| rev:text
| - In the worst of times people often think of the best of times. Rex is no exception. Gather around kids and let Uncle Rex tell you a story...when Rex was a small child he spent many a month on the East Coast. It was a magical time. My father, who beat young Rex mercilessly if Rex called him anything but "The Future Husband of the Multi Talented Pia Zadora", was originally from the Northeast. My father was an odd man, a brutal man, a man with big dreams and small child like hands. On my fifth birthday he brought Rex with him as he knocked over a 7-11. As Rex helped him tie up the store clerk he let me pick any one thing Rex wanted in the store. Young Rex wandered around the store, trying very hard to not step in the pools of blood, Rex saw the object he wanted...Rex turned and said "Future Husband of the Multi Talented Pia Zadora can Rex have THAT?" He nodded. Rex kicked the 87 year old man laying on some of it...and picked it up. It was a bag with a delicious cheesesteak in it. Rex danced. Rex smiled. Rex took the wallet of a crying soccer dad. Rex was happy. Rex and Future Husband of the Multi Talented Pia Zadora drove down the street, the sound of sirens in the distance fading...the smell of the cheesesteak wafting into Rex's young nasal passages. A great cheesesteak is a gift from above. A wallet filled with 20 dollar bills and an unused condom...icing on the cake. After we divided the ill gotten booty, Future Husband of the Multi Talented Pia Zadora always took 70% (until I turned 9...but that is another story)...Rex ate his cheesesteak. Perfect bread. Juicy shredded meat. Perfectly cooked onions. The right amount of whiz. Juice ran down Rex's chin. Juice ran down Rex's hands. Rex shook in delight. That memory, and the 8 months Rex spent on the run after Future Husband of the Multi Talented Pia Zadora ratted him out...will always be with him.
Pops Philly Cheesesteak is not only an insult to that memory it is an insult to all things with meat, cheese, bread or even hot foods. The front page of the their website has a picture of their pitiful attempt of a cheeesteak...one of one of their abominations has green pepper on it. GREEN PEPPER!! Let me explain something to all of you who are not from Philly...IF there was a place in Philadelphia that put green bell peppers on their cheeseteak...THE CITIZENS WOULD BURN IT DOWN!!! It is ABSOLUTLEY 100% NOT ALLOWED IN ANY PLACE IN PHILADELPHIA!! Even if asked they WILL NOT DO IT! So, first and foremost this is NOT A PHILLY CHEESESTEAK PLACE!!! IT IS NOT! END OF STORY!
Apologies. Rex passed out and needed a shot of "Happy Serum" to get up right again...what is "Happy Serum" you ask...heathen...it is 1 part gasoline, 1 part peach schnapps, 1 part wiper fluid.
Anyway, now that we have established this is not a Philly cheesesteak, let's talk about it from a cheesesteak on it's own merits. First, the rolls are good, the sad part is you can tell the bread is shipped frozen or frozen after it gets to Pops. Big mistake. It really messes with the bread. It isn't bad, but again it isn't East Coast good. Cheese...never enough. Never. If you get provolone instead of whiz it is almost non-existent. Shame on you for skimping on the cheese. The Whiz isn't bad sometimes but more often than not there isn't enough. The meat isn't bad. It is done well, with one BIG problem...it is often dry. Not enough oil or cooked and then recooked, whatever the reason it is not great. If you get to Pops on the right day and get lucky, and order correctly, it isn't bad...but the overall consistency is not there.
Lastly...the "Philly" part of the menu...the Tastycakes, the birch beer, the rest of it...all WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! At Glaziers Market you can get all the stuff for 1/5th of the price.
Here is my biggest problem...Pop's plays on East Coast memories and locals who don't know any better. That is the biggest crime. It isn't Philly. It isn't a great cheesesteak. It is over priced. It is inconsistent. It just isn't right. It just isn't good. Most of you will never know better unless you go back east (and my next review for Pizza will tell you how to find GREAT east coast food), and they KNOW you don't know. Pop's has been a place I have tried off and on for almost 8 years. Rex wants to love it. Rex needs to keep trying every 2 years or so...but much like when his father turned him into the cops at the tender age of 5...Rex is always hurt by Pops. Future Husband of the Multi Talented Pia Zadora and Pops...shame on you...you know better. Rex knows better. Rex deserves better. So does everyone else.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)