Saturday,
July 22, 2006
Obit: Harry Olivieri, 90; Originated Philly Cheesesteak,
#1 Tourist Attraction
The ANNOTICO Report
Why is Harry Olivieri
worthy of a Report? After all, the Philly Cheesesteak
although a favorite of many particularly in the Italian American community, is
NOT a highlight of Italian Cuisine, especially since it features Cheez Whiz!!!!!!!! although some
people show more of a cultivated palate, by requesting provolone. :)
What convinced me was the fact that, Tourists come
to Philadelphia to go to Pat's King of Steaks and see the Liberty Bell in that order !!!!!
Impressive!!!
Harry
Olivieri, 90; One of 2 Brothers Who Originated the
Philly Cheesesteak
By Claire Noland
Times Staff Writer
July 22, 2006
Thinly sliced steak and chopped onions cooked on a
sizzling grill then mounded in a roll, topped with Cheez
Whiz and doused with South Philly attitude.
The exact ingredients have varied over the years, but connoisseurs of the
Harry Olivieri died Thursday of a heart attack at
Before Pat's King of Steaks, the Olivieri brothers ran
a hot dog stand in
As the story goes, one day in 1933, Pat sent his younger brother Harry to the
nearby Italian market to buy some steak, because they were tired of eating hot
dogs for lunch. They chopped the steak and grilled it with some onions, then
slap! ped the concoction on
a hot dog bun.
One of their regular customers, a cabdriver, happened by and insisted on having
one of the steak sandwiches, undeterred by the brothers' protests that this was
their lunch. The cabby loved it, and the Olivieris
decided to switch from hot dogs to steak sandwiches.
The cheese didn't come until later, when a cook added provolone in the 1950s. Cheez Whiz was added to the menu in the 1960s, and
These days, the basic ingredients can be dressed up with various condiments homemade dill relish, potent hot sauce,
cherry peppers. Even canned mushrooms.
Twenty-four hours a day, 362 days a year they close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and
Easter a line forms around a tiny
building in a gritty neighborhood of red brick storefronts
and double-parked cars.
Residents and tourists who come for paper-wrapped Philly cheesesteaks
and sodas can study! the wall of celebrity photos
before taking seats at the no-frills picnic tables. Politicians, athletes,
singers and actors flock to this fast-food mecca,
joining neighborhood toughs and wide-eyed out-of-towners in a line that snakes
to the cash-only counter.
A plaque showing the exact spot where Sylvester Stallone, as Rocky Balboa,
stood and ate a Pat's cheesesteak is embedded in the
pavement.
For the uninitiated, a sign explains the drill: with or without onions; specify
provolone, American or Cheez Whiz; have your money
ready; go to the back of the line if you make a mistake.
Purveyors of what has become a cultural institution populate
Pat and Harry were content to reign over their sma! ll strip of crowded sidewalk on
Harry Olivieri was the youngest of three sons born in
Harry learned the carpentry trade and worked in construction and at the
sidewalk stand before he and Pat switched to making steak sandwiches full time.
In addition to his daughter, Olivieri is survived by
his wife, Anna; son, Frank; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
As Frank Olivieri, who now runs the business with his
son Frank Jr., said in 1980: "People come to
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