gotta keep the readers coming back and everyone else happy...

[Exile on Market Street]

Just had an interesting experience that gave me some insight on the politics
of "Best of..." awards.

Within the past couple of weeks, I tried cheesesteaks from two South Philly
emporia, one of which did well in this year's _Philadelphia_ magazine "Best
of Philly" cheesesteak marathon and one of which is an inductee into the
Best of Philly Hall of Fame--but for its roast pork sandwiches, not for its
cheesteak.

With no disrespect meant to the good people at Cosmi's Deli, there just
wasn't any comparison between their sandwich and those served at Tony
Luke's.

Maybe this wasn't completely fair--after all, I ordered my Tony Luke's
sandwich with sharp provolone, which most local shops don't offer at all,
while the Cosmi's sandwich was the traditional American-cheese variety.

But the Tony Luke's sandwich had better meat, and more of it, on a toothsome
roll somewhat larger than the Cosmi's roll.

However: Since most cheesesteak places serve a product that is consistent
from year to year, if the magazine editors didn't allow some other
establishments to rotate through the winner's list, people would soon find
no reason to pick up the magazine to find out who got Best Cheesesteak that
year.

[bebopper]

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 05:16:53 GMT, "Exile on Market Street"

Post by Exile on Market Street
Just had an interesting experience that gave me some insight on the politics
of "Best of..." awards.

<snip>

Post by Exile on Market Street
However: Since most cheesesteak places serve a product that is consistent
from year to year, if the magazine editors didn't allow some other
establishments to rotate through the winner's list, people would soon find
no reason to pick up the magazine to find out who got Best Cheesesteak that
year.

A cheesesteak is an elusive beast. Not everybody gets rolls
shipped in fresh each day. I know of several joints where rolls can
go from sublime to crappy depending on when I happen to stop in.

Also, time of day can have a lot to do with it. Typically, I
see made-to-order steaks fashioned with portion-controlled meat peeled
off a sliver of wax paper. A Jim's or D'Allesandro's depends on the
hand of the guy working the grill. Also, at both those places, peak
periods necessitate backing up pretty big piles of meat on the grill.
Consequently, it becomes steamed and grey and tough.

We've been down the cheesesteak path so many times on this NG
I'm not sure anything has not been said already.

- bebopper

[百厭星]

Post by Exile on Market Street
Just had an interesting experience that gave me some insight on the politics
of "Best of..." awards.
Within the past couple of weeks, I tried cheesesteaks from two South Philly
emporia, one of which did well in this year's _Philadelphia_ magazine "Best
of Philly" cheesesteak marathon and one of which is an inductee into the
Best of Philly Hall of Fame--but for its roast pork sandwiches, not for its
cheesteak.
With no disrespect meant to the good people at Cosmi's Deli, there just
wasn't any comparison between their sandwich and those served at Tony
Luke's.
Maybe this wasn't completely fair--after all, I ordered my Tony Luke's
sandwich with sharp provolone, which most local shops don't offer at all,
while the Cosmi's sandwich was the traditional American-cheese variety.
But the Tony Luke's sandwich had better meat, and more of it, on a toothsome
roll somewhat larger than the Cosmi's roll.
However: Since most cheesesteak places serve a product that is consistent
from year to year, if the magazine editors didn't allow some other
establishments to rotate through the winner's list, people would soon find
no reason to pick up the magazine to find out who got Best Cheesesteak that
year.

I was told, but I am not positive about this is that the best of the year award
hosted
by some local publications is no more than a marketing ploy to attract
advertisers.
In fact, it is one of the points repeatedly re-iterated by the ad salesman when
soliciting
advertising from restaurants that they are eligible to participate in the Best
of the Year,
Best of Philadelphia, Readers' choice awards etc. (My sister had this kind of
experience
when she ran a restaurant) Only if the restaurants advertise in the publications
that they
are eligible to participate in the year end Sweepstake.

Naturally, if a restaurant pulls out its advertising, in the next year's
sweepstake, the award
winner will automatically go to another establishment. Also, to maximize
advertisers'
loyalty, there is a strong incentive for the publication to rotate the award
winner each year
so each restaurant will have a chance to win a plaque for something to be
displayed at their
store front.

[bebopper]

Post by 百厭星
I was told, but I am not positive about this is that the best of the year award
hosted
by some local publications is no more than a marketing ploy to attract
advertisers.
In fact, it is one of the points repeatedly re-iterated by the ad salesman when
soliciting
advertising from restaurants that they are eligible to participate in the Best
of the Year,
Best of Philadelphia, Readers' choice awards etc. (My sister had this kind of
experience
when she ran a restaurant) Only if the restaurants advertise in the publications
that they
are eligible to participate in the year end Sweepstake.
Naturally, if a restaurant pulls out its advertising, in the next year's
sweepstake, the award
winner will automatically go to another establishment. Also, to maximize
advertisers'
loyalty, there is a strong incentive for the publication to rotate the award
winner each year
so each restaurant will have a chance to win a plaque for something to be
displayed at their
store front.

I have not seen many of the "Best of Philly" winner advertise
in Philadelphia Magazine. I'm not sure Natalie's Lounge, for example,
is looking to attract that kind of clientele <g>.

Seriously, not many cheesesteak parlors can afford (or need
to) buy their publicity. Sure a place like John's Roast Pork got a
huge windfall for a few weeks when LaBan and his lost boys gave it the
thumbs up. Still, I haven't seen them take out a half-page in the Inky
since the business dropped back to normal ..

I'd never tried a cheesesteak there before, and I probably would have
like it a whole lot better had I not been inclined to scarf down an
extra wet pork with provolone before tasting it ...

Bottom line is, trust nobody else's opinion on cheesesteaks.
Cheesesteaks are cheap, so try them all, and make up your own mind !!!

BTW, if you don't want to follow my advice, and find yourself
on the Main Line, Dakota Pizza (which Philly Mag rated 4.5) is pretty
good. A caveat : Like all Pizza places, if you order yours with
sauce, they will inevitably dub it a Pizza Steak and toast the roll.
DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN !! Dakota's rolls are studded with sesame
seeds, and are chewy and delicious on their own. Once toasted,
however, they lose their pliant nature, and can no longer flex to
accommodate the meat, cheese and sauce. Squeezing the sammy causes a
"toothpaste tube" effect where all the insides will end up somewhere
else. Don't say I didn't warn you ...

- bebopper