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cali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 07:42 AM
Original message
Tea Party Mourns Death of Philly Cheesesteak Legend


Published August 24, 2011


The Tea Party is mourning the death of Philadelphia cheesesteak magnate Joey Vento, who over the past few years had earned a national reputation for his outspoken views on illegal immigration and other issues.

Vento, the founder of the famed Geno's Steaks, died Tuesday from a heart attack. He was 71.

The Independence Hall Tea Party Association released a statement describing him as a "great friend of the conservative cause and the Tea Party movement."

"Joey Vento was, and will always be, an inspiration to the cause of freedom and liberty," association President Teri Adams said.

<snip>

:rofl:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/24/tea-party-mourns-death-philly-cheesesteak-legend/
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 07:43 AM
Response to Original message
1. Anyway, Pat's are better.
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GoneOffShore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 07:44 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Paesano's sandwiches are better still - not the classic cheesesteak though.
Dallesandro's if you want the real thing.
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Orrex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 07:50 AM
Response to Reply #2
4. I've found that if you ask 10 Philly natives to define a real cheesesteak, you'll get 30 answers
And if you enlarge the question to encompass the sandwich world beyond, well, then all bets are off.
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msanthrope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 07:55 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. Tony Luke's, and I'm ready to fight to the death over the Pork Italian! n/t
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GoneOffShore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:08 AM
Response to Reply #5
12. Tony definitely makes a good sandwich.
The pork with the Provolone and broccoli rabe? Fugeddabout da others!
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msanthrope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:39 AM
Response to Reply #12
27. Oh, yeah...the broccoli rape. It's great. I get very sad when sometimes,
either because of nature, or supply, they have to offer spinach. I've found that a mix of collard, mustard greens, and kale makes a better substitute.
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GoneOffShore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:52 AM
Response to Reply #27
29. That's a good combo - Swiss chard also works -
And do you know you can saute carrot greens? With garlic. You have to really blanch them well first - otherwise they're totally stringy.
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msanthrope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 10:30 AM
Response to Reply #29
30. Chard is good. Dandelion and escarole even better. I make minest with them.
Never had a carrot green. Might try it, thanks for the tip about the blanching.
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EOTE Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 10:42 AM
Response to Reply #27
33. Broccoli rape? That sounds painful.
Please tell me where this place is so I can make sure to never go there.
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JoePhilly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:11 AM
Response to Reply #4
14. I grew in Philly, and I can say that you are 100% correct.
One of the most critical parts of the Philly cheese steak experience is the rolls .... and, at least when I lived there, most of the best steak places used D'Ambrosio rolls.

I find that as I travel the country, other cheese steak places fail because their rolls just can't handle a cheese steak. They think that a cheese steak is just meat and cheese, and they ignore the quality of the roll.

D'Ambrosio rolls have a distinctive taste, and they don't get too soggy and fall apart.

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GoneOffShore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:13 AM
Response to Reply #14
16. The roll is indeed crucial.
If a sandwich place doesn't empty D'Ambrosio boxes stacked up by the back door, then the cheese steaks aren't so good.
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JoePhilly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:33 AM
Response to Reply #16
25. Thanks ... and you are right about the boxes.
Lots of the steak places used those as take out boxes.

I also remember the D'Ambrosio delivery trucks. They seemed to be everywhere.
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Voltaire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:16 AM
Response to Reply #14
17. This transplanted Philadelphia agrees with you
The roll is everything. And here in Indianapolis you cannot find the proper roll anywhere; every so often I have to order from Amoroso's in Philly if I want to make a proper cheesesteak. All the different concoctions served all over the country that they call cheesesteak....INCORRECT.
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JoePhilly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:31 AM
Response to Reply #17
23. Thanks for the confirmation.
Edited on Wed Aug-24-11 09:31 AM by JoePhilly
When I try a cheese steak anywhere else, I usually end up telling them that they need to get D'Ambrosio rolls.
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msanthrope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #14
28. You are correct--the roll is integral, and forgotten outside of Philly.
Liscio's and Sarcone's both make good rolls.
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Mugweed Donating Member (939 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 07:45 AM
Response to Original message
3. He will be buried in a large hoagie roll,
smothered in chopped onions, mushrooms, and green peppers, then coated with Cheese Whiz before being wrapped in aluminum foil.
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Ineeda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 08:03 AM
Response to Original message
6. His 'English only" stance was so ironic
as he, just like all of us except Native Americans, came from immigrant stock.
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Raschel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:03 AM
Response to Reply #6
11. I don't understand why some Italians are so prejudiced, especially against Black people, since they
endured plenty of bigotry when they came over.
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GoneOffShore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:11 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. Not just when they came over - WW2 we interned Italians.
Look up 'Prisoners Among Us' a documentary by Michael DiLauro.
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Ineeda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:20 AM
Response to Reply #11
20. I think it's the same for many ethnic groups,
Edited on Wed Aug-24-11 09:21 AM by Ineeda
not just Italians. You can't get more prejudiced than Irish-Americans, from my experience. Maybe because of the struggles they went though dealing with bigotry, they think it's the "new kid" on the block's turn. I wonder if Joey had any Middle Eastern customers.

edited for typo.
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proud2BlibKansan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 08:05 AM
Response to Original message
7. Freedom and liberty for whom??
May he be free to rot.
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Iggo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:12 AM
Response to Reply #7
15. For people who think speaking only one language makes them better than people who speak two. (n/t)
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pintobean Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 08:06 AM
Response to Original message
8. That's about as funny as a heart attack.
:eyes:
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hifiguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 08:56 AM
Response to Original message
9. I worked in Philly for a few months
The locals told me that the tourists went to Pat's and Geno's but that the locals went to Tony Luke's. Tried em all and perfectly understand why the locals go to TL's. :9
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Voltaire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:17 AM
Response to Reply #9
18. Funny you mention that
My brother calls Pat's and Geno's steaks, "Tourist Steaks"
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msanthrope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 10:33 AM
Response to Reply #18
31. Well, they tend to stay for the long weekend and leave in a hurry....
They ain't good for the digestion...
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MarianJack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:01 AM
Response to Original message
10. When I was living in down there,...
Edited on Wed Aug-24-11 09:03 AM by MarianJack
...which I did for the first 47 years of my life, the best Cheese Steaks I had came from a little greasy spoon deli on woodland ave in the 6400 block in Southwest Philly. Tony Luke's is also very good. BIG sandwiches if I remember right.

I thought that Jim's was ok, and I never ate @ Geno's. If I had, I'd have stopped after he started to express his racist views.

PEACE!
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NCarolinawoman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:27 AM
Response to Reply #10
21. I think I ate there when I was a VISTA volunteer, ever so long ago.
:-)
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MarianJack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-11 07:50 AM
Response to Reply #21
38. As they said in the 80s,...
...Cool Beans! :patriot:

PEACE!
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JVS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:18 AM
Response to Original message
19. I wonder if St. Peter has an Aramaic only sign posted. If so, Joe's fucked.
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JoePhilly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:28 AM
Response to Original message
22. Here is the REALLY HILAROIUS part of this whole story ....
Everyone knows that this nut was outspoken on illegal immigration ... and specifically that he put up signs demanding that you order in English.

And everyone also knows he comes from an immigrant background, which makes his stance pretty ironic.

But its funnier than that.

I grew up in Philly and I probably went to every cheese place steak in a 40 mile radius, including Genos.

And when I was growing up there, the Italian American community was extremely proud of its Italian heritage. It was very common for my Italian America friends to have one or two grandparents living with them, and for those grandparents to be "straight from the old country" ... and they spoke ZERO English. Those grandparents could go to any local store and speak Italian, and get service.

Many of my Italian American friends learned Italian so they could talk to their grandparents. And this ability to speak Italian was a real badge of honor. It made you a "real Italian". Italian Americans who didn't speak english were mocked by those Italian Americans who did speak Italian.

So with that as background ... if you went to Geno's, and you ordered in Italian, you would be treated like a long lost relative. They LOVED it when people came in and spoke and ordered in Italian ... it made their day! All my friends would do it. And each time, the place would erupt into Italian. It became Italy.

And I'll bet ... if you went into Geno's today, or last week, or at anytime while those "order in English" signs were up, and ordered in Italian ... you'd get the same "long lost relative" treatment.

I laugh about this every time I hear Geno's mentioned.
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Blue_Tires Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #22
35. that was something I long suspected...
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Ganja Ninja Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:32 AM
Response to Original message
24. Geno's uses the nasty liquid cheese like you get on nachos at 7-11.
For me that's all I need to know. It's probably what killed Geno.
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EOTE Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 10:46 AM
Response to Reply #24
34. That's what makes it a real cheesesteak.
In many places in Philly, asking for provolone on your cheesesteak is likely to elicit harsh stares at best and shanking at worst. I typically avoid day-glo cheese at all costs, but for some reason it seems to go best with a cheesesteak.
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hifiguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #34
36. Weird but true
When I spent a few months in Philly - as noted above - my friends there asked me if I liked fried onions. I said yes, and they told me to ask for my sandwich "wit' and Wiz" if I wanted the true cheesesteak experience. I took their advice, much to my benefit.
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EOTE Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 12:12 PM
Response to Reply #36
37. "Wit and wiz", the only way to go IMO.
Actually, if the rest of the stuff is good, I wouldn't mind forgoing the whiz in favor of another cheese, but it's just not the same. I used to be a bit of a cheese snob, but then I realized that every cheese has its place. I remember watching an episode of The Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" where one of the chefs on the show was talking about a crab and cheese entree he had that he's absolutely crazy for. He was asked what type of cheese topped his dish and he said something to the effect that he wasn't sure, but he was sure it was a combination of rare and exotic cheeses that melted just perfectly along with the crab. When he was informed that the cheese used on his dish was plain ol' American cheese, he was apoplectic. The truth is, there are some things that just go well with processed/American cheeses. As Hank Hill once said "Nobody makes cheese like the Americans".
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LynneSin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 09:35 AM
Response to Original message
26. This is the guy that for the longest time had a photo of him and Bill Clinton over the ordering area
But honestly, I quit going to Geno's after he started serving freedom fries.

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Initech Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-11 10:35 AM
Response to Original message
32. I love the people who want to restrict others' rights then brag about the land of the free.
Oh the irony!!!
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Erose999 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-11 08:01 AM
Response to Original message
39. Which one was it that Palin went to during the '08 campaign? Same guy?
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