The steak sandwich, though now completely representative of Philadelphia, began some 80 years ago with only a grill top, some scraps of steak, and a hoagie roll. As the years progressed the sandwich has evolved into the Philly cheesesteak, adding cheese and vegetables to the mix. Despite the affinities of some Philadelphians, there are several acceptable variations on the classic sandwich:

A cheesesteak sandwich may contain one of the following types of cheeses:

Cheez Whiz Provolone American

and it may contain the following vegetables:

onions peppers mushrooms are also acceptable

Cheez Whiz is an obvious choice of cheese from a food service perspective, though I'm not a fan of the processed cheese dip from a culinary point of view. American makes sense, too, given patriotism and the Liberty Bell and what-have-you. I'm not sure how provolone got mixed up in this mess, but it's certainly a welcome departure from the processed and the ordinary.

There are a handful of other places in town doing the cheesesteak thing, but not many better than Youz Guyz. The little building with the giant mural of Ben Franklin chowing down houses some decent cooking to produce a darn authentic product.

Six dollars nets you an eight inch cheesesteak with any of the above cheese/vegetable combinations (provolone and sautéed onions for me, please). A sign outside the building explains the "Philly lean," a necessary maneuver to prevent the meat's juices from dripping all over your clothes. I did not have to perfect such a movement, because not a drip was to be found. That's not to say that the meat wasn't juicy, but rather that the rolls were fresh enough to sop them up, making the sandwich even more enjoyable. For a traditionally messy sandwich, I thought mine was very well made, with a meat-to-bun ratio that felt just right and allowed me to eat it all without it falling out as I bit. The meat's not fresh (that is to say, it's frozen), but given that we're dealing with street food, it's not supposed to be. It tastes good, all the same.

What I cannot allow to be frozen, however, are the fries. I was expecting the sides to bring it just as well as the sandwich, but was given french fries that were completely ordinary, and left me with little desire to finish them. They did provide several interesting options to dress them up, either via Old Bay seasoning (fans of Five Guys would feel at home here) or through their pizza fries - covered in marinara and provolone. I would be hard-pressed to share any complaints about anything covered in sauce and cheese, but when the core ingredient is so mediocre, it's too little too late. They could easily hand-cut their own fries, especially because they tout their own freshly-made potato chips (a menu item I failed to see, unfortunately, until after I ordered). Even without trying them, I can recommend them to the fries.

Typically, the fancier the restaurant, the worse their take on authentic street food. Youz Guyz is just thoze guyz in a small restaurant offering the same cheesesteaks that have been popular for the past fifty years. Bad spelling aside, Youz Guyz is one of the better places for lunch on Pat Booker.