incomplete trifecta or the eye of the tiger

we walked off the food coma and pretty soon, we could see downtown (not sure if that's what it really was). you see, we needed to burn off some calories for the grueling challenge ahead.

first stop was village whiskey, which specialized in...take a wild guess. i'm not a big whiskey drinker nor am I much of a drinker in general although I try to hold my own...which isn't much. we were here to check out some of their food though.

duck fat french fries with sly fox cheddar sauce. this is america baby...we don't hold back on nuthin! i have no doubt in my mind that this dish was specifically made to spite vegetarians and vegans. i didn't think too much of these though...they were good, but nowhere near the orgasmic taste i thought i would experience.

their beautiful village burger, weighing in at 8 0z and accompanied by boston bibb, tomato, and house made thousand island dressing on a sesame roll. a while ago, there's been a rise of places serving gourmet hamburgers...i guess it's not just california. it was a good, perfectly cooked burger ( i liked that it came out piping hot), but it was underseasoned (it could have used more salt imo). if we had added cheese, this would have been better. regardless, all this was just a warmup for the main event/the only reason why we had bothered to come all the way out to philly : the cheesesteaks (kidding cousin J haha =p )

when you see flashing lights and people shotgunning beers in their party buses, all of which are reminiscent of vegas, you know you have arrived at Geno's. The menu is pretty simple. I can remember several years back my cousin patiently coached me on the linguistics of ordering a cheesesteak as I nervously stood in line at Pat's, afraid I'd blow it and be booted to the back of the long line as the Philly locals would jeer and sneer at "this damn California kid tourist." But today was a different day. I had my lucky rocketpants underwear on and nothing was gonna get between me and my steak. I approached the window with swagger and confidently said "cheesesteak with wiz" (cheesesteak with onions and cheese whiz).

The thought of some canned cheese goop wasn't appetizing in the least, but I found that this was actually pretty tasty. Thinly sliced rib eye steak, grilled onions and cheese along with the chewiness of that bread...so good. Despite the long lines, I think we waited less than 20 minutes before ordering.

We decided to skip Pat's this time, the local contender down the street, and check out Jim's. This size and wait of the line rivaled that of Disneyland's Space Mountain but at least we got to stare at the food being prepared.

But patience is a virtue little child, and we were soon rewarded. I got the cheesesteak with sweet peppers, onions, and provolone. The biggest difference between the two places was that Jim's chops up their steak, so on your first bite, you initially get a burst of the steak's juices, then as you chew, it gets kinda dry.

Luckily, I had this to solve the drought. Drink local! lol...(damn someone please shoot me for using that word)

If we had gotten Pat's, we would have completed the holy trinity (although like any religion, this is highly debatable) and have been awarded three wishes by the gods themselves. Unfortunately, this did not happen. What did happen was that our bellies burst from the pure unadulterated gluttony that took place that evening as we arrived home moaning and feigning disgust when in actuality what we really felt was a deep rooted pride that we were mother******* champions!

Needless to say, after almost a week of eating heavy food to the point of wanting to vomit, I had my only healthy meal for the trip the next morning and probably the only time I had fresh fruit. Thanks J for making the salad and your hospitality and thanks J 2 for driving us around! OC taco crawl next time you two come to cali.