some folks like their steaks thick and juicy; I like mine thin and flat and covered with Provolone cheese.

I'm sure it dates back to the smells that emanated from our community pool's snack bar and grill.

Our parents dug for pocket change so their kids could buy colored wax shaped into tiny bottles, or candy cigarettes and necklaces.

Grilled items, however, remained the exclusive province of grown-ups. And the coveted cheese steak was the flagship of the sandwich line.

For a child, snagging a poolside bite of one of those babies was like getting access to a forbidden world of unimagined luxury reserved only for adults.

The cheese steak--along with the soft hot pretzel and the TastyKake cupcake--comprised for me the first triumvirate of Philadelphia haute cuisine.

New England has its lobster roll, the South its barbecue, and the City of Brotherly Love its beloved cheese steak. (My apologies to that city's Italian hoagie lovers.)

Made popular in South Philadelphia at places like Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's, the cheese steak is essentially a mound of sliced rib-eye or top round, grilled with onions, slathered with cheese, and heaped on a warm sub roll.

Top it, like a Philadelphian, with some Heinz 57 and you're in business.

On our weekend forays to center city Philadelphia, we Cherry Hill, N.J., teens would first stop at the nearest sub shop. Before shopping for penny loafers and Ban-Lon shirts, or the latest raunchy record album by Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, we'd fortify ourselves by scarfing scrumptious cheese steaks.

Today, I use a universal shortcut to reach that cheese steak sensation when the real deal isn't close at hand. I keep a box of frozen Steak-umm steak slices handy.

I know that Steak-umms are to beef what Spam is to pork, but I can't help myself. They're a guilty pleasure that helps transport me back to my roots.

Of course, it's not impossible to get a delectable cheese steak south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Rami Hamrouni, owner of Primavera Pizzeria and Grill in downtown Fredericksburg, practices what he preaches, dining on cheese steaks at least three times a week.

But he adds a twist. He tops his own with onions, mushrooms and jalapeño peppers.

Primavera, like many area eateries, uses frozen, portion-controlled real steak slices for its subs.

Special seasoning and maintaining a high grill temperature are the keys to a good cheese steak, said Hamrouni.

Chrissy Jones, owner of Basils' Bistro in downtown Fredericksburg, said the chief ingredients in her Philly cheese steaks are finely shredded mozzarella cheese and thin-sliced fresh prime rib that's been marinated in balsamic vinaigrette.

Then there are those who specialize exclusively in cheese steaks. Unfortunately, to sink your teeth into one of those sandwiches you're going to have to head to Northern Virginia.

Peter Mossaidis, owner of Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory in Alexandria, said the single-most-important component of his cheese steaks is the bread.

He uses only Amoroso sub rolls--from the famed Philadelphia bakery--to create his cheese steaks.

Mossaidis, born and raised in Philadelphia, said his sandwiches feature customers' cheese of choice: provolone, Cheez Whiz or white American. And marinated Porterhouse tail provides a truly authentic Philly steak flavor, he said.

This summer, it doesn't matter if I head to Philly, Alexandria or right around the corner--a cheese steak loaded with sweating peppers and onions is in my near future.

So bring on the heat.

I know the sizzle of cheese steaks is close behind.

Kurt Rabin is a copy editor at The Free Lance-Star. He can be reached at krabin@freelancestar .com.