Cheesesteaks are Philadelphian icon , and like all great iconic foods, they have it all: There's the long-standing rivalry, the storied history, the faithful fans who insist their way is the best way, and of course, the varieties. Over the years, there have been any number of changes made to this incredible sandwich, including one regional cheesesteak variety that features tomato sauce . For Philly cheesesteaks, its semi-eponymous cheese is one of those key ingredients that can be swapped out, replaced, and upgraded to add some variety to the typical sandwich.
In some cases, a cheesy swap can add so much that it quickly steps up to become a fan favorite. Anthony Bourdain's favorite cheesesteak wasn't even from Philadelphia, and he cited the use of American cheese as one of the reasons Donkey's in New Jersey was serving up the very best ..
. at least, as far as he was concerned. But that definitely wasn't the OG cheese.
So what was? In 2024, Philadelphia magazine spoke with all those in-the-know when it came to the history of cheesesteaks. That included Frank Olivieri, whose great-uncle is cheesesteak creator Pat Olivieri. As Pat explained: "The first cheese was a provolone cheese.
We had a manager named Joe Lorenza [who] was the first person to put cheese on the sandwich." More recently, though, there's another cheese that reigns supreme. What cheese was the first, and what comes out on top? There's plenty of discussion when it comes time to talk about what the best meat for a.
