In Philly, when we decide something is ours, we protect it. As far as we’re concerned, Jalen was the best QB in the NFL last year and Bryce Harper has only ever been a Phillie. Rocky is the best sports movie ever made and the Broad Street Bullies are the toughest to ever skate. So that’s why, when it comes to cheesesteaks, it doesn’t really matter whether there is ‘documentable evidence’ or not of where it came from. We all know the origins of the REAL cheesesteak, and no one can tell us otherwise.  

As the legend has it, local guys Pat and Harry Olivieri are the originators of the iconic Philly cheesesteak. The duo owned a hot dog cart in South Philly, near the Italian Market way back in the 1930s. Sometime in the early part of that decade they decided to try something new. They chopped up some beef, grilled up some onions, slapped it all on an Italian roll, and gave it a shot. If you believe the stories as they’re told, a cab driver just so happened to stop as the Olivieri brothers were enjoying their new creation. The cabbie asked for one himself and immediately told the brothers to stop messing around with hot dogs and start offering this new sandwich instead.  

The sandwich became so popular that they opened the first Pat’s King of Steaks not long after. Now the whole world thinks of soft pretzels and cheesesteaks when they think of food and Philly. Over time, the selections expanded (obviously). That first sandwich didn’t include cheese of any kind, but people often argue over which cheese is the best between Cheez Whiz, provolone, and American.  

Here at Fresh Works Woodhaven, we’ll keep our opinions on cheese to ourselves. But we will say that our fresh baked rolls take the Philly icon to a whole new level. Stop in today to try one and tell us what you think.