Surprisingly, while I had many, many, many animal-based cheese steak sandwiches in my youth, growing up near the city most known for them, I haven’t really partaken in the veggie variety over these last 9+ years.

Recently, I decided to see what was available, posing as Philly-style in NYC. I ordered a Philly Cheese Steak at FoodSwings in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I’m not sure if whomever thought it up had ever even seen the traditional version of the sandwich. It should be renamed Brooklyn Cheesesteak or anything else cause this sandwich, with its chunks of mock meat, ain’t nothin’ I’d ever seen in the City of Brotherly Love.

‘Surely a sandwich from home would stack up better,’ I thought. So two days later I ordered another. This time from Blackbird Pizzeria. Let me start by saying, I love me some Blackbird. Hell, my sister planned our whole trip home around me getting a slice of their pizza…oh, and try their fries! This sandwich just tasted off.

If you’re looking to convert someone who worships at the shrine of Pat’s or Gino’s, neither of these sandwiches would help your cause.

Look wise, Blackbird trumped FoodSwings. Taste wise, score for FoodSwings; which doesn’t mean their sandwich was good, just better than the other. Ultimately, if the two were married, it still wouldn’t be enough alone to convert a meat addict, but it’d be a much more worthwhile sandwich than its’ parents.

FoodSwings
Vegan Fast Food
295 Grand Street Brooklyn, New York
718-388-1919

Blackbird Pizzeria
507 s 6th St.
Philadelphia, PA, 19147
215.625.6660