I can't quite figure out Esquire magazine. A typical issue contains about fifty pages of excellent prose on topics of interest to men - careers, leisure activities, entertainment, transportation toys (cars, motorcycles, and boats), Kate Beckinsale. A typical issue also contains about forty pages of ads featuring pretty boys in crazy/trendy clothing in which no regular guy would be caught dead, and another forty pages of articles on how to look like a pretty boy and where to buy that crazy/trendy clothing.
Thanks to pressure from the Internet, subscriptions to print magazines are dirt cheap now. $8 for a year's subscription to Esquire, for example. And this month's issue features a 14-page article on a topic near and dear to my heart: sandwiches. Fourteen pages of sandwich recipes, sandwich-shop reviews, amusing sandwich-related anecdotes, and even beautifully-shot full-color photographs of sandwiches. I can't imagine the metrosexual types who read Esquire's fashion pages being the least bit interested in where to find a good cheesesteak sandwich. Mayonnaise can be very hard to get out of a good silk cravat, I hear.
I'm probably not representative of the typical Esquire reader. I wear $18 jeans and change my own motor oil. However, I am very interested in a good cheesesteak sandwich, which brought me to Benny's Cheesesteaks in the Kroger shopping center on Perimeter Drive — not once, but twice, so I could give you the lowdown.
On my first visit, I ordered the original cheesesteak combo with onion rings. No frills - just chopped ribeye steak, grilled onions, and your choice of cheese. Optional toppings include lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, jalapenos, and mayo. I skipped these toppings to better judge the staple ingredients.
I'm happy to report that the sandwich was excellent. The beef was tender and flavorful, the cheese melted to perfection, the onions strong but not overpowering. Where Benny's really shines is the bun, or more properly, the Italian loaf. Several signs proclaim that Benny's uses Amoroso hearth-baked bread and rolls. Apparently Amoroso's is well-known in Philly, which means little to a Midwesterner like me. The loaf was soft and warm on the inside, with an appropriately crisp crust on the outside. Great stuff.
The onion rings were a little disappointing. The batter was nearly perfect, but the rings themselves were chewy and prone to sliding out of the batter and ending up in one's lap. Be mindful, or you'll soil your $200 chinos ("Khaki is a color, chinos are pants," Esquire admonishes.)
The restaurant itself is pleasant enough for a strip-mall eatery. Seating was plentiful, and one wall featured a lithograph of the Founding Fathers, a photo of the Liberty Bell, and a copy of the Declaration of Independence. It's noisy, though - the constant "ching ching ching ching" of the cook chopping steak can overpower ordinary conversation. Maybe yelling to be heard by your lunch mates is an authentic part of the Philadelphia sandwich experience.
That was last Thursday. Today, I found myself craving yet another Benny's sandwich. As Ray Parker Jr. says, "I shoulda never gone back, I know, but I had to have just a little bit mo'." Today I tried the BBQ City sandwich with fries. The meat, cheese, and Italian loaf were excellent again, proving last week was no fluke, and the addition of the barbecue sauce makes a very good sandwich even better. The fries were considerably better than the onion rings - crinkle fries cooked to a perfect crisp. No soggy crinkle fries at Benny's.
Benny's isn't expensive. My first visit was just over $8; my second, just over $7...or about the same as a year's subscription to Esquire. Both are a good value. On the other hand, if I ever spend $200 on a pair of "chinos" as Esquire recommends, please hunt me down and kick my ass on general principles.
No comments:
Post a Comment