Eagles fan favorite is Philadelphia's signature sandwich, no peppers required
Retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce was asked recently on a football podcast to share his favorite cheesesteak spot in the city where he — a seven-time Pro Bowl player — spent all 13 of his NFL seasons.
While he name-dropped current Philadelphia hot spots Dalessandro's and Angelo's, Kelce also said Tony Luke's was the first place he had a cheesesteak due to its proximity to the stadium where the Eagles play.
"That's one that I went to growing up and was just outstanding," Kelce said.
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Although that particular Tony Luke's location is no more, Eagles fans can still enjoy the restaurant's cheesesteak from Lincoln Financial Field when Philadelphia hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Tony Luke's has been operating a stand inside the stadium since it opened in 2003, the company said.
Hailed by Philadelphia Magazine as having the "best cheesesteaks" in the city, Tony Luke's opened its first location in South Philadelphia in 1992. At the time, cheesesteaks weren't even on the menu.
"We sold roast beef, roast pork and chicken cutlets – kind of Italian specialties," Tony Lucidonio Jr. told Fox News Digital. "That's all we did."
Known in the City of Brotherly Love as Tony Luke Jr., Lucidonio said that only lasted about six months. "Word of mouth is what really made us," he said.
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Before long, Luke "had this crazy idea of doing these awful commercials that had nothing to do with food."
He added, "They were dumb. They were stupid. They were kind of funny," he said.
"And it wasn't a typical restaurant or deli commercial." But the commercials got people talking.
The original Tony Luke's that Kelce once frequented years ago has since been renamed after Luke Jr. split from his father and brother amid a franchising rights dispute, according to the Department of Justice.
Today, Luke Jr. has new franchises at Philadelphia International Airport, in Las Vegas and other cities mostly throughout the Northeast. There are even 22 Tony Luke's franchises in Bahrain.
Like the cheesesteak, the Eagles are as ingrained in Philadelphia as the city's signature sandwich.
Luke himself has been a lifelong Eagles fan – and his enthusiasm was on display in the 2006 biographical sports movie "Invincible."
"My character in 'Invincible' was the ultimate Eagles fan," Luke said of his cape-clad character.
Luke is also the former host of an Eagles fan show on television in Philadelphia.
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Even though the cheesesteak was invented in Philadelphia, it isn't the "quintessential sandwich" of the city, Luke said.
"It's the roast pork," he said.
The cheesesteak has since become a sandwich recognized throughout the country, often associated with its birthplace. The ingredients, however, have evolved from place to place.
"And then someone decided to put peppers on a cheesesteak," Luke said.
"No one in Philadelphia puts peppers on a cheesesteak."
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A true cheesesteak, Luke said, is meat, bread, cheese — and onions or no onions. That's all.
One of the biggest differences between Tony Luke's and other cheesesteak restaurants is how the cheese is cooked. (See the video at the top of this article.)
"Once the steak is done and you put the cheese on top, now you're overcooking the steak waiting for the cheese to lift," Luke said.
"So, what we do is, as soon as the steak is done, we put the cheese on top and then we flip it so that the cheese is on the bottom of the grill."
He added, "Now what happens is the cheese melts, but it doesn't make the steak continue to cook. And now the cheese melts throughout the entire steak, not just on top of the steak."
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In Luke's opinion, the only meat that should be used to make a cheesesteak is rib-eye. It's got the most flavor – and it's also the fattest.
"Cheesesteak is not, never has been, never will be a healthy alternative food," he said.