Gennaro's

Great food and service without the center city prices

I tell everyone I know visiting Philly to go to Gennaro's. The best out there.

I'm a New Yorker by birth, but I've eaten at all of the Philly Cheese Steak locations that are famous. Used to work for some Philly boys. I got turned onto this one by a client who I was shooting some pictures for in the City of Brotherly Love. And man, talk about love. I haven't had the pizza, but it is the cheese steak that beats all of the more famous ones. It's a hole in the wall next to Jims or Pat's, and anywhere else, they would be the definitions of holes in the wall. But once you bit into one of Gennaro's sandwiches, you'll remember its name better than the one-syllable wonders out there.

I grew up in Philly, but left in 1976 at the age of 6. One thing that has always stuck with me was the taste of a good cheesesteak. I live in the Hampton Roads area of VA and a few places don't even come close. They all are a bunch of fakes. Gennaro's used white american cheese, not yellow or provolone. That cheesesteak's roll was toasted on top of the steak,cheese, and onions just the way I like it. My uncle from NJ took me there and all I got was a block of steak, cheese wiz, a ketchup pump, and a few packs of mayonaise. Save that for the tourist who don't know any better. Gennaro's cheesesteak was hot, greasy, and half as long as my arm- perfect. Back on my anniversary in March 08, a couple of worker at the Chester casino told me to go to Broad and hang a right on South 12th. It was so good, I saved their address and number in my phone. When I head back up North I know where to go - Gennaro's

Hey! I happened to be Wilmimgton, DE on Sunday and decided to drive over to Philly Monday morning to scope out this place. It was recommended to me by the jazz bassist Christian McBride who is currently on tour with the Pat Metheny Trio (ok, I had to give them a plug :) Anyway,the manager there is named Mike and he took really good care of me. These guys know the true Philly way of making a cheesesteak. The tourist places like Pat's and Geno's use the slice method which is ok,but not great,and if you're like me, you want the BEST :) Right? This little nook of a shop uses the ''chopping'' method in the preparation of the steak which makes a huge difference in taste. Plus, they gently toast the bread just before placing the meat in it to wake up the flavors of a genuine freshly baked Italian roll. Go there and tell Mike to hook you up and I guarantee that you'll be like me and get another one to go! I'll definitely being stopping by next time I'm heading south to Savannah, Georgia.

Just to get these cheesesteaks! Been hooked since '97!