neither
Johns roast pork has better sandwiches and Tony Lukes has the best cheesesteaks
Pats is superior to Genos - especially if you get cheese fries. Its "cool" to say Tony Lukes is better, because its "cool" to hate tourist spots, but meh...its really not.
Yes, Tony Luke's. Win right there. I'd also pay a visit to Pat's. Then Gino's.
I <3 cheesesteak.
Hey... Tony Luke's is good shit. There's no denying it. Pat's and Gino's are both great in their own right too. There's no reason NOT to go to any of them. Each is just a little different, but all three are must have's.
Personally, if you want THE original cheesesteak just to say you have... just go to Pat's. If you want a GREAT cheesesteak... go to all of them. You won't regret it. Okay, maybe you will if you don't bring the Tums with you, but that's beside the point.
why not have both? they're across the st from each other.
Oh yea, don't get me wrong, Tony Luke's is definitely a great sandwich. I'm just saying that the mantra that "Pats sucks, go to Tony Lukes" is not really accurate. They're all a little different...try 'em all!
Tony Luke's rocks, especially the roast pork with garlic and broccoli rabe, but, sadly, both Pat's and Geno's suck big time.
Hell, Jim's on around 4th and South has a much better cheese steak than either Pat's or Geno's, and then you're right there on South Street with all of their shops.
Btw, if you're there on South Street, go to the Greek place a block or two up on the other side for good but inexpensive eats.
Oh yea, don't get me wrong, Tony Luke's is definitely a great sandwich. I'm just saying that the mantra that "Pats sucks, go to Tony Lukes" is not really accurate. They're all a little different...try 'em all!
Here's (ahem) a counter-prevailing view:The Triangle is a big, boisterous Italian restaurant and bar -- a place with all the requisite trappings of wood paneling and mussels marinara. What sets it apart is the house band. The performers are an exceedingly average-looking, post-middle-age troupe, performing a repertoire of old standbys and what can only be described as classic rock. Imagine, if you will, your Uncle Tommy, T-shirt, jeans and beer gut a-go-go, belting out a powerhouse version of "Born in the USA." Better yet, imagine him doing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Needless to say, it's not a pretty picture. But it is, I assure you, a compelling one. There is something both perverse and charming about the floor show at the Triangle -- something that big city neo-swank hot spots, with their martinis and their cigars and their relentless irony, could never hope to have. People go to the Triangle not to look good but to have a good time; and the guys in the band even have a perma-"having a ball" expression plastered to their faces. The patrons cheer wildly. And you come away with the feeling that if only Uncle Tommy did have a band, he'd be a much happier guy.
OP, another place you should go to if you want a genuine Philly experience is Dirty Frank's bar. It's just a couple of blocks from South Street, which is a cavalcade of semi-tourista shops and spots.When we (my family and my cousins , aunts and uncle's) used to visit my grandparents on 10st. & Federal (in the late 50's / 60's and early 70's) our fathers would go to the Triangle bar and every friggin time they would be in a fight . We couldnt understand it. Well a couple of years ago I was taken there by a friend from Philly to see what the attraction was for our fathers. We went in so excited and happy. We were "marked" as "not from the area" and questioned and made to feel really unwelcomed and we left ... excuse me.. we ran outta there because you knew "something was up" . I'm a female and never met such uneducated , rude, disgusting people in my life. I've lived all over the world as my father was in the military for 30yrs. so I know what i'm talking about. The only nice person there was the bar maid that night. She gave me a coaster to put at my fathers grave (in a national cemetery). Now the question is answered...... we know why our fathers were always in a fight there. I have no plans to ever go back even when i'm in the area. The men there should really look at the calendar ...... IT"S 2009 not 1950 dude!
And the requisite pansy tourista counter-review:In Short This popular corner taproom's once nondescript gray facade now is a mural depicting history's greatest Franks: Sinatra, Zappa and "-enstein." Inside, the foreboding ambience belies its friendliness. The clientele is pleasantly diverse. Burly bikers knock back mugs of cheap Yuengling next to frail, chain-smoking art students from the nearby university. Everybody seems like a regular. Arrive before 9pm to grab a table; the place starts to fill up with drinkers and smoke around 10pm.
We crossed town via subway and walking to get to this "wonderful" highly rated bar. What a dive. the bartender was nice but that was about all i have to say that is positive. Yes the tap beer is skunked. If you go, order something out of a bottle. If you like smoke then go there. If you like going to the bathroom with no lock on the door then go there. We were there on a Tue. The guy at the next table had his computer with him and he was asleep sitting up. We took a picture of him that i wish I could put up here. That's how exciting this place was. Maybe it was better in the old days but not today.