Meat and cheese

On a recent Saturday, I witnessed the “Wedding of Jill and Dianna” performance at the Nada Dada Motel. The wedding bore heavy overtones of humor and violence, united around the love of two women blissfully joining two forms of artistic expression—the visual and performance arts. Afterward, my wife, Kat, and I celebrated a more understated coupling—the wedding of meat and cheese. Happy as they may be, Jill and Dianna will face some challenges. However, meat and cheese have seen it all and are so much stronger for each trial.

The wedding left me confused, but the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Co. made it very easy. We only had to work out two things: how much meat we wanted, and what kind of cheese we wanted on that meat. Kat was a little modest, but the gist of my response was, “I’d like lots of meat and the same vibrant orange cheese covering the sandwiches, hands, and faces of the couple in the corner.” The very pleasant owner working the counter was happy to comply.

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Co. occupies a tidy little building on Pyramid Way just south of North McCarran Boulevard. As a testament to the tidiness, one of the owners spotted a single cheese smear on a garbage can lid and was prompted to clean nearly the entire receptacle. I can’t imagine the time it must take keeping all that cheese off the tables, floor and ceiling, but such attention to detail shouldn’t go unnoticed.

In addition to cheesesteaks, the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Co. serves an array of fried side orders, as well as sandwiches, like the meatball, marinara and provolone ($6.50) and the hot ham and cheddar ($6.50). Both come with fries. Sticking with the namesake of the restaurant, we ordered cheesesteaks and a hot pretzel with cheese ($2.50). I chose the 8-inch Philly special ($6.69), which comes with pepperoni and grilled onions. Kat ordered the 6-inch works ($6.69), which comes with grilled bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. The final choice is whether you want Cheese Whiz, provolone, Swiss or pepper Jack to top the cheesesteak. We both went with Cheese Whiz.

I was pretty hungry when I sat down to eat, but there was no way I could finish my cheesesteak. It was just too much bread, cheese and meat for me. Aside from the pepperoni, which I didn’t find that appealing, everything else seemed just fine. The white roll was fresh and slightly sweet, the meat wasn’t gristly, and the grilled vegetables were all there. However, I couldn’t discern any flavors apart from the cheese. I’m not complaining here. After all, Cheese Whiz is an incredibly comforting processed food product, which I haven’t enjoyed in years, but you know what you’re getting yourself into.

This extends to everyone ordering their cheesesteaks at the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Co.’s drive-through window. I could hear the owner thoughtfully asking patrons if they planned to eat at home or in their cars because he would package the food accordingly. For the sake of your car’s interior and the well-being of everyone else on the road, don’t eat cheesesteaks and drive.

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Co. is not a place for first dates. It is however a perfect place for second dates, married couples and anyone with a nasty hangover. If you don’t mind watching your wife drizzle cheese down the front of her blouse, or if your new love interest will lick her napkin before reaching across the table to dab at a glop of cheese clinging to your beard, then you have a relationship worth nurturing. Just make sure to thank the staff at the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Co. for their thoughtful clean-up role.