You order at a stand much like the kind I remember from family trips to the boardwalk in Atlantic City when I was a kid. What a combination-wonderful cheesesteaks and attentive service. The rolls are very soft, the beef juicier and more plentiful than most, the provolone nicely gooey, the Cheez Whiz well integrated into the meat. Want more napkins or more sauce? Help yourself. I asked for more onions, and they were brought to our table. Service is terrific-the folks behind the counter can’t do enough for you. It feels like a small-town meeting space occasionally occupied by the Cub Scouts or the Lions Club. Sonny’s is eerily uncluttered, with a few chrome-rimmed, fifties-style, communal tables. Geno’s, the fading ex-champs of South Philly. The shop is a few doors away from the more celebrated Campo’s, setting up a potential 21st century competition between the two, much like the classic 20th century duel of Pat’s vs. Located near the Liberty Bell, the very heart of Philadelphia tourism, Sonny’s is ideally situated for visitors hoping to try the best cheesesteak in town. We were unanimous in our choice of the best and the worst. Although all five of us voted, and all votes were counted, I tinkered a little, moving some places up a notch, some down. I cannot say the list is entirely democratic. Who makes the best, a debate that has consumed the city for decades? Which is the best cheese, sliced provolone or Cheez Whiz, the legendary goop invented by Kraft in the early fifties? (American cheese, a third option, is too feeble to be a viable choice.) Which establishment chops, caramelizes, and adds the correct quantity of onions, which is my particular passion, given that the grilled beef in these sandwiches tends to be bland? And, finally, just how good is the bread, a judgment we tended to leave to Maria Gallagher, a former restaurant critic for Philadelphia magazine? So many cheesesteaks, so much to learn, even for a Philadelphia native, which I am. (Crazy, I know, but there wasn’t room in the car for a psychiatrist.) We tried 23 different cheesesteaks in one afternoon at ten spots generally considered the best in Philadelphia. Benjamin Abella, an emergency room physician from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. That wasn’t guaranteed, which is why our traveling party included Dr.
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