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Went to Philly for a day of sight-seeing. We did the usual, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Also on the list, an authentic Philly's cheesesteak. So naturally the first place we chose was Geno's.
Prepared for the cold weather, we ventured to South Philly and waited in line, which was out in the middle of the street, Literally!!!
The big neon sign displaying Geno's Steaks is prominent. And so is the smell of steak wafting through the air. They were clearly popular! The line was fast, considering it was a saturday during lunch rush. We pulled up and ordered two steak sandwiches with onions for around $16. The next window down we ordered cheese and "freedom" fries (really? Freedom fries?) in any case we were ready to eat.
The sandwich was tasty, steak is cooked well, cheese-whiz was good, not over powering, the bread chewy in texture, which went well with the texture of the steak.
This place is good if you want to eat at a place synonymous with pop culture. Their devotion to their political ideals is a bit much, but respected.
Good steak! Interesting place.
I actually liked the thicker meat and the crunchier bread in my cheesesteak better than Pat's. But the onions were barely cooked. Overall the sandwich was better, probably because we asked for provolone instead of cheese wiz too...
Now where Geno's loses all the stars I could give him is the xenophobic crap on the windows. I completely understand the memorial for Philly cops and firefighters killed in the line of duty but "Order in English, this is America" is really douchy.
Came for the quintessential cheese-steak challenge with Melissa W. and her bf boyfriend Vi S. Stop 1
Me ordering: "Can I have a whiz, with onions, no wait, um. grilled onions." Guy rolls eyes but literally 5 seconds later, sandwich is up.
Okay, sure there is a lot to be said about quickness and to, move on, but honestly if something can be done that quickly, honestly it cant be that good.
The bread was stiff and cold, the steak looked very dry, just plopped on with some onion and cheese. meh. And the cheesesteak still runs about $8 for some break some meat, some cheese.
Also, don't be fooled by the Vegas style neon, Joey Vento has also been embroiled in years of over-zealous "patriotism", rather anti-immigration for a sign "This is America, order in English". If ideals matter to any of you, you'd think twice too.
I ventured to philly specifically for the cheesesteaks. I know, how very foodie of me. But I digress. So I ordered a cheesesteak from Pat's and one from Geno's. Seriously, one was equally as mediocre are the other. Ive had better cheesesteaks in Los Angeles, Miami, hell, even Georgia! This city has a serious love affair with cheezewhiz.... only the good Lord knows why.
Downright terrible. Their bread is the only thing that's worth eating. The meat is bland and tough. If you end up in this neighborhood for cheesesteak, go across the street to Pat's.
I made a special stop here to try an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. Went on a weekday after lunch crowd and didn't have to wait at all for my sandwich. Had the Wiz Wit and it was just ok. I've definitely had better.
I'm glad I tried it as I have always wanted to taste an authentic cheesesteak. Next time I'll just drive 2 miles from my house in San Francisco and have one that's even better.
Wun Wiz Wit......and then wun minute later, I get my philly cheesesteak. And to be honest, although I may have had better elsewhere, its pretty good. I think the story of Genos opening perhaps 30 years after Pat's and happens to be straight across the street selling simply the same exact thing with flashy colors has got to be entertaining. But I guess that's just business. And frankly, I think Geno's is better(http://static.px.yelp....). And here's why:
1. The cheese isn't goopy but watery and somewhat flavorful
2. The bread isn't rock solid and offers a bouncy baguette
3. The meat is in slices instead of clumps of litle pieces. This makes it feel like solid meat, not ground up
Sorry Pat, seems like the new guys got you done.
Tried their roast pork and cheese steak sandwiches.
Verdict: Both dry and bland
Add the amenities to make it more flavorful
Not a fan of Geno's or Pat's
Lines are both just as long when I went
And yes for those with Philli pride...you have to be a fan of one or the other
Went out of my way on vacation just to stop at Geno's for a Philly cheese steak. The steak itself was bland and while the taste with the wiz was just OK, I was real disappointed with the lack of steak in the sandwich. Went there expecting a great sandwich and left there looking for something else to eat.
Geno's Steaks are A-OK!
Having missed Geno's the first time I vacationed in Philly, I knew i had to make it there this time around. As a tourist- I wanted to try Geno's. As a Yelper- I realized there were probably better options in town. I had to try for myself.
Of all the cheesesteaks I tried in Philly, Geno's packed the least punch. It seemed light on the steak, light on the cheese, and heavy on the bread. HOWEVER, it was still a tasty ass cheesesteak and deserves at least 3 Stars!! You Philly Yelpers have it so lucky if you consider Geno's to be on the lower end of the 'cheesesteak totem pole'- because I'd love to have a place like Geno's where I'm from!
Overall A-OK, light on the steak, light on the cheese, tourist destination #1.
This past weekend on my first trip to Philly, bf and i decided our trip would not be complete w/o trying out a Philly cheesesteak. nevermind that i try to eat a vegetarian diet, our local friends set out to help us accomplish the goal. our friend remarked that this wasn't his favorite cheesesteak place either (he prefers tony luke's), but that this place was good as well.
we arrived about noon on a weekend and the line was wrapping around the shop, so we figured, hey - it must be good! the line was long, but it moved very quickly. within 10 minutes we were up to the counter. we're the kind of people who usually don't carry any cash, and just use debit/credit cards. this place is the kind of place that doesn't accept said debit/credit, only cash. usually there is some sort of sign to point this out, but here i saw none. luckily, it wasn't a problem this time.
bf ordered the whiz wit, and i got the prov wit at the first window, and sodas and cheese fries at the second window. this place is kinda pricey when you consider that it's fast food. $25 later we dug into our food while standing across the street (it's outdoor seating on a few picnic tables only). the prov wit gets my "A-OK" vote, but i can understand why others wouldn't like it. the meat was sorta dry, there wasn't much cheese and there was a lot of bread to the cheesesteak -- however, when i eat meat, i prefer it this way. the cheese fries were flavorless and extremely salty. i'm glad i tried out a philly institution, but prolly won't be back.
O-VER-RA-TED
*clap* *clap* *clap-clap-clap*
Go to Chubbies.
Philly cheese steak, awesome bread, caramelized onions, hot melted cheese... THIS is as good as the classic Philly cheese steak gets.
Service was fast paced but friendly as music played and the owner and his family members helped to run a fundraiser for breast cancer under the patio. Even on a busy World Series Saturday, seating was easy to find.
WARNING: Most people including locals seems to love this place. Many of the negative reviews appear to be coming from those people who take exception to the owner's apparent zealous patriotism. Ignore them.. This place is as much a Philadelphia institution as Constitution Hall itself and is a MUST VISIT when in Philly.. I plan to check out the competitor also, but doubt I'll get as good as I got at Geno's.
Of course being from out of town I had to try both this and Pat's back-to-back to determine for myself which place really does have the best cheese steak in town. After trying both, I'm at a draw - here's my two cents to the pot.
Of the two, this place really stands out because of the flashy neon lights advertising their corner, the large lit-up picture of a cheesesteak that looked almost Photoshopped in the pictures I took, and the almost daylight brightness of the sitting area that makes eating there seem like the daytime no matter when you actually go.
I actually liked the flavor of Geno's cheese steaks better than Pat's. You can actually taste the sliced steak and sauteed onions without being overpowered with too much Cheez-Wiz unlike some other places. I can actually taste the meaty fattiness of the steak and the biting sweetness of the freshly sauteed onions, accentuated with just the right amount of cheesy-saltiness. While the bread was chewier and didn't "melt" into the rest of the cheesesteak ingredients, the ratio of bread to filling was perfect to taste the fattiness/sweetness/saltiness blending into the mild flavor of the bread. Unfortunately Geno's doesn't offer any other fillings (i.e. mushrooms, green peppers) but what they do offer does the job well.
Beyond the Cheez-Wiz on the cheese fries, the fries were bland and unimpressive. Go to Pat's if you want good cheese fries.
Overall I'm at a loss at which place is better than the other. Regardless of which one I end up at they each have attributes that make for good cheesesteaks, though they have other attributes that make them fall short in satisfying the hunger for the perfect sammich. Perhaps I need to try the provolone cheesesteaks here for better evaluation and comparison.
I've had dozens of better cheesesteaks at home in Baltimore, so I'm regretting not heading to Pat's across the street instead for comparison.
Cheese-whiz, really? Really? Okay, it wasn't that bad... Completely found it by accident heading to a Phil's game. The line was loong, but nobody at Pat's. Curious.
This place is famous because....why? They're rude to you, so that's the charm? Decline.
Took 4 hours to get there from NYC due to a 20 mile backup on the New Jersey turnpike. Finally get there and it was a short line. Ordered a whiz wit. Both Geno's and Pats are living off of hype, was nothing special about either of them, steak has no flavor, Geno's is really small. Just to say you ate there or if your starving at 3 am is the only reason to go there, i'm sure there are much better places all over Philly.
Seriously, what is the hype about? The cheesesteaks are average (at best) with regular bread, regular meat, and cheese that tastes like processed nacho cheese. On top of that, the guy at the counter is SO RUDE. We sat near the window where guests were ordering, and we probably saw/heard 20 transactions. From these transactions, I gathered the following:
1. He's racist. NOT nice to Asians (even those that speak English PERFECTLY). There are a handful of signs that say "This is America. Speak in English." We asked him what the score was for the Eagles game (the game was playing on a TV right behind him), and he said "I see cheesesteaks, I don't tell people what the scores are." 5 minutes later, a Caucasian guy asked him the same questions, and he told him what the score was. He also gives out pens/souveniers, but not to Asian people.
2. He's rude. One guy asked for mushrooms on his cheesesteak, and he said they didn't have mushrooms. The guest paused for 2 seconds, and the guys goes "so, do you want it or not? yes or no? make a decision? come on come on." There was NO ONE behind this guest waiting to order... I don't know why he was in a hurry.
I'll never go back here again!
Everyone always says, "When you go to Philadelphia, you HAVE TO GO to Geno's and Pat's"
Well during my trip to Philadelphia, I WENT TO Tony Luke's, Pat's, and Geno's so I can honnestly say I have had the "big 3" in Philadelphia!
Geno's was the worst out of the 3. Their meat was just dry and didn't seem "juicy." The fries were okay, and it is hard to mess up a pepsi (dont worry, pepsi was the best part). The guy at the window was just as i expected (from what people told me), simply Rude.
The lights on the building are there to attact people, that will surely bring people there, because the food shouldn't.
GO TO PAT'S (when you are near these establishments)
though if in philly - GO TO TONY LUKE'S HANDSDOWN
I felt compelled to try this place since it was my first time visiting Philadelphia. I'm glad I did, but I'm not sure a Philly cheese steak is my cup of tea. The flavor was bland, and I could only finish half my sandwich before I felt a little (no, a lot) nauseated. The bread was absolutely overwhelming, but I'm actually rather thankful they didn't give me more meat.
I truly enjoyed my cheesesteak sandwich!!
The ingredients were fresh, warm, and juicy!
I do not have any negative comments about this place.
This place is a bit more flexible than Pat's as far as what you may add to your sandwich.
Love it just as much as Pat's.
She Said..." First of all, if your reading this b/c you want to decide whether to go to Genos or Pats steak( which is right across from Genos)....go to PATS!!!!! Its much better. Anyways, this place was not what i was expecting, after eating at pats i was expecting either the same or better since its their competition. Not so much...it downgraded for me. The steak was really thin and not chopped up like at Pats. The onions werent as great either, and the cheese didnt seem warm enough. The bread wasnt all that great either....sorry im just venting becasue Pats was amazing and i expected Genos to be THAT good too, but it wasnt. The fries werent good here either, they were kinda soggy-like. The only good thing was the coke."
He Said...."After reading all the reviews on Yelp saying that Pat's and Geno's were the same, I have to disagree. Geno's bread is harder and I didn't like that the steak wasn't chopped up. They did have coke which is a plus...but their fries weren't that good...tasted like dirty grease or something. We drove from Maryland to Philly just to eat lunch...and we even stood in line at Tony Lukes before we decided on Geno's...so sorry we tried and it was confirmed...Pat's was better."
One star, not for the food, but because I'm sick of seeing 20% of the Yelp feed being tourists rating this place and Pats. That dead horse has been beaten flatter than the steak on these lousy sandwiches
I'm basically writing the same review for Pat's as I am for Geno's because they're basically the same restaurant. Only the photos are different. What's more, I was fairly unimpressed with either place.
I was introduced to Pat's and Geno's in Rick Sebak's 2002 PBS documentary, Sandwiches That You Will Like. Well, the cheesesteak at these two places I can't really say I liked.
I had a "provolone wit" (i.e., cheesesteak sandwich with provolone cheese and grilled onions). The bread was stale and the cheese not melted. Frankly, I've had better cheesesteaks at the mall in Albuquerque (seriously!). For a better cheesesteak in the Philly area, try Dalessandro's. Or skip the cheesesteak and get a fantastic hoagie at Primo's!!! .... Maybe I should've had it with whiz.
Of all the Rick Sebak documented sandwiches, Pat's and Geno's have been the only disappointments as of yet. Still, these are both institutions in their own right, so I'm glad I came --- only because now I can say I've been here.
Oh, and be prepared for ridiculously long lines and a long walk to find parking. There is no indoor seating. Tables outside only (if you can find a free table). Also (and I don't mean this as a criticism) if you're not from the area, you may perceive employees' manner as rude. It really isn't. It's just part of the South Philly 'tude. Just roll wit it.
One thing I will take issue with: this place had the gall to refer to their French fries as "freedom fries". Please! I can really do without that kind of xenophobic nationalism. Please keep your politics off my dinner plate! I won't be back.
Everything is average here. Yea go travel channel...you def. hyped this place up and made all the newbies come and spend their time and money!
And then I went over to Pat's and wow...what a surprise!! another average cheesesteak....
Go to Jim's for steaks. That's all i will say.
Ok geno's is just another cheesesteak place in the capital of Cheesesteaks.... If you want something that is decent and the lines are not long like the ones across the street at Pats.
I will wait in the lines any day to get the cheesesteak from Pats over Geno's.
Tempted to give 3 stars cause of being able to witness an act of human kindness that you don't get to see that often.
A couple 2 spots before us came and didn't have enough money, i forget what happened, but they could'nt pay for their meal. But the couple right after them paid for them. Wow that is what i like to see in the city of brotherly love; not hearing about people getting thrown off the stands during Eagle's games...
Anyway, that is realli neither here nor there.
20 min wait, for an average cheesesteak. Bleh.
It wasn't bad but not particularly noteworthy.
Was fun to see people who got food from Pat's accross the street get yelled at for trying to use their ketchup dispenser.
Been going to Geno's for 20 years, and my absolute favorite place to go in the city for cheese steaks. The people who work there, have ALWAYS been nice to me and my friends when I go down. Would love to meet the owner some time, as I always admired him from afar.
Geno has a life long customer here.
I don't understand some of the low ratings. Their steaks tasted awesome. The meat and bread tasted wayy better than pats. Though pat's did have a better selection of toppings to go with your Philly steak.
All the pictures are cool and the razzle dazzle lights all add to the experience.
I would come back here and you should too!
My Aunt is moving to AZ so she wanted to get Geno's one last time.
We waited in line for over 30 minutes. $8 for a sandwich. Cash only with a shady ATM across the street. We bought multiple steaks that we were taking home but we couldn't get a bag. My car seat now has some grease on it because of that. There is a picture of the owner Joey with Sarah Palin in an outfit that I could only describe as an Alaskan flannel sarong.
My steak ( provolone wit) tasted good but I won't go back unless I have a really good reason too.
Geno's.. Hmmph.. I dun really like cheese steak tho, but on my opinion Geno's cheese fries is the best ever in philly so far. why i gave 'em 3 stars? cuz when u goin' there and looked so many ppl stand in line will make u feel lazy to go in line.. seriously..
Ok...when In Philly a drive out to Genos & Pats at least once is mandatory (if you haven't been there before). I'm not sure if it was the lack of "service" or how in 3 seconds flat you philly cheesesteak is ready, but Neither Geno's or Pats were anything special...i've had better in Florida!! Only reason I came here was just to come for the sake of coming so I can say "yeah, i've been there.". There is absolutely no reason for me to come back. Any philly cheesesteak spot in Philly can set you up with a great philly cheesesteak...
seriously. wtf.
the obvious success of Genos reminds me of the contemporary hip-hop music industry. people put out utter CRAP that any 2-bit idiot could, yet somehow achieve success the likes of us will never see.
FML.
Despite living around the corner from Geno's, I almost never go there. I rarely hit Pat's either, but occasionally post-bar, I'll need food and have no other options. But my cousin was in from out of town, and wanted to try the famous one, so I found myself at Geno's, mostly because the line was shorter.
I had honestly forgotten just how stingy Geno's gets with the meat. I think my sandwich had 2 slices of steak on it. I also usually get whiz at the tourist traps, but decided against it when I saw the pile of pre-whizzed rolls behind the glass. Sorry, the point of whiz is that the tourist traps are too lazy to melt the provolone or american into the meat while it's on the grill, so its the only hot, melted cheese you can get. If it has time to cool down on the roll, it loses its only advantage and reveals just how disgusting it really is.. So instead I got provolone, and the accompanying river of grease when I picked picked it up. At least the roll was decent.
I skipped the fascist fries, and failed to order in english ("provo wit" would not please Mr. Webster). I was surprised to find they don't even have sweet peppers available at the grill. Basically, unless you have an out of town guest who wants to try the famous places, skip it for a better joint.
I just dont get it. How can so many people be upset with Genos? Then again I have not found anything as good since I left a few years ago and yes it was good provolone. Still it makes no sense as these silly little franchises saying we have cheese steaks just like Philly. No kids what you have is call imitation and I am sure if I looked closer it would most likely be imitation meat. I miss Genos in many ways.
Wait I got it, this is not health food nor should it be considered health food. It is the best grinder "sub" for the rest of those not from the mid Atlantic region in the world and if it kills me then I died with a smile on my face.
Horrible ratings. I love it. I don't love Geno's. I love the fact that people aren't too keen on it and rightfully so.
The line was longer than Pat's. They're slower. They take their time at Geno's and I don't mind because the guy who handled my steak and money wasn't dirty about it. I got a whiz wit onions and it wasn't so bad. Still not good. Since my steak at Pat's was flavorless this time I salt and peppered up my steak at Geno's. Geno's gives you less meat in the sandwich but other than that the sandwiches are similar.
On to the next window which salavaged my cheesesteak experience- beverages! Geno's serves up the BEST FOUNTAIN SODA ever! It's on par with the filtered water from IN N OUT. I got a coke and it was perfect in every way. It was cold but my cup wasn't frosted. The carbonation had just the right amount of fizzies. And the sugar/water soda syrup ratio concoction was spot on. I always taste the sodas first when I'm filling my own cup at fast food joints. If it tastes watered down I pour it out and choose another. Geno's soda is excellent. And perfect for the hottest day in hell. It was a guilty pleasure and the best sin I engaged in that afternoon.
Now that I've had Pat's and Geno's, I'll tell you who has the best cheesesteak. The Cheesesteak Shop in Berkeley, CA on University Ave. Those folks don't play around. They even check your 20's to see if they are counterfeit.
I'm going to give Philly one more chance to redeem themselves. Jim's I am coming for you next time so get ready. And please chop up your steak because that's the way I like it.
Got the Whiz Wit. I like the bread and onions at Pat's better. I also like the chopped steak at Pat's better. The guy who took our orders seemed like he was really sick of dealing with tourists.
I picked to try Geno's first rather than Pat because it was the "Touristy" thing to do when in Philly.
I thought the sandwich was ok. The steak tasted like anything we can get here in CA. The good thing was that the bread was soft and not soggy like some that I have had.
If I could change my last name to Cheesesteak, I would.
That being said, I was expecting Geno's to be better. Maybe it's all that hype. Really raises your expectations.
I like Geno's enough, though the super finely sliced steak wasn't quite so satisfying. I guess I like a more substantial steak. Not chunky or hearty, just something that doesn't disintegrate in my mouth under the weight of all that cheese, onions and bread.
I'd have to say Steaks on South is my favorite.
I guess I'm a jerk who fell right into the tourist trap without realizing it. My mom and I trekked all over Philly without eating a cheese steak at any of the thousand billion places on every street-- and then by the time we wanted one, we were at the crossroads: Geno's or Pat's. We picked Geno's mooooostly because it had a table free.
Now, I'm not crazy about the components of a cheesesteak on their own, but served with a healthy dose of right-wing lunacy they taste even worse. Ugh. Totally unimpressed, and I never want to see bumper stickers like the ones in the window here again (This is America: Order in ENGLISH).
At least I know where not to go next time.
Read about all the rivalry between Geno's and Pat's. My friend and I were starving, so like a couple of hungry flies, we 'flew' to the shop with the BRIGHTEST lights, which is Geno's. Oh my, it looked like Vegas!
Ordering was like an assembly line: ordered steaks with whiz on one queue and then cheese fries with drinks on another queue. The steak was alright; I think the relish certainly made it better. The food was pretty cold though. Not sure whether I can blame it on the preparation or simply the colder weather when we were eating those sandwiches (I'm guessing that a sandwich can't get THAT cold in 5 minutes from getting it to eating it). I can see how this place can be overrated, but as a hungry fly at that time, the steak (albeit cold) was good enough to me.
Philadelphia, PA
Category: Sandwiches
Philadelphia, PA
Category: Sandwiches
Philadelphia, PA
Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Pennsport
Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhood: South Street District
Category: Sandwiches
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