And the cheesesteak.
People living in the Delaware Valley love a good cheesesteak, wit or wit out the gooey Cheese Whiz slathered on the grilled paper thin rib eye. In fact, there are many derivations of the classic, each vying for acclaim. So why not hold a festival and give everyone an opportunity to decide which one is their favorite?
That's exactly what occurred last Saturday at the 1st ever Cheesesteak Festival held in the tailgaters' parking lot of Lincoln Financial Field in the South Philly Sports Complex. 58 vendors set up shop, rolling in with food trucks and portable grills to cook up their version of the classic sandwich. Porkroll, brisket, jerk, Reuben, Greek feta, mac & cheese...you name it, they were all there. Even things like cheesesteak egg rolls, pierogies, pretzels, nachos and quesadillas were there to sample.
It was an overwhelming success. Perhaps a little too overwhelming. 25,000 tickets were sold on-line in advance. The event was sold out. And everyone showed up. Parking at $20 a car was a nightmare. It took some folks over an hour just to get into the lot, putting them behind all the other thousands who waited patiently to show their $20 admission ticket and get in the gate at 11am. But that wait seemed tolerable in comparison to standing in long lines waiting to exchange a $2 food voucher ticket for a small bite of cheesesteak sample.
Those lines snaked for over 2 hours in some cases. People who came enthused ended up leaving disgusted and disappointed. One person was kind with his on-line comment, "...it was a great idea poorly executed."
Those lines snaked for over 2 hours in some cases. People who came enthused ended up leaving disgusted and disappointed. One person was kind with his on-line comment, "...it was a great idea poorly executed."
It was just too much love all in one place.
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