A Philly taco, also known as South Street Sushi, or the Lorenzo's-Jim's Challenge, is a sandwich consisting of a
cheesesteak
A cheesesteak (also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheesesteak sandwich, cheese steak, or steak and cheese) is a sandwich made from thinly sliced pieces of beefsteak and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll. A popular ...
wrapped in a
jumbo slice.
History
The Philly taco was created by Jeff Barg and Adam Gordon in 2003. The Philly taco was intended as a challenge on
South Street, the location of the stores where challengers needed to buy the pizza slice, and then buy the cheesesteak a block away, and then assemble the dish.
The dish was then created by wrapping the Lorenzo's pizza slice around a
Jim's South Street cheesesteak.
In 2003, Barg wrote about the dish in the ''
Philadelphia Weekly'' as "the Lorenzo's-Jim's Challenge" in the "Top 5 of the moment".
On ''The Pizza Show'' featured episode, Barg acknowledged that he did not mention that it was: "...something that my friend and I made up, I wrote about it as though it were 'a thing' that people do. And then it became a thing that people do, and now it's become this great Philly institution."
As a "combination" dish, it has been described by the ''Philly'' ''Insiders''
' Michael Klein as "...a
turducken
Turducken is a dish consisting of a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, further stuffed into a deboned turkey. Outside of the United States and Canada, it is known as a three-bird roast. Gooducken is an English variant, replacing turkey ...
for drunks and stoners."
Recommended flavors
Barg described the original concept to Klein as a take-away cheesesteak, which could be a cheesesteak hoagie, including lettuce and tomatoes to refer to the taco flavor. The pizza slice for wrapping should be plain, without toppings. The dish may be assembled with the pizza slice either rolled like a taco, or lengthwise.
On ''The Pizza Show'' featured episode, Barg described the sensation as "...the
Whiz f the cheesesteakand the
mozzarella
Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method.
Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...
f the pizzainterplay really nicely..." in the dish.
In his original 2003 introductory article, Brag recommended an accompanying beverage such as
Dr. Brown's
Dr. Brown's is a brand of soft drink made by J & R Bottling. It is popular in the New York City region and South Florida, but it can also be found in Jewish delicatessens and upscale supermarkets around the United States and in English-speaking ...
black cherry soda.
Coverage
Carolyn Wyman included the Philly taco in her publication, ''The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book'', in 2009 (in a feature on Jim's Steaks, in the Hometown eateries chapter). Wyman noted the alternate name of the Jim's/Lorenzo Challenge, and that if the lines at Jim's Steaks were too long, that an acceptable substitute cheesesteak could be sourced from Ishkabibble's or Steaks on South.
The dish was featured for
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
blog's "Sandwich Mondays" by Ian Chillag in November 2010.
The Philly taco was included as one of "15 of America's most outrageous foods" in August 2014.
A veganised version of the Philly taco was created by Blackbird Pizzeria as part of an eating challenge for Philadelphia's celebration of
World Vegan Day
World Vegan Day is an annual event celebrated by vegans around the world every 1 November. The benefits of veganism for animals, humans and the natural environment are celebrated through activities such as setting up stalls, hosting potlucks, an ...
in 2014.
It was highlighted on an episode of ''The Pizza Show'' in season two, where host
Frank Pinello ate a Philly taco with Jeff Barg. It has been variously credited as episode 5 or episode 10, circa 2017.
See also
*
Steak sandwich
*
List of American sandwiches
This is a list of American sandwiches. This list contains entries of sandwiches that were created in, or ''commonly'' eaten in the United States. A sandwich is a food item consisting of one or more types of food placed on or between slices of brea ...
References
{{Cheesesteak
American sandwiches
Fast food
Beef dishes
Steak
Cuisine of Philadelphia