Open up already!

Cheesesteak place
Originally uploaded by Powerkeni.

There's a new cheesesteak place called StakeOut Take Out opening on Pico and Redondo, right next to We Jammin' Jamaican Restaurant. I saw the lights on INSIDE the place as I passed by last night, which is a wonderful sign considering they have been "coming soon" for months. I swear, it feels like they were able to build that new Target on Santa Monica and La Brea quicker than these guys have been able to get their store off the ground. Come on fellas! Mop the floor, plug in the grill, and fix me a friggin' cheesesteak wid! Sheesh!

I should probably calm down, as more than likely I'm going to be disappointed when they finally do open. Why is it so difficult for anyone in the country outside of Philadelphia to make a good Philly cheesesteak? The ingredients are so basic. Steak, cheese, sandwich roll, with onions and peppers optional. Yet, no one can do it. In fact, to most Americans, what qualifies as a cheesesteak is in fact a gooey slurry of beef bits, melted cheese, peppers, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes on a mayo-slathered roll. Blech! That's what a cheesesteak was to me also, until that first time I stopped by Geno's in South Philly. Ever since then, I've been hoping for at least one decent cheesesteak place in my city of residence, but have come up short for years now. Unfortunately, LA has been no exception, with places like South Street on Hollywood Blvd. falling into the "slurry sandwich" category.

Yet I'm still holding out hope for this place, even though the early signs point to disappointment. The sign claims that they will have the best "Philadelphia and Chicago cheesesteaks" in town. Chicago cheesesteak? What the hell is that? Are they talking about an Italian beef sandwich (which is more a french dip with mozzarella cheese and peppers)? The fact that this place doesn't even properly identify its sandwiches dashes my hopes.

On a good note, I have been making some of the best cheesesteak sandwiches ever at home thanks to the good folks in Koreatown. You see, LA's Koreatown is tremendous, and loaded with Korean grocery stores that sell pre-sliced ribeye beef (for making bulgogi) that works wonderfully for homemade cheesesteak. I just buy some of that beef, some potato sandwich rolls, some peppers and onions (which I fry separately) and within minutes I've got myself the perfect Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Now that I think of it, screw that new place. I don't need them anyway. I'm going to the store.