Houston's FoodBorg are legendary at this, understanding how each and every nuance for each and every food or drink item you can imagine is made in it's native land, by old grandmothers usually who have cooked these specialties for years.
This is annoying for a couple of reasons. First, these people never seem to bemoan Houston (or Texas) specialties that you can never find in other places. Tex-Mex, Barbecue (sorry New York, but it's true) and Gulf Coast seafood is never quite the same in other locales. Second, these reviewers are insufferable, and will find something wrong (no matter how minute) with any option the other people commenting bring forward.
I'm not here to do that. For one, while I've been through Philadelphia, I've never had a chance to stay there and eat a Cheese Steak at either of the three main chains. For the second, even if I had, I find most city's specialty dishes to be overrated just a touch. Chicago dogs, Italian Beef and Deep Dish Pizza Pie are good, but in the end they are just a couple of sandwiches and a pie. New York pizza is good. But it's just pizza. So, I imagine that Philadelphia Cheese Steak Sandwiches are good, but they are, in fact, just sandwiches.
With that out of the way, here's my thoughts on Houston chain Pappa Geno's based on my visit there recently.
Decor: Pappa Geno's was brightly lit, with an orange and while color scheme that made the restaurant feel more spacious than it really was.
The N. Eldridge Parkway location was steady, but not busy, when I arrived for lunch, it was clean, and they had one lady working the register with two cooks in the back. Given that I think this location does most of it's business during the work-week this seemed to be sufficient staffing.
The Menu is both on the wall, and available as part of a tear-off sheet at the register, and in a to-go pamphlet as well. I walked in and, after a short wait as the person in front of me ordered, placed my order for a #2 ($7.99) (Philly style [with grilled onions and cheez whiz]) sandwich which I made a combo (add fries and a drink) for $3.49 more. The total, with tax, was $12.49 plus the $2 I threw in the tip jar by the register. By any means, this is not cheap. The service was friendly, but not especially outgoing, as the lady at the register was pretty busy. I received my cup, went over and filled it with iced tea, took a seat in the dining room and, within 5 minutes, the lady working the register brought my sandwich and fries to me. So the service was fine, and my sandwich reached my table still hot. But, was it good?
The Sandwich: This checked in at around a foot long, but the first problem that I had was that this felt more like Po' Boy, and not much like what I've seen to be a Philly Cheese Steak. The bread was crispy instead of soft, and it's flavor was almost non-existent. The filling of the sandwich was fine, but I wish there was more of it. At the ends of the sandwich I felt the bread/filling ratio moved too heavy toward the bread, but the middle of the sandwich was just fine. The flavor of the filling was good as well. Overall it was a good sandwich, on par with Cheese Steaks that I've head at other places, but I prefer the bread that used to be used by the former Texadelphia.
They have several other options, the original, something called a "fat" cheese steak, a chicken cheese steak and more. I've heard that these are very good. I should note here that, despite the shortcomings mentioned above, I did LIKE this sandwich, a lot. I'm sure to go back and try several of their other options.
The Fries: Good, but probably pre-cut and shipped to them frozen. I've got a feeling they have a 'coating' on them as well to make them crispy. I don't think that these were cut in-house and double fried. Unfortunately, on their website the company doesn't provide much information.
The Verdict: Good, not great, option for lunch if you like Philly Cheese Steaks, or other deli style sandwiches. Pricey, but you do feel full when you leave the place so there's that.
Last Thought: I know that it's almost sacrilegious to say this, but I always thought that Texadelphia had about the best Philly Cheese Steak that I have had. Since I've not had the actual Philly version of the sandwich I realize my perspective is flawed, but I also don't have the "not just like Philly" bias that most Yelp reviewers have. Hopefully, some day, I'll be able to visit the City of Love and try the versions that have inspired many a Food Network TV show. Until then, I'll just be happy in my ignorance and keep enjoying the options we have in Houston.
Yelp Reviews: (For your Entertainment) Forgot to add this initially, but if you want to be entertained go read the Yelp reviews. Truly Yelp is one of the funniest sites in the world, and should convince you that food writing is indeed a skill and good restaurant reviewers in a city are worth their weight in Gold.
