Pat's King of Steaks

Home node of the greatest Cheese Steak in the known universe.

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pat's Steaks always have a line of customers around the block at lunchtime.

A "must see" place.

On 9th and Passayunk in South Philly you'll find the greatest Cheese Steaks known to man. It's Pat's (for short), where you have to order a special way (only if there's a line), and there's a line at 4:00 AM. Yes, folks, this is a 24 hour steak place, and it's always busy.

Just make sure you follow their ordering guidelines, because if there's a line and you take too long, they will kick you out of line. This ain't the soup nazi, but it might as well be.

I'll have mine: "Wiz Without"

Getting a Pat's cheesesteak is like getting manna from heaven, only you have to pay for it, and you don't have to depend on the grace of the divine, only the line cooks behind the window.

Ordering at Pat's is an interesting experience. If there is a line, and there will be, you must be prepared. By my estimation, there are 450 possible steak orders. Fortunately for you, they are all good. Unfortunately for you, if the guy behind the counter has to read your mind, they will charge you 50¢ extra. Do, or do not. There is no try. If you screw up, with a shove you're back to the end of the line.

To help you out, here is the Pat's rapid ordering system presented in BNF notation. I confess I don't know how to order a pepper steak using 'the system', so that isn't included here.

PatsOrder         ::= SteakChoice Toppings OnionChoice

SteakChoice       ::= 'steak' | CheeseSteakChoice

CheeseSteakChoice ::= 'extra'? CheeseChoice

CheeseChoice      ::= 'wiz' | 'provolone' | 'american' | 'pizza'

Toppings          ::= 'lettuce'? 'tomato'? 'mushrooms'? 'peppers'?

OnionChoice       ::= 'wit' | 'wit-out'

So if you want a cheesesteak made with Cheez Whiz, mushrooms, and onions (my favorite), the order goes "wiz mushrooms wit". Like any good standard, this makes communication faster and easier, at least for the guy behind the counter.