Delaware - Part Five

Quick! When you think of food from this place, what do you think of?

Baltimore?

Crab cakes.

Chicago?

Pizza

Philadelphia?
Cheesesteaks

Kansas City?

Barbecue

Delaware?

Um...Chili's?

I've discovered something. Delaware has no identity. And if it does, it might be "banking" - which is pretty sad because I don't think that's a personality.

In my two weeks here (today is my two-week mark), I've eaten at the following places:

- The hotel - breakfast is free here everyday and dinner is free Monday-Wednesday

- My room - I have a kitchen and have cooked a few times

- The JPM Cafeteria - The food isn't as bad as my companions seem to think it is, but it is "blah."

- The mall - It's close to work and has a few choices. But since most of them are fast food places and I don't eat there, I've eaten Chinese food there each time.

- A ghetto Chinese food restaurant - It's in the ghetto. The place is also kinda ghetto

- Various other chain restaurants

Nothing particularly Mom and Pop and definitely nothing overly "Delaware." The only seafood we've had so far is Red Lobster. From what I can tell, they don't really have it here. And the places that have it apparently suck.

And from what I can tell, that's pretty much the vibe here. As I've said, no one that works here lives here, but no one really has any restaurants to recommend. The only place they recommended was a steak house that was overpriced and pretty "meh." It's hard to come from Texas and appreciate an out-of-town steakhouse, though.

I'd still like to try and find someplace good and local. Maybe I can try the Interwebs. Possibly even the Unterwebs.

But I figured I'd be safe when we spent Sunday in Philadelphia. I returned from my brief trip home, and since Delaware doesn't have an airport, I landed in Philly. Since we wanted to spend a day there anyway, we decided to check it out. My new manager wanted to try a real Philly cheesesteak, and I was okay giving it a shot.

So they picked me up and we headed there. Right across the street from each other are Pat's and Geno's....both "legendary" for their cheesesteaks.

They both have the same system. You order outside, they hand you your sandwich at one window and you order your sides/drinks at a separate window (you also pay separately...and only cash is accepted). The only places to sit are inside.

They also have the same system of ordering. Since they basically only do one thing, it's pretty simple. Want onions? Say "with" or "wit". Don't? Say "without" or "witout".

Then you pick your cheese. American and provolone are offered, but the "true Philly way" is to order it with Cheez Wiz. And that's real and apparently the only way to eat one.

And because I was in Rome, I did what the Romans do. I got a "wit Wiz" at both places. And, honestly, I thought both were overrated. They were fine, and I didn't "not enjoy" them. But it wasn't something I'd go out of my way for. I think Texadelphia and Jersey Mikes actually make a better cheesesteak, and they're both really close to my apartment. Philly? Not so much.

So, overall, the food here just hasn't been all that great. We went to a wing bar near the University of Delaware that isn't bad, and there's a beer here called Yeungling that's pretty good because it doesn't taste like beer. But other than that, it's bland and sometimes expensive (Chili's was $2-4 more per item than back home).