My dad paid me a visit this past week. While we did have a couple nice dinners out, which I will be sure to blog about soon, he ventured out on his own for lunch during the day while I was working. Much to his surprise, he found a little place in Deerfield Beach that specialized in his hometown favorite: the Philly Cheesesteak. He wrote a post on the place, and asked if he could be a “guest blogger” to which of course I agreed. So here you go; meet Barry, my awesome father and first guest blogger!
Having been born and raised in South Philly, I grew up on steak sandwiches, and have never missed an opportunity to have one. If I'm in a restaurant that has them on the menu, I'm all over it. And I can say that I've never met a steak sandwich I didn't like. While in Boca Raton, visiting my daughter, Shaina, the food blogger, I heard a radio commercial extolling the virtues of genuine "Philly cheesesteaks" at a sandwich shop called Direct From Philly in Deerfield Beach. I went to their website www.DirectFromPhilly.com to get their address, popped it into the GPS, and made my way out to their S. Military Trail location. As I approached my "final destination," according to the voice of my GPS, I noticed an ad for the shop on a roadside bench that said it was located in the Chevron station coming up on my right. I pulled into the driveway next to the station and looked, but didn't see it. I looped around and made another pass by the station, and this time saw a small sign that pointed me to the food mart next to the gas pumps. The sign on the window told me I'd found it. When I opened the door, the aroma was overwhelmingly familiar, and there it was, over in a corner of the store - the grill! Standing over it was the cook, Matt, from Norristown, just northwest of Philly (close enough). I introduced myself and was greeted by the owner, Steve, who isn't from anywhere near Philly. He's a Florida guy. He told me the story of how the shop came to be, and showed me the Amoroso rolls and the meat, which came directly from Philly. I couldn't wait to try one. I ordered a "Whiz wit," which to those of you unfamiliar with the terminology, means a cheesesteak with onions. The usual cheese on a cheesesteak is called "Wiz" or Cheez Whiz, a thick, processed cheese spread marketed by Kraft Foods. I prefer regular Swiss cheese instead, which Matt gladly provided. I added a basket of fries and told him it was "to go," to be eaten after I picked up my daughter from work. She would pick up her dinner from a nearby deli, then we'd go home to eat.