KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Philly cheesesteak at Grinders in Kansas City, Missouri's Crossroads Arts District is a signature item for owner STRETCH.
"It’s an authentic Philly," STRETCH said. "It’s never gonna be as good as your neighborhood one in Philly. But it’s gonna hold you off until you get back.”
He should know as a Philadelphia native turned longtime Kansas City resident.
Grinders' version of the iconic sandwich features an Amaroso roll straight from Philadelphia, ribeye from the Midwest and cheese, of course.
"We do white American cheese, we do provolone or we do the Cheez Whiz. You know what they say, if you don’t like Swiss, just eat around the holes," STRETCH joked.
For the city of Philadelphia, the delicacy of the cheesesteak is seen as equally important as the Liberty Bell or "Rocky."
"It’s the city’s animal," STRETCH said. "It should be on the license plate.”
But with Super Bowl Sunday on the horizon, STRETCH is bringing a new twist to the signature item.
For the time being, it will be referred to as the "Chiefs steak."
"It's kind of like when nobody liked France and we got away from French fries and went with freedom fries," STRETCH said with a chuckle. "Well, we’ve got to have the Chiefs steak.”
Showing love to his new home where he "bleeds red," not all of STRETCH's Philly connections feel the same.
"I’m getting a lot of flack from my Philly guys. They’re going to pull my card," he said.
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