Am I the only one who finds the thought of this particular concoction revolting? To each his own as far as taste for food goes but I honestly can not fathom why anyone would want a meat-filled pretzel. Then again people eat fish heads so this isn’t the worst thing ever. Still……

http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/93923134.html?cmpid=15585797

Cheesesteak Pretzel makes official debut today

By Peter Mucha

Inquirer Staff Writer
The marriage of two of Philadelphia’s favorite foodstuffs was celebrated today with a lunchtime giveaway at Love Park.

Meet the Cheesesteak Pretzel: a handheld cheesesteak baked inside soft-pretzel dough.

More than 700 were handed out, to mostly positive reviews.

“This stuff is good,” said Jermaine Bernard, 33, finishing his first while in line to get a second. The visitor from Los Angeles hoped to try for a third as well.

“Not two thumbs up, but one thumb up,” said actuary Derek Eyler, 25, of Abington.

“I would like maybe a little bit more cheese,” said real estate manager Mandy Davis, 27, of Center City. While a regular cheesesteak can be a meal, the Cheesesteak Pretzel, she said, was “more snack appropriate.”

“It’s kind of a strange combination,” said victim advocate Kourtney Burris, 24, of South Philadelphia. “It’s straight-up Philly, that’s what it is.”

The folks at the Philly Pretzel Factory introduced the Cheesesteak Pretzels this morning at almost every one of its more than 100 stores between New York State and Georgia.

The regular price is $3.50, or two for $6. (Get 2 for $4 with a coupon found on Page 17 of today’s Daily News.)

Next Monday, every outlet will also serve them up for free between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

It’s a twist on the chain’s Pretzel Dogs and Spicy Pretzel Sausages – links poking out the ends of golden-brown tubes.

The Cheesesteak Pretzel, though, is totally enclosed, like a knish.

“It’s good. . . . It’s not messy like a regular cheesesteak,” said steam mechanic Bill Toole, 45, of Woodbury, sitting in his truck outside the 16th and Sansom store this morning. “I’m not going to be wearing this all day.”

“It’s the exact taste” of a regular cheesesteak, said sanitation engineer Aaron Godwin, 18, of Swarthmore. “I like it. . . . There’s a lot of cheese in it.”

The aim was to add another lunchtime option, said Daniel DiZio, president of the chain, which sold 125 million soft pretzels last year.

A year and a half of research and testing went into the final product, which has American cheese, no onions, he said.

Fried onions were considered, and might be in a future version. The door’s open on other possibilities, though don’t expect to see a Hoagie Pretzel or salads, said DiZio, 39, who started selling pretzels on Roosevelt Boulevard at age 11.

When I first moved to Philly I found out that people here think that Philadelphia is famous for it’s pretzels.

Wrong.

It’s not like I come from east Bumblepines Nebraska. I’ve lived most of my life in the NY/NJ area. Doesn’t it make sense that people from areas near Philly should be aware of the famous Philly pretzel, if that were indeed so?

Since  discovering this fanciful theory adhered to by Philadelphians, I’ve made a habit of asking people that I meet who are from other areas of the country if they’ve ever heard of Philadelphia and it’s famed pretzels. Not a single person has answered in the affirmative. Not one.

Face it Philly, the only cuisine you’re famous for is a sandwich made out of chopped meat and Cheez-whiz.

I’ve tried this concoction all over Philadelphia in search of the elusive delicious cheesesteak.

Still, the best cheesesteak I’ve ever had came from a deli on 6th Avenue in Soho. That’s NYC.
Sorry.

In most sections of Philadelphia, the only food one can get delivered is cheese steaks, pizza, and Chinese food.

In NYC, you have all of the above, plus Thai, Indian, Japanese, Sushi, quality Italian and Mexican food, the list goes on. Delis deliver sandwiches and everything else from a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to a box of sugar to a pack of cigarettes.
Diners deliver everything on the menu. There’s nothing like waking up Sunday morning and ordering a bacon egg and cheese sandwich and coffee delivered from the diner down the street to eat while watching the early football game.

You have to go to South Philly for good Italian food, or so I’m told. I have not yet found good Indian food, in or around Philadelphia. Those are my two favorites so I find that extremely annoying.

In NYC, good food is everywhere. Every single neighborhood in Manhattan has good restaurants. Many of the even deliver.

This is obviously one of the things I hadn’t thought through when I moved here. Then again, I was under the assumption that Philadelphia was a city only half a step below New York.

You know what happens when a person makes assumptions. Bad things happen.

In order to get good food in Philly, I either have to drive at least 20 minutes or make it myself.

The only way I can describe this is culture shock. I freely admit to being spoiled by having such an array of great cuisine available just by picking up the phone.

It still just bums me out that I can’t get decent food delivered to my house in a “major” city…….