Saw this on [1] The Food Network and considering that J’s parents live near Philadelphia - I might just have to take a trip to the famous 76 year old establishment called [2] Pat’s King of the Steaks. Being a man that just loves his cheesesteaks - I think I’ll be in heaven - or almost anyway.

Pat’s King of Steaks® was founded by Pat Olivieri in 1930. Pat had a modest hotdog stand at the base of the famous Italian Market in South Philadelphia. One day he decided to have something quite different for lunch, so he sent for some chopped meat from the butcher shop. He cooked the meat on his hot dog grill, placed the meat onto an Italian roll, and dressed it with some onions - the King of Cheesesteak was born! Pat’s is so famous that they boast having celebrities like Larry King, (the former) NSync group and more that come by to specially order their cheesesteaks.

On a separate note, I happen to [3] stumbleupon this personal site of a group of people that experimented making a [4] Giant Burger. Must have been fun!

The specially baked buns were seven pounds each. The assembled burger weighed 29.75 pounds, with a pound of bacon, two pounds of cheese, grilled onions and portabella mushrooms, avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, ketchup, and a giant toothpick through the center with deli pickles on top. The buns were baked on a pizza pan with a custom-fitted steel ring around the edge. Grilling occurred on a specially built turnover fixture with a brazed steel lid made from leftover material from the big round fish tank.

Ok, I have just gained 20 pounds just thinking about king cheesesteaks and giant burgers.