A man ran from Pat’s King of Steaks after throwing a cheesesteak through its service window around dinnertime Wednesday. But the camera he carried left an online trail behind him.
Philadelphia police said Friday that the man, who turned himself in Thursday, was charged with harassment, a summary offense. Police declined to identify him, and it is not clear what prompted him to surrender.
The video he apparently made of the encounter had surfaced on YouTube and Instagram, where Pat’s owner Frank Olivieri said his information-technology team traced it to accounts filled with pranks, music, and Philadelphia street content.
Surveillance video from Pat’s King of Steaks shows a man throwing his cheesesteak at manager Tom Camardo on Sept. 30, 2026.Courtesy of Pat's King of Steaks
“He wanted to be famous,” Olivieri said. “He got exactly what he asked for. Now, he needs to be accountable for his actions and his words.”
The YouTube account, under the name h4ll0w33n, presented the episode as a food review titled “I Threw This Cheesesteak in His Face Geno’s Steaks,” misidentifying the stand with the name of another landmark eatery across the intersection of Ninth Street, Wharton Street, and Passyunk Avenue.
A screenshot of the video’s thumbnail showed what appeared to be an AI-generated image of a cheesesteak flying into a man’s face, with “THIS CHEESESTEAK SUCKED!” in large type and “YAM TV” beneath it.
By Friday morning, the video was unavailable. YouTube said the account associated with it had been terminated.
An Instagram account using the name @h4ll0w33n___ remained online with about 10,500 followers. The video also appeared on a newly created Instagram account called YAM TV, which described itself as “The Reality Food Critic Show” covering Philadelphia and beyond. Neither account disclosed the man’s name. No one from the accounts replied to The Inquirer’s messages requesting comment.
Olivieri said his IT team searched online using a photograph of the man and found the accounts after he posted his recording.
“How brazen are you to assault somebody and then post it?” Olivieri said. “Thank God for stupidity.”
Olivieri had offered a $5,000 reward Thursday for information leading to the man’s arrest and conviction. On Friday, he said he had allocated the money to someone who contacted him with information.
The episode began shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday, after the customer ordered a cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and onions.
Surveillance video shows him sitting at a table outside Pat’s, pulling apart the sandwich with his hands without eating it. He later returned to the window, exchanged words with general manager Tom Francano, threw the cheesesteak at him, and ran.
Francano can be seen throwing pieces of the sandwich back toward the fleeing man. He was not injured, police said.
By Friday, Francano was willing to revisit the moment under friendlier circumstances.
Justin Camardo, co-owner of Dough Head Pizza across the intersection, posted an Instagram video with the caption: “We heard Pat’s was throwing food around, so naturally we had to see what all the hype was about.”
The video shows Camardo walking across the street with a slice of pizza and handing it to Francano, who promptly smashes it into Camardo’s face.
Detectives initially investigated Wednesday’s episode as an assault. Olivieri said Friday that he was disappointed that the man had been charged only with summary harassment and questioned whether it would provide the deterrent he sought.
“What are they going to give him, community service?” he said. “Maybe he should come over here and sweep the pavement.”
Pat’s has dealt with thrown drinks, food, coins, and other objects during its 96-year history, Olivieri said. What made Wednesday’s incident different, he said, was the camera — evidence, in his view, that the confrontation had been staged for an audience.
Olivieri said he pursued the case because he feared that allowing the episode to pass without consequences could invite copycats at Pat’s and other restaurants. Businesses already contend with the positive and negative effects of influencers, he said; deliberately provoking employees for online attention crossed another line.
“I not only did this for me,” Olivieri said. “I think it’s for everyone else who has had an issue with a pizza influencer, a hoagie influencer, or whatever.”
A suspect in the cheesesteak-throwing incident at Pat’s King of Steaks has turned himself in to police, according to reports by Fox29 and 6abc.
Charges were pending Thursday night. Police had not identified the suspect.
Video: Man throws cheesesteak through Pat’s window
Earlier Thursday, Pat’s owner Frank Olivieri offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the camera-carrying man who hurled a cheesesteak through the South Philadelphia restaurant’s service window Wednesday afternoon, striking general manager Tom Francano.
Olivieri said he hoped to stop the apparent stunt from becoming the next social-media trend.
The incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m., after the customer ordered a cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and onions. Olivieri said he believed that the man had paid in cash, so he could not identify him through receipts.
Pat’s King of Steaks at the intersection of Ninth Street, Wharton Street, and Passyunk Avenue.Michael Klein / Staff
Olivieri said surveillance footage convinced him that the encounter had been planned. Video shows the customer sitting at a table, pulling apart the sandwich with his hands without eating it. The man later approached the window, exchanged words with Francano, threw the cheesesteak at him, and ran down the street.
Francano can be seen throwing pieces of the sandwich back toward the fleeing man. He did not report injuries, police said. Detectives initially investigated the incident as an assault.
“His intention was to make a video: get the sandwich, have an argument at the window, film the entire thing, throw the sandwich through the window, and run away,” Olivieri said. “That’s how he gets clicks.”
Francano noticed the man’s camera and took particular care while preparing his order, Olivieri said.
“Everybody here knows that when somebody comes up with a camera, you make sure the sandwich is extra perfect, so there is absolutely nothing they can say is wrong with it,” he said.
Customers occasionally have thrown drinks, food, or other objects through the restaurant’s window during its 96-year history, Olivieri said. In one incident around 2024, he said, a customer threw a handful of coins at employees. But Wednesday’s encounter was different: The man arrived with a camera and apparently recorded his actions.
“It’s one thing if somebody comes to the window, gets into an argument, and throws a soda or some french fries,” Olivieri said. “But nobody has ever intentionally come with a camera and thrown a cheesesteak through the window.”
Olivieri said he wanted consequences for the man because a video of the episode could encourage others to stage similar confrontations at Pat’s or other restaurants.
“If this guy posts the video — or when he posts it — other people are going to come and do it,” Olivieri said. “They’ll be throwing cheesesteaks through the window at my place and everybody else’s place. I feel as though we need to make an example of this person. Nobody should get away with doing something like this.”
Staff writer Henry Savage contributed to this article.
On Friday, Ralph DiSibio and his friends arrived early, as they usually do, at a cheesesteak joint in Marlton between an Advance Auto Parts and a dry cleaner.
The men wore matching T-shirts picturing a loaded cheesesteak set aflame, except for Gary Mazzucco, who hasn’t retired yet and doesn’t have the time, nor the medical clearance, to eat a pound of meat and cheese over and over again.
“Ralph, I gotta order a salad. I can’t eat a cheesesteak,” Mazzucco, 78, said.
“That’s why he doesn’t have a T-shirt,” one of his friends chimed in.
Mazzucco ordered a salad. Then, he changed his order after he spotted wings on the menu, which opened the conversation to teasing. What kind of salad was that?
“It’s got celery,” Mazzucco said.
When he offered to share, most of the group passed.
Johnny Longhots, a pizza and sandwich joint “where Philadelphia meets New York,” is the fourth stop on the retirees’ monthslong quest to find South Jersey’s best cheesesteak, preceded by trips to Donkey’s Place in Camden, Bricco Coal Fired Pizza, and Chick’s Deli in Cherry Hill.
Ralph DiSibio (far left), 85, of Moorestown, watches as friends Mike Mouber (left), 79; Paul Ferretti, 79; and John DeSilvio, 74, enter Johnny Longhots in Marlton on Sept. 18.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The crew refuses to cross the bridge for cheesesteaks. They want to avoid tolls, and with thousands of options in Philly, they’re not sure they’ll live long enough to eat them all. Sitting in a bright red booth, the seniors were close enough to the city, their backs to a wall of Philly motifs. A picture of the LOVE statue hung above Mike Mouber’s head.
DiSibio, 85, used to work in the nuclear waste industry, and Mazzucco is an accountant. Mouber, 79, was a lawyer; Paul Ferretti, 79, an investment banker, and John DeSilvio, 78, a contractor. Bob McDermott, 83, worked for the U.S. Postal Service. None of them have long careers as food critics or restaurateurs, but they’ve eaten many a sandwich.
The group hasn’t found its prized meal yet — Chick’s was the favorite so far — but they say they’re uniquely qualified to discover it.
“If you count Gary, there’s over 400 years of experience,” DiSibio said, settled at the head of the table.
Mike Mouber (center), 79, points to the Johnny Longhots menu as Bob McDermott, 83, enjoys his cheesesteak. Although the beloved sandwich was invented in Philadelphia, the group has no interest in trying out Philly cheesesteaks across the bridge.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The seniors met years ago at a 55+ community in Moorestown, the Mews at Laurel Creek, where most of them still live. They’ve kept their friendship going at the poker table, where they compete every Thursday.
To mix things up, the group recently visited Donkey’s Place to try what many South Jerseyans have called the best cheesesteak around. But the men weren’t fans, including those who have long frequented Camden’s food scene. They were put off by the kaiser roll.
“We weren’t thrilled one way or another,” said DiSibio, a Camden native.
So they decided to keep searching. They’re working on a spreadsheet, though there’s no formal rating system or numerical values attributed to each cheesesteak. They establish their thoughts on the firmness of the bread, the spice of the hot peppers, the meltability of the cheese, and how much meat they get for their money through overlapping conversations that usually drift into sports, politics, religion, and movie debates. Sandwiches are generally considered “good” or, well, not.
Paul Ferretti (right), 79, greets Ralph DiSibio, 85, alongside Mike Mouber (center), 79, inside Johnny Longhots on Sept. 18.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Their ultimate cheesesteak, at least according to a printed list in large text, must include: meat, onions, cheese, a roll, and seasoning. The “ambiance of the establishment” only matters if it’s particularly remarkable. They always get fried onions if they can, and hot peppers on the side.
Jimmy Lees, an employee at Johnny Longhots, made sure most of their cheesesteaks came out quickly, after a lengthy back-and-forth between the men on whether to get provolone or Cooper Sharp. (The majority went with Cooper Sharp.)
Lees, a Philly native, said it was a new thing to witness a group of seniors hunting for the region’s best cheesesteak, but it’s not so strange.
“It’s something to do,” Lees said.
The group of friends enjoyed their Johnny Longhots cheesesteaks. The group found the bread roll to not be as good as they hoped but appreciated the amount of steak that was provided.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
As they ate, there wasn’t much commentary about the cheesesteaks. They debated what year The Godfather novel came out, and DeSilvio’s forthcoming trip to Croatia. They compared their quest to Indiana Jones in 1981.
“This is like Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark,” McDermott said. “We’re looking for the holy grail of cheesesteak.”
Mike Mouber points to Gary Mazzucco (not pictured) when asked who’s the best poker player in the group while the rest of the friends (from left to right) Bob McDermott, Ralph DiSibio, Paul Ferretti, and John DeSilvio enjoy their meals.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
It didn’t take long for the group to finish their sandwiches, about a half hour or so. DeSilvio wrapped up half of his sandwich for his wife. McDermott said he enjoyed his. Others said the sandwich was good, but maybe the bread could’ve been crustier. It was the smallest of the cheesesteaks they’d eaten so far. They debated their choices again, both praising and regretting the Cooper Sharp.
“I don’t have any of these opinions,” Mouber said.
They joked about their cholesterol meds, and that it’s a good thing cardiologists live in their Moorestown development. They said they won’t know the true rating of their cheesesteaks until later in the day, when their digestive systems get to work.
The group discusses what cheeses should be allowed in cheesesteaks. While DiSibio passionately believes only provolone cheese should be in the sandwich, Mouber (far left) doesn’t have a preference.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The group plans to visit at least one cheesesteak joint a month for as long as they feel up to it. Their current list includes Irishtown Steaks, Pudge’s Pub, and Champs Cheesesteaks and Hoagies, among others. DiSibio said he hopes to get through at least 10 spots before they call it quits.
When asked for final thoughts on their sandwiches at Johnny Longhots, Mouber spoke for his friends.
Shay’s Steaks, the Logan Square eatery connected to embattled city judge Scott DiClaudio, will close next week as part of a settlement of an eviction battle with its landlord.
DiClaudio said Friday that Shay’s last day at the Franklin Tower Residences at 16th and Race Streets would be Wednesday.
He said Shay’s was close to signing a lease for a new location several blocks away at the former Federal Donuts & Chicken at 18th Street and the Parkway. A representative of that building, at 1776 Ben Franklin Parkway, did not return a message Friday seeking confirmation.
DiClaudio has long said publicly that Shay’s, which opened in February 2024, is owned by his wife, Jackee, and that he plays only a “supporting role.”
Scott DiClaudio is listed in Nevada state records as the manager of Shay’s Steaks Las Vegas LLC, in connection with a location that opened last spring on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. He also has spoken extensively on behalf of the business in news interviews, and restaurant vendors in Philadelphia have said they communicate directly with him.
The settlement caps a monthslong dispute with his landlord over possession of the restaurant and roughly $49,000 that court documents say Shay’s owed.
In an interview, DiClaudio said the conflict began after a series of window failures at Franklin Tower. He said one falling window damaged his car, while others shattered near or inside the restaurant. He said the relationship with the landlord deteriorated after he pressed the building’s owners to address the problem.
The landlord later accused Shay’s of lease defaults involving documentation for its food license, HVAC service, and grease-trap maintenance, DiClaudio said. He said those issues were cured, but another dispute developed over a large grease interceptor in the building’s subbasement.
DiClaudio contends that the landlord improperly attributed a roughly $50,000 cleanup bill to Shay’s and folded that amount into what it characterized as unpaid rent.
An attorney for the landlord did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Because DiClaudio is a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge, the litigation was assigned to Chester County Court Judge Jeffrey R. Sommer.
Common Pleas Court Judge Scott DiClaudio (left) and his wife, Jackee, speaking with customers at Shay’s Steaks in February 2024.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Shay’s, which carries the judge’s mother’s nickname, opened 2½ years ago with an upscale take on the Philly cheesesteak, featuring steakhouse cuts including New York strip, prime rib, filet mignon, and American wagyu, along with the traditional rib eye.
Buoyed by stellar Yelp ratings and critical praise, the business expanded in June 2025 with Shay’s Steaks & More at 1526 Sansom St., operated under a licensing agreement with No Name Hospitality. That location closed in May. Shay’s also became a temporary vendor at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The restaurant dispute comes as DiClaudio faces separate proceedings before the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, including allegations tied to Shay’s.
In one pending case, the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board accused DiClaudio of using the prestige of his office to promote the restaurant and of conduct that the board said brought the judicial office into disrepute. DiClaudio has denied those allegations.
The board has also accused DiClaudio of improper conduct involving Common Pleas Court Judge Zachary Shaffer and a criminal defendant awaiting sentencing.
According to the board’s filing, Shaffer and his clerk went to DiClaudio’s courtroom last June at DiClaudio’s request, expecting to pick up T-shirts they had ordered promoting Shay’s. After a brief conversation, the filing said, DiClaudio asked the clerk to leave the room.
DiClaudio then showed Shaffer a piece of paper bearing Shaffer’s courtroom number, a date, and the name of defendant Dwayne Jones, according to the filing. Shaffer later testified before the Board of Judicial Discipline that DiClaudio said “something along the lines of, ‘You probably would have done the right thing anyway,’” before tearing up the paper.
Jones, a friend of rapper Meek Mill, was scheduled to be sentenced by Shaffer in an illegal-gun-possession case connected to a fatal shooting, according to the board’s filing. Shaffer said he believed DiClaudio was attempting to influence the outcome of the case.
DiClaudio has spoken publicly about his relationship with Mill and their work on criminal justice reform. In a July legal filing, DiClaudio acknowledged that speaking with Shaffer about the case was wrong but denied trying to influence the outcome, saying he had intended to compliment Shaffer as a judge.
That case remains pending before the Court of Judicial Discipline, with a hearing scheduled for Sept. 30.
DiClaudio also faces a separate disciplinary case tied directly to Shay’s. In April 2025, the Judicial Conduct Board accused him of using his judicial position to promote the restaurant, eroding public confidence in the judiciary, and using the prestige of his office for personal gain. He has denied those allegations.
Even amid the disciplinary proceedings, DiClaudio has continued to speak publicly about Shay’s and his relationship with Mill. DiClaudio told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in July that Shay’s named one of its cheesesteaks, the “Dreamchaser,” after Mill.
DiClaudio said Shay’s expects to reopen on the Parkway soon, pending a lease signing and city health department approval.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill dissed Philadelphia cheesesteaks earlier this summer, and she just doubled down.
“The best cheesesteaks actually aren’t in Philly,” she declares in a video posted to her social media Wednesday afternoon centered ona recent visit to Donkey’s Place in Camden. “They’re right here in Jersey, and we’re about to go have one.”
In the video, Sherrillleans against the bar next to a customer drinking a beer and sporting a Phillies cap. The first-term Democrat notes with a grin that a “real-life” Philadelphian is “here in Jersey, getting a cheesesteak!”
She noted in the post that a friend of hers from California had mentioned the cheesesteak place to her — showing that the acclaimed Haddon Avenue spot, founded in 1943, is known across the country. She said she “never doubted that New Jersey has the best cheesesteaks,” but had to visit Donkey’s to “confirm” for herself.
I never doubted that New Jersey has the best cheesesteaks, but I still had to stop by Donkey's Place in Camden earlier this summer to confirm it for myself. pic.twitter.com/48JV0PavJQ
— Governor Mikie Sherrill (@GovSherrillNJ) August 5, 2026
Anthony Bourdain felt similarly.
In 2015, Bourdain, who grew up in North Jersey, opined on an episode of his Parts Unknown show that finding the best cheesesteak in “the center of the cheesesteak universe” may require crossing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The restaurant proudly displays his quote on its website: “The best cheesesteak in the area might well come from New Jersey.”
During her visit to Donkey’s, Sherrill got in on the cheesesteak action with owner Rob Lucas Jr., whose father, Bob Lucas, previously owned the restaurant. The younger Lucas’ grandfather, Olympic boxer Leon “Donkey” Lucas, was the founder.
Equipped with plastic gloves and a griddle spatula for each hand, the governor assists Lucas by shaking loads of seasoning on a pile of onions.
“Take three pieces of cheese, put it right on top of that,” he directs her in the video.
Sherrill noted she loves onions, in contrast to the three orders of “no onions” ahead of her.
Donkey’s steaks are endowed with white American cheese and come with fried onions on a poppy-seed kaiser roll.
“Guys, the verdict’s in, and you probably know I’ve been going to Army-Navy in Philly for years,” Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, proudly says, sitting with her creation. “I’ve had a million cheesesteaks. There is no better cheesesteak than here at Donkey’s.”
The historic Army-Navy football game was first played in Philadelphia in 1899 and it has been hosted in the City of Brotherly Love more times than any other city. The last time it was in Philly was in 2022, and it will be hosted by New Jersey, in East Rutherford, this year before returning to Pennsylvania’s largest cityin 2027.
Sherrill visited Donkey’s in late June the same day she visited Camden’s World Cup fan fest at Wiggins Waterfront Park just days before the deadline for her first New Jersey budget. During that appearance, local officials praised the governor for showing up for South Jersey.
During a speech on the fan fest stage, Sherrill boasted that as visitors flood to the region for the World Cup, “the best cheesesteaks are not across the river, they’re right here at Donkey’s.”
For more than a year, Giuseppe Tosco tried to get Dave Portnoy’s attention with a giant roadside sign outside his Montgomery County pizzeria that read, “We Want Dave Portnoy.”
Two months ago, Tosco finally took it down to replace it with a sign advertising the new patio at Italian Delite in Trappe.
On Tuesday, Portnoy walked in anyway. “The first thing he asked was, ‘Where’s the sign?’” Tosco said. “I told him we’d taken it down. He said, ‘Oh my God, it’s been that long?’”
The surprise visit was one of at least five stops Portnoy made across Philadelphia and its suburbs Tuesday as the Barstool Sports founder filmed new installments of his influential “One Bite Pizza Reviews,” whose scores can transform the fortunes of a neighborhood pizzeria.
In each review, Portnoy samples a plain cheese slice — often taking much more than one bite — and assigns it a score on a 10-point scale. His ratings have become one of the pizza world’s most sought-after endorsements, often drawing long lines and national attention for top-scoring shops.
Three of Tuesday’s scores became known almost immediately, as onlookers shared them. Johnny’s received an 8.3, Liguria an 8.2, and Marina’s a 7.9. The owners of Pizza Di Vita and Italian Delite said they never heard their scores before Portnoy moved on; they are waiting for the videos to be released.
Lisa and John Paxia of Lillo’s Tomato Pies in Hainesport with Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy (left) in November 2022.Courtesy of Lillo Paxia
If Tosco spent more than a year trying to lure Portnoy to the Collegeville suburbs, John Bisceglie initially refused to believe the reviewer was coming to Johnny’s Pizzeria (which has a spot on The Inquirer’s 76 list).
“Somebody texted me, ‘Dave’s in Philly. Heads up,’” Bisceglie said. “I just laughed it off. I’ve heard that before.”
Still, he was working at his shop in Wayne when he sent a photo of Portnoy to his employees at Johnny’s Bryn Mawr, just in case.
Then, manager Jaison Velásquez called.
“He said, ‘I just got an order for Barstool,’” Bisceglie recalled. “I said, ‘Oh my God. It’s happening.’”
Bisceglie stayed on the phone coaching his staff. “I told them, ‘Wait about 10 minutes so the pizza comes right out of the oven. Make it crispy. Well done.’”
He credited Velásquez and manager Dan Bisceglie, his cousin, with staying calm. “He kept telling me, ‘I got this. Relax. I got this,’” Bisceglie said of Velásquez.
When Portnoy awarded the pie an 8.3 on camera, Bisceglie knew it was significant.
“Those pizza guys don’t hand out scores like that very often,” he said. “An 8.3 is a big deal.”
For Tosco, at Italian Delite in Trappe, the visit was memorable before the review even began.
Tosco said he had tagged Portnoy incessantly on social media. “I told him, ‘If you came, you came. If you didn’t, you didn’t. I just didn’t want to keep bothering you,’” Tosco said.
The day became even stranger when Portnoy reviewed the wrong pizza.
Tosco had been away at a catering meeting when his cousin called to say Portnoy had arrived after placing an order under the name “Austin.” By coincidence, the restaurant’s social media team was filming, and Tosco’s cousin had made workers prepare a practice pizza for the camera. That pie came out of the oven before Portnoy’s order.
“My cousin said, ‘That’s not your pie,’” Tosco recalled. “Dave said, ‘I don’t care. I want that one.’”
As Tosco pulled into the parking lot, Portnoy was already recording the review.
Afterward, Tosco asked Portnoy to hang for five minutes. “I told him, ‘I just want to make you a Philly cheesesteak,’” Tosco said. “He said, ‘You seem like a good dude. I’ll come back in for you.’”
Tosco still doesn’t know what score Portnoy awarded his pizza. “I ended up getting a cheesesteak review, too, which was really cool,” Tosco said.
We knew that a list of 76 iconic Philadelphia foods would leave something out. It did. After hearing from readers — and revisiting a few of our own debates — we had to mention six items that deserve a place in the city’s culinary canon. They don’t replace the original 76; they just expand the conversation.
The ‘combo’: Hot dog and fishcake on a roll
The hot dog-fish cake combo topped with pepper hash at Lenny’s Hot Dogs in Feasterville.Michael Klein / Staff
Long before Philadelphia claimed the cheesesteak as its signature sandwich, another pairing drew a following: the hot dog and fishcake combo. Culinary historians generally agree that Abe Levis (rhymes with “crevice”) created it in 1895 by pressing a fried fish cake atop a grilled frank on the same bun at his luncheonette on Sixth Street near Lombard.
Instant surf-and-turf!
Levis also created Champ Cherry, the bright-red, cider-like soda that became the combo’s traditional companion. The Old Original Levis shop changed hands several times, spawned a few short-lived offshoots, and finally closed in 1992 under owner Elliott Hirsh, who later revived Levis as a store in Abington from 2012 to 2017 while marketing Champ Cherry in cans.
But tastes have changed and the brands are moribund, as Hirsh, now 80, acknowledged: “I’ve been actively trying to find someone that wants to take it over. And not even sell it. Just take it over. I’d hate to die and take it with me, but that’s what we’re going to do.”
The hot dog-fishcake combo, at least, survives. Just after World War II, Levis rival Lenny’s Hot Dogs, who also sold them from a stand nearby at Fifth and Passyunk.
Lenny’s secret sauce was the pepper hash — a sweet-and-sour relish of cabbage and bell peppers that cuts through the richness of the dish — created by owner Lenny Kravitz’s mother, Ida.
Kravitz expanded Lenny’s to several locations from Mount Airy to Margate, N.J. In the 1980s, he sold his final shop, at 6620 Castor Ave. in the Northeast, to Wayne Knapp. Kravitz died in 1998.
Hawk Krall’s illustration of the “surf ’n turf” Philly combo (fishcake and frank) was originally done for SeriousEats.com.Hawk Krall
Knapp later relocated Lenny’s to Feasterville. That shop, as well as Johnny Hot’s, John Danze Jr.’s truck stop on Delaware Avenue in Fishtown, are among the few standard-bearers of this classic. Be sure to add a squirt of yellow mustard and a smattering of diced onions, as illustrator Hawk Krall suggested in his 2009 poster print of the sandwich.
Chicken salad and oysters
Fried oysters with chicken salad from Oyster House.Craig LaBan / Staff
As for another curious combo, only in Philadelphia would someone look at cool, creamy chicken salad and crunchy fried oysters and think, “Of course those belong together.”
The unlikely pairing has been a local specialty for well over a century, dating to the city’s grand oyster houses, hotels, and taverns in the late 1800s. One popular explanation of its origin holds that tavern keepers paired cheap, plentiful oysters with more expensive chicken to stretch a serving. Food historian William Woys Weaver has noted that Philadelphia’s finest hotels elevated the dish, serving chicken salad dressed with tarragon mayonnaise and encircled by crisp fried oysters. More humble versions turned up in neighborhood brew houses and lunch counters across the city.
Similar dishes appeared in New York, Baltimore, and Boston, and some historians believe that Philadelphia’s influential Black catering families helped popularize the combination. What is certain is that chicken salad and oysters were served at an organizing meeting of Philadelphia’s Union League in 1862.
The combo’s popularity has ebbed in recent years, and its primary home is now Oyster House near Rittenhouse Square, whose family ownership dates back nearly 80 years.
Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter
Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter, founded in 1972, is still available on grocery shelves.Michael Klein / Staff
Life was all Skippy and Jif in the early 1970s when a Philadelphia music teacher decided to grind peanuts in his kitchen because he couldn’t find peanut butter that tasted the way he remembered.
Richard Marcus was a conductor, pianist, radio host, and founder of the Society Hill School of Music & Art. Frustrated by the sweetened, homogenized spreads that dominated grocery shelves, he bought five pounds of peanuts at Reading Terminal Market, roasted them, and blitzed them in his blender. The result was nothing more than peanuts — no sugar, salt, or oils.
Friends loved it. By 1972, they convinced him to package it. Marcus produced an initial run of about 144 jars, selling them through Philadelphia delis and health-food stores. He called it Crazy Richard’s, his wink to skeptics who thought he was nuts for marketing a peanut butter that separated naturally and required stirring.
Word of mouth did the rest. Marcus eventually gave up his music school to run the business full time, first contracting production in Conshohocken before opening plants in Pennsauken and later Bellmawr. At its peak under his ownership, Crazy Richard’s sold about 750,000 jars a year throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and by mail. Marcus insisted that there was no secret recipe: “It’s just ground peanuts.”
In 1991, Ohio’s Krema Nut Co. bought Crazy Richard’s and kept Marcus’ one-ingredient recipe intact. Today, 12 years after his death, the brand is sold nationwide. The “Crazy Richard” on the label is still the Philadelphia musician who proved that sometimes the simplest ideas stick.
Fishtown Iced Tea
Canned Fishtown Iced Tea is poured by Interstate Drafthouse co-owner Mike McCloskey into a custom-made ceramic carton.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Long Island has its iced tea. Why shouldn’t Fishtown? Created in 2013 at Interstate Drafthouse on Palmer Street, Fishtown Iced Tea spikes a 16-ounce carton of Arctic Splash iced tea with a shot of Jim Beam bourbon, turning a childhood lunchbox staple into an adult version of the sugary, dangerously smooth cocktail. Its roots are distinctly regional. Besides milk, Lehigh Valley Dairy, Wawa, Swiss Farms, and Turkey Hill also sold iced tea in pint cartons that generations of Philadelphians grew up drinking.
During the pandemic, when Pennsylvania temporarily allowed to-go cocktails, Interstate sold enough Fishtown Iced Tea to keep the bar afloat. In 2022, the popularity inspired a canned version from Rectified Spirits, made with vodka, rum, tequila, and triple sec instead of bourbon.
In a twist, the ready-to-drink cocktail debuted just as Lehigh Valley discontinued Arctic Splash cartons, ending an era for the drink that inspired it.
Edamame dumplings from Buddakan
The edamame dumplings at Buddakan.Tim Tai / Staff Photographer
One of Buddakan’s signature dishes is the edamame dumpling, filled with mashed soybeans and served in a truffled Sauternes-shallot broth. Michael Schulson, then chef de cuisine at Stephen Starr’s Old City destination, came up with the idea in 2000 while developing the menu for Starr’s next project, Pod, whose opening in University City was six months away. “Every dish I made, Stephen would say, ‘We’re putting this on the menu at Buddakan,’” Schulson said. “I’d say, ‘What about Pod?’”
The original version was an edamame ravioli, featuring a yellow pasta wrapper in a caramelized Sauternes-shallot broth, transforming what was then an unfamiliar ingredient to many American diners — young Japanese soybeans — into one of Buddakan’s signature dishes. (It made it onto Pod’s menu, too.) When Buddakan New York opened in 2006 with Schulson leading the kitchen, the ravioli evolved into the translucent har gow-style dumpling that has since become its best-known form, before it later arrived on the menu in Philadelphia. It’s still a bestseller.
After leaving Starr, Schulson adapted the concept at his restaurant Sampan, serving edamame dumplings in a caramelized shallot and sake broth, and later at Double Knot with truffles.
Cheesesteak egg rolls
The cheesesteak egg roll from Continental Mid-town.Courtesy of Starr Restaurants
Stuff steak and cheese into an egg-roll wrapper, deep-fry it, and you’ve got one of Philadelphia’s signature mashups: the cheesesteak egg roll.
They’re everywhere now, from neighborhood pubs to white-tablecloth steakhouses, and go by “spring rolls” at some places, but their rise can be traced to two nearly simultaneous Philadelphia stories in the mid-1990s.
One unfolded at the old Four Seasons Hotel on the Parkway. Former chef David Jansen said that after preparing a banquet for the New York Rangers in 1994 or 1995, prep cook Mui Lim put leftover cheesesteak filling into spring roll wrappers and fried them as a snack for the kitchen crew. They went on the menu soon after at the hotel’s Swann Lounge. Today’s Four Seasons Philadelphia, now at the Comcast Technology Center, serves wagyu cheesesteak spring rolls with sweet-and-spicy pepper relish.
The other story played out in Old City, where the novelty became a menu staple at the Starr-owned Continental. In 1996, Starr hired Sam “Chef Sammy D” DeMarco to develop dishes for the year-old restaurant. DeMarco already served a Philly cheesesteak dumpling at First, his New York restaurant, but Starr wanted something original.
DeMarco turned the dumpling into a cheesesteak spring roll. “It was taking a classic, nostalgic American snack and presenting it in a fresh way,” said DeMarco, now executive chef at Bungalows Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Like the old Buzz Aldrin cocktail, the roll became a classic. Starr said Continental Mid-town, near Rittenhouse Square, now sells 500 a week.
From the Continental, the idea spread rapidly. Davio’s owner Steve DiFillippo was joining staff for a preshift meal at his former Center City Philadelphia location shortly after it opened in 1999 when chef David Boyle served cheesesteak egg rolls that his wife had made at home. DiFillippo insisted that they be added to the bar menu, overruling managers who felt that they were too déclassé for a posh steakhouse. The Boston-based Davio’s turned the line into a frozen-food item, selling millions through supermarkets and QVC until rising beef prices during the pandemic made them impractical, DiFillippo said. They’re still on the restaurant menus in King of Prussia and elsewhere.
Though DiFillippo copyrighted the name “Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls” in 2002, “I’m not going to claim I invented anything,” he said. “But I was the first one to take them into stores and really commercialize them.”
What are the foods that tourists should try on their trip to North America for the World Cup? Apparently, the Philly cheesesteak is way up there, even higher than tacos in Los Angeles or Cuban sandwiches in Miami.
With the 2026 World Cup spanning 16 host cities across three countries, writer Amy Harris found a tour of 16 “completely different food cultures” for this guide. Canada Sports Betting scored the “hero” dish of every host city based on source frequency, local support, tourist recognition, city-specificity, and cultural significance. The result: a ranking of the most unique city-specific dishes.
In Philadelphia, “the cheesesteak … defines the city’s entire culinary reputation internationally,” Harris wrote. The iconic sandwich with “shaved rib eye on a hoagie roll with Whiz, provolone, or American was invented by Pat Olivieri in South Philadelphia in 1930,” she continued. “Locals will tell you DiNic’s roast pork at Reading Terminal Market is actually the city’s best sandwich. That internal argument is part of what makes Philadelphia interesting.“
The cheesesteak is, for better or worse, depending on your point of view, No. 3 on The Inquirer’s 76 iconic Philly foods, with only one other sandwich — the hoagie — surpassing it. (Water ice was also rated above cheesesteaks on The Inquirer list.)
“The cheesesteak, much like the city in which it was invented, is a working-class sandwich,“ wrote Inquirer reporter Tommy Rowan. “Its rugged beauty is in its simplicity.“
The pulled pork at DiNic’s Roast Pork, Reading Terminal Market, Tuesday, September 26, 2018, in Philadelphia. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff PhotographerJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Guadalajara’s torta ahogada landed in first place, followed by the Viet-Cajun crawfish in Houston. Cabrito al pastor — young goat roasted over live coals — from Monterrey came in third; and the burnt ends — charred tips of a smoked brisket point — from Kansas was fourth.
And all the way in 15th place: New York pizza.
“New York ranks 15th not because its food is unremarkable, but because its most iconic dish has become the world’s most replicated food,” Harris wrote. “New York pizza is made everywhere from Tokyo to Nairobi. That is a consequence of the city’s cultural influence, not a failure of its food.”
But a great cheesesteak? Sorry, you have to come to Philly for that.
“It tastes like oil from a real cheesesteak wrapper,” proclaims the slogan of Mama-Tee’s Philly cheesesteak-flavored extra virgin olive oil.
Mama-Tees are community fridges, notable for their bright yellow paint jobs, that are scattered around Philadelphia. The cheesesteak oil ($19) is part of a fundraiser to combat food insecurity locally, along with three other flavored oils: Basil Bliss, Truffle Love, and Pepper Pleaser. Proceeds go to helping fill the fridges with food. So if the oil prompts cheesesteak-flavored burps, it would do so in the name of a noble cause.
We at The Inquirer had to do a taste test.
Is this merely a novelty or could it have legitimate culinary applications?
The ingredients of the Philly cheesesteak-flavored oil intriguingly are only “extra virgin olive oil” and “onion flavor.” How could these two ingredients, neither of which involves cheese nor steak, encompass the nuanced experience of consuming an actual cheesesteak? The Inquirer sought to get to the bottom of these questions.
“It smells like a deli case,” said food editor Margaret Eby. “There is a cheesiness to it. It’s like that cheese oil that gets trapped in a charred, upturned pepperoni cup on your pizza.”
“I think it should be called ‘hoagie oil,’” said food reporter Beatrice Forman.
“It is like unwrapping a hoagie,” agreed critic Craig LaBan. “When you get the vinaigrette soaking through the wrapper. And it tastes like French’s fried onions, but burnt.”
“I don’t know what it could be used for,” said food reporter Michael Klein.
“It tastes like old fryer oil,” grimaced reporter Ryan Briggs. “It’s gravitating toward capturing that cheesesteak shop smell when they’re frying all the onions.”
Reporter Max Marin poured the oil over his youtiao, a savory Chinese cruller, while at lunch at Lau Kee in Chinatown. “It’s got a chemical taste that makes me think there’s a number in one of its ingredients.” But does it make the youtiao taste like a cheesesteak? “It does not.”
Inquirer reporter Max Marin pours Mama-Tee’s Philly cheesesteak-flavored oil on his youtiao at Lau Kee.Kiki Aranita
Various Philly chefs were more open-minded in the cheesesteak oil’s applications.
“I think the flavor is great,” said Juan De Ocampo, sous chef at Fairmount’s Manong, as he poured the oil onto a pile of fried shrimp chips.
“I kind of like the cheesesteak oil,” said dancerobot’s Justin Bacharach. “It’s pungent and although I don’t cook with olive oil, I would use it to add a little funk and fat to a dish, like to dress an antipasto with South Philly vibes like sharp provolone and soppressata, and in the Japanese canon, I think it would be fun drizzled on top of a gyudon (beef and onions over rice) where you’d normally use mayu (a Japanese scorched black garlic oil).”
“It feels really heavy,” said Melissa Fernando, the chef behind long-running pop-up Sri’s Company. “In Sri Lankan food, we mostly use coconut oil to cook, but I suppose I’d use this to sauté onions and garlic.”
That perceived “heaviness” is easily addressed, according to 637 Sushi Club’s Kevin Yanaga, no stranger to unusual pairings. “I just need a lemon or something acidic with it. I could then use it on a fluke crudo. It’s rough and funky on its own, but salt and acid would help.”
After careful consideration of these diverse opinions, the Mama-Tee cheesesteak oil had only one test remaining to undergo: a side-by-side comparison between it and the oil from an actual cheesesteak wrapper.
A Del Rossi’s cheesesteak (wit onions, of course) was summoned. A wrapper was licked. A shot of cheesesteak oil was taken. The wrapper had the distinct advantage of beefiness. When applied directly to the cheesesteak, the oil oddly enhanced the cheesesteak’s flavor. And another thing the oil had in common with a real cheesesteak? Real cheesy, oniony burps after consumption.
A Del Rossi’s cheesesteak and Mama-Tee’s cheesesteak oil, consumed in unison.Kiki Aranita
Mama-Tee’s Philly cheesesteak oil ($19) can be purchased at Wegmans in King of Prussia, though more locations may be added soon.
“Philly needs to understand, New York is the king‚” Louis Cretella, the owner of Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead, told the tabloid.
The restaurant — which purportedly sells 2,500 cheesesteaks a week — is rebranding the sandwich as the “Philly SUCKS” cheesesteak for the duration of the series. For hard copy menus, Cretella reportedly instructed staff to scribble “F— Philly” in black marker over the item.
The online menu at Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead, NY. The Long Island restaurant is sold out of “Philly SUCKS” cheesesteaks.Scree
This is exactly the sort of over-the-top behavior expected from the bridge-and-tunnel crowd. Y’all want to prove you’re NYC tough so badly that you forget how to act.
Still, the whole gimmick raises a couple of questions: Why are you bragging about selling Philly’s signature sandwich if you hate us so much? And is your ego really that fragile?
Other New York City area restaurants have joined in. At Birdie Bar in Northport, it’s now the Big Apple Cheesesteak. At G’s Cheesesteaks in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, their entire livelihood now revolves around whatever a New York Knicks cheesesteak is.
And at Wogies — a traitorous Philadelphia-themed bar with locations in the Financial District and the West Village — it’s now called the Appendix Burster. It’s an homage to the appendectomy that kept Joel Embiid out of the first three games of the Sixers’ playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
To this, I say: Our culture is not your costume.
A sad-looking Philly cheesesteak from Wogies in FiDi, 44 Trinity Place, New York City.Michael Klein / Staff
Perhaps this is all just an eye for an eye. Still, this trend smacks of one thing: fear.
“We just sat around, and all of a sudden we see the word ‘Philly’ there, and we’re like, ‘ugh!’ Teeth are grinding, and we didn’t want anything Philly. That’s weak,” Lure Group CEO Aristotle “Telly” Hatzigeorgiou told the New York Post. At the restaurant group’s lounge Slate and bar Clinton Hall, “Knicks” has been added to the front of each establishment’s cheesesteak empanadas and sliders, respectively.
What’s weak is the mere mention of a city making your teeth grind. Might as well just stand on business and pull cheesesteaks from your menu entirely at this point.
After all, it’s not like Philly restaurants are wiping the words “New York” from our menu — mostly because we have no need. You don’t see people lining up at Pat’s or Geno’s and demanding a chopped cheese. There’s plenty of hoagies and real cheesesteaks to go around.
Still, if erasing the word “Philly” is what it takes for Jalen Brunson to actually play to his potential, go for it. Cope harder.
