Cheesesteak in Paradise

I know, right? How the hell did this place find it's way to Thailand?

It started in my Thai cooking class. There was one other American in it and once I told her I was from Philadelphia, the next thing she said was, "You know there is a cheesesteak shop in Chiang Mai?" like I was a crackhead looking for a fix and she knew the name of a dealer. As funny as having my city's culteral heritage represented by a food item, I was glad to have this information. I looked it up and low and behold, it was only a few blocks away in my neighborhood - score! I made a date with Mike's Burgers for lunchtime the next day before leaving on my own Amazing Race to catch a flight back to Bangkok, bus to Chumphon and catermaran to Ko Tao.

I arrived and saddled up the counter and scanned the menu. Classic American fare - hot dogs with anything you can imagine for toppings, burgers, cheese fries, etc. I sat next to an American couple living in Japan who came there to satisfy a cheeseburger craving since they told me you can't get a decent cheeseburger in Japan to save your life. Now, I was under no delusions that this would even remotely resemble a cheesesteak, but I promised myself I would keep an open mind.

I ordered the cheesesteak (duh). It was served on a 'garlic baguette' so that's a stike, but since it would be impossible to ship Amoroso rolls out there, I let it slide. There was also no Cheese Wiz, but all is not lost at this point. It arrives and I scan my meal. Fried onions? Check? Sufficient greasiness? Check. Lager? No check (Sigh). I take a bite and immediately notice the meat is very peppery and tough, but I've noticed that most beef in Thailand is tough so this isn't suprising. The meat is fried in slabs and not chopped so it's a bit hard to get through. I ate most of this, still almost full from breakfast, but I get it down with the help of some Coke Zero.

All in all, I was moderately satisfied, left with that special bloated feeling and was ready to roll myself to the airport.