Paul’s Palace
Palace may be a bit of a stretch. Joint, perhaps. I must've walked
past this nondescript place a million times and never even noticed. It's
just like that. I was told they had a good Philly cheesesteak, which is good
information to have.
Saturday night, it was the first weekend out since the World Trade
Center attack, and people were drinking more than usual. Talk turned to
cheesesteaks (not that inebriation and cheesesteaks necessarily go hand in
hand). James became convinced we needed one, unfortunately Paul's had just
closed (he called). He became utterly obsessed with the idea of driving to
Philadelphia to get a 24-hour original (see above review). I like whimsy and
spontaneity as much as the next person, but just wasn't in the mood that
evening.
The next day we were grocery shopping when I brought up Paul's. It
appeared that the previous night's mania had already slipped his mind. We
decided to have a go anyway. I opted for a big, messy, blue cheese burger. I
hate to be a party pooper, but I almost prefer flat, dry, fast food burgers.
Blasphemy, I know. Real restaurant burgers are always drippy and
unmanageable (I had to eat this one with a knife and fork. But then, I do
the same thing with pizza, which is a total NYC faux pas). I was just about
to start talking about how I'm not even a burger fan, it's not a craving I
have very often, but dammit, typing this is making me really hungry for one.
Of course James got the cheesesteak, however, it came with provolone.
People have this notion that cheese whiz is low brow so they change the
cheese. Fine, but it's not authentic, and just plain wrong. I think it was a
perfectly fine sandwich, but not a primo Philly specimen. The hunt
continues…
Paul'sPalace * 131 Second Ave., New York, NY
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