Food - Drink
The Roll Philly Cheesesteaks Traditionally Use
By CHRIS SANDS
The famous Philly cheesesteak dates back to 1930, when hot dog cart vendor Pat Olivieri tired of hot dogs and made a new sandwich out of meat scraps. In the 1940s, "Cocky Joe" Lorenza of Pat’s King of Steaks added provolone; however, neither the meat nor cheese matter as much as the bread used for this iconic sandwich.
According to Frank Olivieri, great-nephew of Pat Olivieri and current owner of Pat's King of Steaks, "If your bread is [...] a little stale or if it's too spongey or too crispy — it's not going to be a good vehicle to carry all the meat inside and the cheese and the onions." For a true Philly experience, you'd have to use an Amoroso-brand roll.
Amoroso's, an Italian family-owned bakery founded in 1904, is known for their rolls with a crusty exterior that contrasts nicely with the softer interior. These rolls have a satisfying chew and don't break, become soggy, or throw off the sandwich's proportions when combined with meat, cheese, and onions.
Amoroso rolls are so essential to a proper cheesesteak that they're even used outside of the Philly area. A 2013 Chicago Tribune article on the best Philly cheesesteaks in the city noted that the best sandwiches sourced their rolls from Amoroso's, and the owner of Cheesesteak House in Dallas also proudly uses Amoroso rolls.